All Forum Posts by: Alex Ritter

Great to see this. Count me in. 

Thanks @Brad Collins and @Daniel Johnson

I'm looking to buy my first house hack and wanted to see if anyone had tips, tricks, advice, or potential mistakes to keep in mind when analyzing potential deals, especially since I'll be most likely doing this in a SFH. Even though I prefer small multi-family properties - my local market lends itself to small single family starter homes.

What do you think are the most important factors in picking a potential house-hack, considering I plan to do this every year for the foreseeable future and my focus are buy and hold cash-flowing rental properties. 

Some things I'm considering 

-Location (balancing the popular local neighborhoods for room rentals with areas that might be better for long term appreciation and SFH rentals)

-Sweat Equity Opportunities 

-Bedroom/Bathroom Breakdown 

-Condition

Am I missing anything? 

Thanks 

AR

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Hey Everyone - 

Hope it's been a good couple of weeks for you. I just wanted to jumpstart this idea again. Is anyone still interested in meeting up tonight at Incendiary at 6pm for a beer.

I'm open to connecting even if its a really small group. But given the public health situation I totally understand if everyone felt more comfortable pushing this back. 

Let me know what you think and look forward to meeting folks soon. 

AR

Hey all, I'm looking for some advice on my first deal. I'll try to keep it brief. 

I'm currently nearing the end of my due diligence period on a local rental property I have under contract. After some initial back and forth we signed the purchase agreement on June 18th with DD ending on July 17 and closing on the 24th (which felt reasonable). The inspection was the following week. During which a couple things happened. I found two large cap expenses (roof and hvac) that are going to be fairly immediate issues. I was hesitant at first, but eventually excited because I felt I had a lot of leverage going into negation to drive the price down even more and make what was a great deal a true steal. All in all the inspection was very helpful, but unfortunately it wasn't completed. The water wasn't turned on because of a potential leak the inspector told me he would follow up with that portion of the report once the seller got it fixed. 

That was June 24th and still no progress. After some back and forth between agents we got an update and new time to complete the inspection. It's this Thursday afternoon - the 16th - the day before my DD period is over and I was told we wouldn't get the report until the following morning. The sellers agent told us they were replacing pipes in the unfinished basement (which was needed in some areas). Working with my agents I immediately submitted an addendum to push back DD and closing by 2 weeks and sent to them yesterday. Honestly it will have to be pushed back again, but I at least wanted some breathing room to start the negotiations. At the moment I still haven't gotten a copy of the seller agreeing to the new deadlines let alone anything else.  

Should the seller be this slow to respond? 

Is it a sign to have outstanding issues prevent the completion of the inspection til just before the DD deadline? I'm obviously no expert, but that seems like a red flag. 

Does it sound unreasonable for my agent to tell them they need to agree to the new dates by Wednesday? I'm fully prepared to walk (better to have $1,000 learning experience than a money pit), but the last thing I want to is to be running around on Friday the day of my initial deadline trying to get an extension signed or trying to cancel the contract before I'm locked in.

Sorry for the mouthful, but I would appreciate any thoughts/perspective. 

AR

Looking forward to it and meeting everyone who can make it. If anyone has any questions just shoot me a message. I should be easy to spot, just look for the tall sunburnt ginger.

Off to the beach see you all in a couple of weeks. 
 

Sorry I dropped the ball on the follow up here. My full-time gig gets crazy at the end of the fiscal year. Maybe we can shoot for sometime in mid-July? We could meet at Incendiary since its outside and has beer and/or food within easy reach. 

I'm out of town the next couple of weeks, but certainly don't feel like you have to wait for me if something sooner works. Hopefully over that time the recent surge here can get controlled and reversed, that way everyone would feel more comfortable. 

With that said how about July 16th say 6pm? 

@Carrie Blaskowski

Great points and I totally agree. It's very easy to get on here and listen to others always taking action. I've just got to sit back and realize they are at a different point in their journey than I am (aka much farther along). Most of the time I do feel good about the productivity and patience, but sometimes those lulls just get boring! 

Funny thing about the Timeline. The original goal was to purchase my first rental property by the end of 2020. When I moved back to the area I was crunched for time so jumped at the opportunity to rent in one of those nice high end apartments that I knew would be turnkey. So I wanted to focus on doing my first deal while I was tied up in my lease through next spring - get experience - then buy a house hack once my lease is up in spring 2021. 

Funny thing though since I last posted this I had deal fall into my lap and I'm currently under contract for that first rental property. All things checking out I should be closing at the end of July. So much for being patient! 

Regarding the out long distance investing - it's something I'm really interested in especially in those growing markets where my dollar goes further. But I felt it would be good to get my feet wet locally so I can better prepare myself for those opportunities when I have time to focus on them. 

best, 

AR

@Matthew Kostelic good call on the outdoor seating at Incendiary. 

@Ahmed Iqbal currently talking with Saunders Property Management. They were recommended to me by several people including my realtor. They are based here in Winston and have been incredibly helpful so far, especially considering I'm not a client yet. 

Sounds like we could get a solid little group together. Maybe we shoot for something in July. 

Would anyone be interested in getting together for a happy hour over the summer? As the city starts to open back up I would love to connect (safely of course) with some other real estate obsessed folks in the area. I'm moved to Winston Salem last fall and didn't commit to REI until a couple of months back.

I've never been to a "meet up" and don't know anybody in this market outside of my realtor and property manager. I know some can be really "salesy". But I just wanted to meet some good people over a good beer. 

Is anyone else struggling with feeling productive with your time when looking for your first deal? Would love to hear how others are staying patient and positive with their progress, whatever they deem that to be. What are you doing when you have a lull or are saving capital, that is helping push you forward?

To set the stage I'm a rookie with a full time W2 job, but with COVID I have had some extra free time. I've been really focused on investing more time taking actionable steps to close my first deal. Even though I feel good about taking small stops, I still worry about getting into this analyze paralysis that we all fight with. 

What I probably shouldn't be doing or am doing poorly.

• - Getting distracted by other REI strategies that I don't understand yet. I definitely feel like the dogs in Up... "Squirrel"
  - Having an organized Goal Setting Strategy. Definitely need a better process 
• - Not posting enough on the forums
• - Strategic networking in my area (Winston Salem, NC)

What I'm doing well?

• - Continuing my education with podcasts, reading, and research
• - Analyzing potential deals and honing in on my criteria
• - Working with a real estate agent and a property manager to evaluate opportunities in the market

Appreciate everyones' thoughts. 

AR