All Forum Posts by: Alex Turner

Selling my BPCON Ticket 

PRICE: $800

 Yeah, I realize that may have been a bit confusing. I have a 4 bedroom house, but I rented out only the basement portion of the house while still maintaining my own area on the main floor. I could rent out another room upstairs but for me acquiring the home and receiving some rents was enough. I still feel I am not sacrificing everything just to make the house hack work. Does that make sense? 

You're well on your way! Good luck. 

Financially it sounds like you are in a good position to make something happen now. When it comes to real estate investing, if you wait to time the market just right, you're never going to hit it right. The right time is when it makes sense for you to take the leap. 

In terms of price range and home size it really depends on the investing strategy that you are looking to do? House hacking, fix and flipping, buy and hold, long term rental, short term rental. I would get clear on what you want to do and then determine what makes sense for you. 

Hey Steve, 

Sounds like you are in a very strong financial position to start investing. 

Your biggest hurdle is qualifying with self-employed income with only one year of history. There are loan options for 1 year self employed that require around 20% down payment. 

Another option would be to look into DSCR loans. These are investor specific loan where the property is what qualifies the loan rather than your income itself. Again these product will require 20% down payment.

Finally, there is a loan product out there called the community mortgage, this requires 20% down payment and does not require income verification. With this program you have to purchase a primary residence, so this may be a good option to help get your daughter in Hawaii into a home that you can eventually convert into an investment property. 

So bottom line, you should look to have 20% down payment saved but more is always better ;) 

Hi Daniella, 

My initial thought is to wait until you have some more equity in your home and you are ready to start the project next spring. The rates on HELOCs may go down by next spring and you can get the equity out for a lower interest rate. 

With the caveat of you job, it really depends on what you are going to get into. If you can secure a salary position then there shouldn't be any big hiccups with qualifying down the road. However, not know what your current income is that your lender is happy with and not knowing what you will be earning with your new job are two big unknowns. If you are not comfortable with the risk entailed with waiting then I would recommend going for it now while you qualify. 

Hey Adam, 

Totally feel your pain with purchasing in an expensive market. I recently closed on my first house hack and I went for a 4 bedroom house. I Honestly believe that you shouldn't sacrifice your own personal well being if you are planning to live with 3-4 random tenants. 

Two recommendations that I would say, 

1. check into houses that would work as a non-conforming duplex and operate a portion of the house as an Airbnb. Typically you will see higher monthly income from STR and this would help reduce your mortgage while maintaining your own independent living space. You don't necessarily need a full kitchen for guest staying for a few days at a time.

2. If you are thinking that you for sure want to rent the rooms to other tenants I would make sure that while you're searching for a home you look for a home that has a kitchen that has enough space to cater to everyone. I personally purchased another refrigerator any put it in my garage for extra food storage. 

At the end of the day, it is important to start looking at homes and getting a feel for what your money can afford you and what housing options will work well for house hacking. Good luck and reach out if you have any follow up questions. 

You don't need to put 20% down if you are purchasing the home as a primary residence. I would recommend doing this, you can get into the home for as little as 3% down + closing costs and use the additional savings work on any renovations. If you can lock down a house that doesn't have any major projects right off the get go, you can even rent out some of the rooms in the SFH to start generating income. #househacking

Hi Peter, 

Are you and your wife currently living in the US? You should still be filing tax returns here and you may be able to use your taxes to qualify for a loan. 

The first thing that comes to mind is a bank statement loan. There are 3, 12, and 24 month bank statement programs and this may be a solution for your situation. 

hope this helps 

Thank you Danielle, 

I need to dive into the numbers more to see what makes sense. I appreciate the input. 

I will be a first time homebuyer this year. I am wondering if anyone has ever leveraged the 3% down payment as a way to partner with an investor. I would still occupy the residence as my primary, but I would operate the property as an a rental. Would allow an investor to acquire a property for only 3% down.

My thinking is that I don't have a huge down payment available, so by bringing in a partner with additional capital, I could acquire a more valuable property that may cash flow better. 

How would you negotiate a deal so both myself and an investor would be satisfied?

Should I even consider doing something like this or should I just try to acquire the property on my own?