All Forum Posts by: Amanda Blain

Hi Matthew the LLC will protect you from being personally liable if something should happen at one of your properties. If you're not protected with the LLC, are you willing to take on the personal risk? The LLC may or may not give you an advantage with a lender depending on your goal (I've heard both positive & negative) so I would ask your lender specifically what they recommend and why/why not.

I would think going the duplex route would be positive in most cases if only for saving your personal living expenses. Rates in my area are quite low right now but still have to compare - have you tried "shopping" smaller local lenders that might be more willing to work with you and may offer to cover some closing expenses? You might also ask about first time home buyer credits. Can you save cash to use towards a downpayment to help you get a better rate?

Hi Duncan what is your goal with getting into real estate and what can you "live" with for your own living situation? As you've laid out these are all good options with different outcomes. Option 1 might be considered less of an asset and more of a liability depending on your own income, local market, and timeline you plan to live there. Option 2 is a great way to house hack starting out and learn what it's like to be a landlord if you plan to build your portfolio with rentals. Option 3 generally gets you a boost of cash faster than rentals but do need to consider capital gains tax.

Hi Steve it sounds like your real estate knowledge would help you find good deals. When you find one you might consider "house hacking" a duplex so you have 1 side to live in yourself taking advantage of first time homeowner credits, and the other side to rent out so you can learn the process of being a landlord. It helped me a lot once I got my systems in place as a landlord - then it was less work and easier to manage.

Numbers aren't my strong point yet - looking for guidance on a foreclosure we got for cash. I'm assuming 1/3 partnership, deciding: flip or finance to hold myself...

Partner does not want to hold so I would need to consider that payout if I were to refinance to hold on my own.

Purchase cash 29,500

Est rehab 25k

All in round to 55k

Est ARV 80k

Potential rental income $850

Would appreciate any feedback!