All Forum Posts by: Anthony Swain

Hey @Diego L.,

Potentially a pressure wash like @Scott Mac mentioned. You can use one of those special soap mixes to pretreat, then pressure wash.

Ozone machine?

I read online this recipe haha

mix one teaspoon baking soda, one teaspoon vinegar, ½ teaspoon orange essential oil, and about 5 ounces of hydrogen peroxide

Good luck with it!

Hey @Jake Kinney 

Awesome that you came back to share how your deal is doing and how a BP rockstar helped you on your journey. That is what it is all about.

It sounds like your property is quite the income producing piece of real estate with multiple income sources. Great job managing that!

2) The new Fannie Mae 5% down small multi-family was introduced last November. It is a game changer. Many sellers were skeptical of FHA financing because of all the extra steps. The conventional loan product can help eliminate sellers concerns while still keeping a low down payment.

3) I would just compare your rents versus market rents. If you are a lot lower than potentially consider rent increases. You can include your tenants in this by explaining your market rent findings, rising costs, and giving the tenants an option to suggest a fair rent increase. They may be less resentful this way than if you just blatantly raise it with no explanation. Just my thoughts. 

4) Sometimes faster isn't always wiser. Investors way more experienced than me suggest building a portfolio of high quality properties that produce well instead of a ton of low quality under performing properties. 

Eventually, your property snowball will start building momentum and your efforts will start compounding. 

Keep at it Jake! Keep us updated on how things go.

Anthony

Hey @Joey Navarro,

Thats awesome to hear man! I'm happy I could provide some value to you.

Great decision for taking the leap to house hacking! 

Nobody wants to be the "Big Bad Landlord", but you don't have to be. Be fair. Be honest. Communicate and set expectations. I treat my tenants with the same respect that I would want. Tenants realize this and will more than likely treat your place with more respect.

The property management software makes it all soooo easy and it will set the foundation for you to scale with systems in place. Most of these softwares are very affordable too, especially with limited properties. As a BiggerPockets member you get access to free versions with Stessa & RentRedi. I use Avail and love it! It has state approved leases, background checks, credit reporting, payment processing, maintenance requests, and much more.

Shoot me a DM if you have any other questions or need some more insight into house -hacking. I'm happy to help!

1. Hey @Kevin Duong
2. Amenities and Needs:
   • -Location i.e. close to amenities, parks, business, restaurants, bars.
   • Similar features they would find in comparable rentals. 
   • -Do you want to rent for $1500 or $2500? Look at the rentals of each and determine what features you'll need to command that rent.
   • -Rent by room- I think labeling specific cabinets, fridge shelves, etc. can be helpful to set clear boundaries. Also, set rules for tenants to follow is a must.
3. Needs and Wants:
   • I think you hit the nail on the head. Reliable internet, nicely furnished common area, and in-unit laundry will be more appealing. Always ask yourself, "what would I want to have in a rental"? 
4. Tenant Preferences:
   • I would have clear cut criteria for selecting tenants. This will give you guidelines during your selection process, so you do not discriminate and screen tenants appropriately. 
5. Additional Considerations:
   • Are you a young professional? What would you want? Gear your environment to stand out to your target. Use multiple marketing platforms, so you have a larger tenant pool. You can select the best applicants from that pool.

Good luck with everything! I hope your house hacking is a successful venture for you.

Hey @Scott K.,

Fellow house hacker here. Your situation sounds like a barrel my wife and I will be looking down. Keep that 1st house hack and buy another primary residence (SFH) or sell 1st house hack and use some of those profits for primary/another investment?

Many of the OG investors I know have held for a long-time and now their investments look brilliant with paid off/cash-flowing properties with a ton of equity. It takes patience and its not very sexy, but you can have BIG long term benefits. 

However, to play devil's advocate, you can capture some of that equity upon the sale of your house hack to use for your primary home (future family home) and/or future investments. 

I would calculate your investment as if you were not living in it and evaluate the cash on cash return/overall return on investment. 

If it makes sense to hold, then you can save up enough to afford a new primary without selling. If it makes sense to sell, then you can use your profit to fund primary/future investments. 

Consult with a real estate focused CPA to discuss your options in greater detail as @Mike Teri wisely mentioned. 

Lastly, remember, "Happy wife, happy life" haha. It is important to make sure she is on board, so your relationship doesn't meet hardship. 

Keep us updated Scott.

-Ant

 Amazing! I'm so happy to hear you found my words encouraging. 

Also, that is exciting you are motivated and taking action with KW! I agree. If you're interested in real estate, then a position like this will certainly give you more valuable experience versus a "coffee shop or serving". 

Good luck with it Jessica! 

Hey @Donald Brown!

Fellow house hacker here. Where are your investments located? It seems like you've made two saavy investments already.  A property that is cash flowing and has significant equity and another that you're house hacking to only have $1,100 out of pocket. That is a GREAT position. 

I think you should do some self-reflection and really contemplate your investment goals. You stated, "I want to continue building assets to create family wealth, retire early, and enjoy life". 

Maybe you don't want to build the next great real estate empire, but continue purchasing more saavy investments every couple of years. If you bought another cash flowing property every other year, then in ten years you will have an additional five cash flowing properties. These properties would be building equity, amortizing loans, appreciating, and cash-flowing. 

I think you are definitely on the right track, but I think your next moves depend on how aggressive you want to be. You can certainly use some of that equity, HELOC, CCs, or other funding options to purchase more properties. You can probably do multiple if you found GREAT deals. That is ultimately your decision.

There is only so much time in a day, week, month, year, so remember your focus will need to be divided up between real estate investing, family, and enjoying life. That is something many don't talk about. 

Don't forget to take a step back and appreciate how far you've come. Good luck with your future investments Donald!

Hey @Jessica Eden,

Here to provide you support and encouragement!

It takes courage to be so open and transparent. Do not be ashamed for your honest work, but your income doesn't have to be your limiting factor. I'd encourage you to keep exploring other income ideas. As @Kevin Sobilo pointed out, maybe an additional career in real estate could increase your income while giving you applicable real estate knowledge. It doesn't have to be full time either. You can build that career around your salon business if need be.

I would potentially put a pause on the real estate investing, because it can be very capital intensive and I would not want you to be in a difficult situation immediately on your first investment. 

During this time, you can focus on your own personal growth, increasing income/savings rate, and adding to your down payment/investment fund. 

@Sarita Scherpereel makes a valuable point. Maybe you can meet with a lender to go over your financial position and what you can do to position yourself to qualify for the type of house hack you desire.

Jessica, no one will believe in you more than you. Build that confidence and faith in yourself. You can do this! 

Take things one step at a time and surround yourself with the people you aspire to be like. They will help push you in the direction you want to go. 

Good luck with everything! Drop in again and let us know how you are doing :)

Hey @Michael Shea,

I'm not native of San Diego, but I have loved it there while visiting. I don't know if you follow Rich Somers, but he shares a lot of great info on San Diego & ADUs. He is very bullish on them as many others are!

I know of a few ADU facebook groups that seem to be a wealth of knowledge for people building them or intending to build. People share their stories and post their questions. That could be really beneficial to connect with some others that are already doing it.

It is good that you are doing research for the regulations of the different cities. It would be a huge mistake to not factor that into your decisions. You will be house hacking, so ask yourself "Is this somewhere I would like to live?"  You will be living there for some period of time, so I think it is important to think about that too. 

Good luck Michael. Keep us posted on how it goes for you!

Hey @Leah Miller!

I'm stoked for you to embark on this house hacking venture. House hacking makes high cost of living cities possible for home ownership and albeit with a lot of wealth building potential. 

You'll benefit from appreciation and more loan amortization over time. Double bonus if you can rent out enough units or spaces to completely cover your cost of living. 

As far as loan differences, I'd connect with an investor friendly lender to go over the pros & cons of FHA (3.5%) & Conventional (5%) if you want to go traditional financing route.

Off the cuff, FHA can be difficult with appraisals, sellers willingness, self-sufficiency test, life time PMI, & FHA premium. On the other hand, usually more favorable interest rates, lower down payment, and lower credit scores accepted.

My wife and I used the Fannie Mae conventional 5% loan for our duplex. It was with less headache and more sellers were open to our offers.

Both loan products you mentioned don't allow a five unit property. Only (1-4).

Good luck Leah! Reach out if you have any questions. I'm happy to help!