All Forum Posts by: Anthony Cote

Thank you for the reply, and just to answer your questions: "...when you say rental income - do you mean living in the house while you do renovations and house hacking" - I will be living in the home and trying to rent out the other two rooms after major renovations are finished. Maybe I could rent one room out while they are being done but I don't know how bad the renovations will be. The home really does not look that bad on the inside or outside and I feel like it has good value (i.e. 3 bedrooms, hardwood floors, clean walls, large parking area). Plumbing and the roof is suspect, but the foundation seems OK based on what I've heard.

I guess I feel like I need the rental income as my business failed recently and I have no income coming in. My plan until it changes is to buy the property and live there while working to pay off renovations. Perhaps in one years time after everything is fixed things will start to stabilize for me and I can look in to a second property. 

I also have $21000 in debt which I can also pay off immediately before thinking of buying a property. If I go this route I will simply work for a year until I have a decent loan to invest with. 

Ultimately I am very new to this however I do not consider myself at the investing stage yet - more so looking for stability in my life before I can start investing with mortgages. I intend to actually invest with a mortgage on my second property only if I do go through with buying this one with cash.

I do appreciate all feedback as this is probably my biggest financial decision to date - if you strongly disagree or agree with my plan PLEASE let me know as I need to make a decision soon.

Thanks!

Hello,

I'm in my late 20's and live in British Columbia, Canada, and for the past couple of weeks I have seriously been thinking of buying my first home. I only have about $60000 CAD in cash and the house I want is approximately $50000 CAD. The house was built in 1920 but has had a few renovations since.

My question is that do you feel I am rushing in to this? 

The cash I currently have is essentially my life savings and I do not want a mortgage. On the positive side, I feel that if I can buy this thing whole and stick with it for a year or so (renovating along the way), I will have a solid foundation for a real estate career. It will also cut off my biggest expense (rent) and also bring in rental income. Banks will not typically lend for a home such as this for various reasons, and I do not mind as I do have the cash for it.

On the negative side, I do not know what to expect in regards with initial repairs, and being a 100 year old home there are bound to be more problems down the road. My biggest fear is that there will be some very expensive repairs that an appraiser will not pick up (i.e. lots of mold in the walls and roof, lead paint issues, plumbing needs a complete redo, etc.) and push me well over my initial budget to maybe double or triple what I pay for. I do expect repairs as this is a very cheap home, but I am wondering if it is worth it really and do not want to get stuck with an old burden home for years.

My other option is to wait another year and search for a newer home without large potential repairs. I could tough it out and just buy it with an open mind but would like to hear from you first for some guidance. I rather avoid a disaster if I can.

Thanks!