All Forum Posts by: Andrew Powers

I like the suggestions about HOW to make it work

BTW, what kind of music do you make / produce?

Yes look at room renting in a single family. Low down payment loan option is 3% conventional first time home buyer loan (single family only). If you don't want roommates you can target a mother in law suite property or something similar. 

Either way make sure you analyze the property including cap ex, repair, vacancy reserves. And have "adequate" cash reserves for unexpected issues.

Definitely keep practicing the numbers! Even if you are using rough estimates, that's ok. As you go along, you can start to narrow your numbers as you find more accurate information. It gets easier the more you practice. 

Each house, city, situation is different but there's some common threads you will start to see as you practice analyzing. I recommend looking at the BP calculator tutorials and also posting your analysis examples to the forums here.. people will give feedback for what looks ok or not!

You can start talking to lenders, they can calculate your DTI (debt to income ratio) which will help them understand if they can loan to you. They can also give recommendations for how to improve your financial scenario to get pre approved more quickly ornfor a higher amount.

It all depends on your DTI (debt to income ratio) ie your current debts and income. Lenders will look at your DTI, employment history, credit score, etc to determine what price house you can qualify for. So talk to multiple lenders, they may have some tips as well to help with getting pre approved more quickly or for a higher amount.

House hacking will reduce or eliminate your housing expenses + tenants/ roommates pay for the mortgage. So theoretically it only helps your debt payment situation as long as the numbers are good on the house.

Either way I recommend renting at least short term in the area you work to determine if you like it there and get familiar with the neighborhoods, then start to look for the house. Definitely plan out and live frugally to reduce that school debt!

Welcome to BP ! Metro Detroit has some great areas to buy. Good luck on the search and feel free to reach out if you have any questions 

For house hacking I would say the goal is to own a property that you pay "little" or no money out of pocket for while living there. "Little" is relative to your market... for example in many California markets, you will pay to live in your  house hack, but your cost of living is reduced significantly. Though in other markets, you can make some cashflow while living there. 

I run the numbers on house hacks like a rental I don't live in. If it works for that, it will often work as a house hack. Make sure you analyze the numbers well by practicing on example properties in your market. The BP calculator works very well!

I recommend to listen to this house hacking podcast with Craig Curelop. Many good tips! https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

I would say to save money for down payment, closing costs,  move in, and have cash reserves for unexpected things. Keep studying rei and learn how to calculate numbers well... practice on example houses in your market. Once you know how the numbers work, you can quickly qualify if a house is worth pursuing or not.

I recommend reaching out to realtors and lenders to introduce yourself and give your rough timeline. They can help point you in the direction of neighborhoods and how much it would take to close on a house, for example. Also reach out to investors in the area to gauge what neighborhoods are good or not.. and drive the streets if your close enough currently!

For exit strategies I recommend reading the BP ultimate beginners guide, it has some good content!

I have a single family house hack I started just before COVID. My roommates practice CDC guidelines and keep to themselves anyways. They don't have guest often. With shared spaces, we keep distance as best as possible. My house is a good layout for room rentals + COVID anyway since each person has their own living space and bathroom.

I would suggest to make it clear in your listing that tenants will follow CDC guidelines. My tenants only have their significant others as guests <4x/month which is fine IMO. 

If SFH house hack, key things to have are good house layout + good tenant screening process + good lease! Common area rules in the lease are very necessary to make things clear up front!

Numbers wise, I look at any house as a rental. If it works without me living there, it will often work as a house hack. Then I narrow down my calculations for house hacking... ie find conservative rent amount per bedroom (look at FB, craigslist in your area) and recalculate. If there's 0 or more cashflow, that's great as you live for free and don't pay rent. If you lose some money every month, then you decide if that's ok for you (if it's still less than what you would pay to rent yourself, it's probably fine as you are still gaining other benefits or owning real estate + learning how to be a landlord. But you decide).

You have to make sure the house has certain layout and features to make it work. If I'm looking for a 4bd/2.5ba house, then I filter my search for 3bd/2ba. There may be extra room to add a bedroom or bathroom. Same principle applies for a smaller house.

Also make sure there's adequate driveway/ street parking for everyone living there.

Go to the search bar in the BP website, there's blogs, posts, etc on the equations for calculating the numbers

Do what you want with the property... I analyze every property as if I wont live there. If it works as a rental, it will likely work as a house hack

If to want to sell it that's fine too... answers to your questions will come from understanding what you want from REI which will help you make choices and decisions