All Forum Posts by: Ben Franta

Hey all,

So it has been about 4-5 months since I started searching for a multifamily property in Stark or Summit county Ohio that would make sense to house hack. All this time I haven't had any luck finding a 2-4 unit property that isn't already in the grips of several investors. I have very limited funds so I am not a cash buyer which makes it even tougher to get the ball rolling on any opportunity that comes up. It seems like my only options are to find home path properties. I have even been searching for single family fixer uppers as well with no such luck. Maybe the market just isn't there right now OR maybe I have the wrong strategy (searching MLS, craigslist, realtor.com, zillow - find something then contacting my agent)

*Our ultimate goal is to reduce our eliminate our current $850 mortgage payment*

Multi-family approach:

1. currently pre-approved for 130k
2. find something around 100k and fix up the essentials leveraging a 203k streamline loan
3. live in one unit and use the rental income to cover mortgage and expenses
4. most active duplexes are asking 150-165k with rent being in the $600's per side which would never make sense for us to do numbers wise

Single Family apporach:

1. same as multi but we want to end up with no more than 75k loan which would leave us with a comfortable mortgage payment (since this would not be an income producing property)
2. seeking forclosures/home path properties

Would you have another strategy?  

Thanks for any help! 

Sad ceiling fan.... 

Selling our SFR and purchasing MFR to house hack at the same time all while partially maintaining sanity!

@Amit Friedlander  

basic things to look out for when dealing with old houses in my area:

-asbestos wrap/tile (some old houses have asbestos in the plaster, ceiling and floor tiles) 

-foundation / grading (look for cracks in the foundation and low spots in the yard that could cause water penetration)  My neighbor has to rebuild one of their basement walls (huge expense)   

-up-to-date capital expense items (hvac, plumbing, electrical, roof, siding etc.)

Akron area:

Since I have worked here (2012 - present), it does look like they are making some gradual improvements - a lot of construction going on which can be a good sign of growth.  They have been knocking down abandoned buildings and renovating existing ones as well.   

Hey all,

I am currently searching for a 2-4 unit multifamily in NE Ohio (Summit/Stark County).

Current situation:

-Own SF home in Cuyahoga Falls // FHA 30 Year Term Loan

Goal:

-Eliminate mortgage payment by selling SF and moving into 2-4 unit multifamily.

Why?

Just had our firstborn and trying to see if my wife can stay at home instead of spending 90% of her income on daycare.

We have owned a duplex in the past and have lived in one side but I failed to plan for this scenario when we sold our duplex and moved into SF. Looking back, I learned that I really didn't make that great of a deal on the duplex. Luckily we were able to sell it fast and were able to get out without losing money. I wish we could stay where we are at but I cannot think of another viable option at this point. Our monthly income loss will be around 1,200. Our current mortgage is 850, so if we eliminate that, we are really close to breaking even. I have been in contact with a local realtor and got pre-approved for mid to upper 100's budget. Credit score is around mid 700's. What I lack is capital for down payment so I would have to sell our place to leverage an FHA loan again. What would you do?

Ben          

Hey Amit, welcome to BP. I actually live in cuyahoga falls. I just moved here this year so i only know a little bit of history. The houses are pretty old and can have some structural issues. My house is like 2 houses in one. The original section was built in 1923 then an addition was added on. There were some traces of asbestos in the original section - not to mention the floor joists look like 2x4's! I have heard that is very common in the homes around here. I also know there have been some drainage issues as many neighbors have complained about their drains backing up (mine does as well and floods my garage - yay!) Other than that, this area is pretty attractive for most people in the canton/akron area. The houses here are very unique and small (easy to maintain if they have been somewhat taken care of). Takes me about 5 minutes to mow the yard! My friend lived in cuyahoga falls for almost 10 years and noticed a lot of sf homes being converted to rentals. The opportunity should still be there. Let me know if you have any other questions about this area. I also work in downtown akron.

Thanks for the tip @Steve Babiak!  

Thanks for all the helpful info @Melissa Nevich I just watched a video tutorial on the BP calculators. When did you get a PRO subscription for that tool?  I am thinking I would not get much use out of it for getting our 1st property (which will probably be an owner occupied). 

Did you do it the old school way for your first property and then start using the BP tools to grow? 

I have never heard of those other websites you mentioned so I am looking forward to checking those out! 

@Melissa N.

Hey all!  

I am 29 years old and currently live in NE Ohio.  I do not have much to offer you guys for I am just a rookie investor right now. I have 2 college degrees which I am proud of but they really did not teach me anything about creating wealth - which I am now finding is pretty important in the real world! 

My super short investing history:  My wife and I went from paying rent in an apartment to an Owner Occupied duplex (which we lived in for 14 months) to currently a traditional single family home.  Our plans were to keep our duplex and then move into a single family home until I discovered lenders would need us to have 6 months of mortgage payments in reserve in our bank account for our duplex AND the single family home.  The rent from our tenants in our duplex only offset the mortgage payment by a little more than half (totaling about the same as we were paying in the apartment) so we really didn't have the opportunity to set aside money for the future (oops!).  If I could go back in time, I would have been searching for a better deal or a 3-4 unit property to help cover the mortgage payments and help us better manage the property while being able to save some money as well.  

Current situation:  So we are now in a single family home, nothing fancy but the mortgage is even more than our apt and duplex (great spot to be in, right!? HA).  We just added a new member to our family (baby boy) and we are trying to see if my wife can stay at home to watch our newborn.  Childcare would completely consume her current job income so it would not make sense for her to go back to her job.  In the meantime, I am working full-time while figuring out options to dig ourselves out of a few not so great financial decision holes!

Goal:  Move into a multifamily property that would at least cover the entire mortgage payment.  Eliminate outstanding debts/save money and keep working out the flabby financial muscle part of my brain!

What would you do? 

Glad I found this place!

Ben