All Forum Posts by: Bijan Gavahi

I am just starting out and don't have a lot of money saved up. I found a great 4 bedroom place that was fully remodeled at a great price. I can only put down 5% for a conventional loan.

I want to house hack it and live in one room and rent out the others. If I do that, I could easily make money on it. Even if I rent out one room, I will be able to make payments pretty easily. 

All my friends and family say that I shouldn't do it because if I can't rent out a room, I am digging myself in a huge hole. That is true, I can't afford it if I don't have roommates. Should I take the chance or wait till I have more money for a downpayment before I do something like this (which would be like 3 more years)?

I looked at a property yesterday that had a basement apartment with potential to be a Mother In Law Suite, a kitchen area or kitchenette would need to be installed. I looked at it yesterday and it was definitely a fixer upper. It had holes in the walls, all the banisters were ripped out, sliding glass door for the backyard needs to be replaced, needs new tiling in the kitchen, needs new toilets and sinks, all the cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms need to be replaced, and needs new carpet and paint. And the only way to access the mother in law suite is through the house or the through the backyard which has no entrance other than through the house (it's a town house so I can't walk around the house to the entrance since all the houses are connected).

From what I can see, the house has good bones and foundation so it has a lot of potential. This would be would be my first endeavor at house hacking and BRRRR so i knew it would be hard work but I don't know how much I should try to take on for my first property. My real estate agent just messaged me telling my they are willing to drop the price from $250k to $235k and throw in new paint and carpet if I take it.

The area is okay, I would say it is like in the middle of a B level and C level neighborhood, but it is not in high demand so finding tenants might be an issue. My main question is...do you think it would be a good investment? I would want to live in the basement to house hack it, but with all the repairs I would have to do and all the unknown issues as well, do you think I could realistically see a return on my investment?

I was hoping to get a multi-family home or find a house with a mother in-law suite in my area, Salt Lake City, but I don't have much savings and the costs of those homes are too much. So I thought I could get a single family home and rent out a couple of the rooms. My big issue is that I own a small dog. I have a pitbull / dachshund who is basically family. He keeps to himself but I don't know if that is going to make it harder for me to find roommates or rentals

So I want to get my first property and do a house hack. I am in Salt Lake city and the highest I can get for a duplex is $300,000 which is great but some of the nicer duplexes are $350,000 or higher. A lender i spoke with said that if I didn't have my car payment, he would be able to offer me a higher loan.

I only have $7000 left on my car loan with zero percent interest so I probably shouldn't refinance. I pay $279 a month and will be done in about 2 years. I did take a second job and working on reducing that to half the time or less.

I had an idea though. I have good credit and thought I could find a card with low interest rates or one with 0% interest for the first year. If i put my remaining loan on that card, I would have lower mandatory monthly payments which would mean I could get a better house loan. I still would pay it off within a year but lenders look at the mandatory payments usually.

Is this a good idea or what are the problems I am not seeing?

So I want to get into rental property investing and I really want to get into house hacking so I can understand the business of it. The problem is that I currently rent my apartment and the lease is not up until May 2021. 

Should I wait until my lease is almost up or should I try to find something now and try to sublet my apartment? I have never sublet my apartment before and technically my apartment complex does not allow it...I would have to claim the person is my new roommate.

If I waited, I can probably save up money and get a little bit better property, but if a great deal comes by, I dont want to miss it.

I'm a newbie and I'm looking at different banks and credit unions to find the best loan option. I'm going through but I see options for home loans or personal loans. I'm not sure if I should be applying for a home loan because it is a home I'm purchasing or a personal loan since I plan to use it for business purposes.

Any experienced investors can help me out?

I signed up to attend the recent free webinar "How a Newbie Can Start Building Wealth Through Real Estate" but I had to work when it was on. In the description it said that if I missed it I could still watch a recording later on. Where can I watch the recording? I cant seem to find it.

I told my brother that I want to start investing in rental properties. I told him I am reading books and going on forums about the subject. I even told him I want to do a house hack property when my lease at my apartment is up.

He lives in California and has a Turn Key property he rents out in San Antonio. He told me he didn't really do any research before he bought it. He has a woman he pays $60 a month to collect the rent and check on the property and he knows a contractor in the area that does his repairs. He said he is basically making about $350 a month from it.

He wants me to combine our savings together and go into a property here in Salt Lake City. He likes the idea of a multi family property, we can rent out the rooms and when my lease is up, I could live there.

My brother wants to do this right away and he doesnt think that I need to keep on reading books and such...that I just need to do it. Since he is currently doing it, he said he could answer all the questions that I have on it.

I am wary because I dont think he and I have the same goals in mind. I want to do my research ahead of time and fully understand what I am investing in. I think he thinks this is just a way to make some side income.

Do you guys think I should invest with him?

Thank you, I completely agree with you, Cherie. I want to start off with House Hacking then move onto buying and renting single family homes to rent. I currently rent in an apartment complex so when my lease is up next May, I want to buy a triplex or four-plex (if I'm lucky) to start house Hacking. After about 2 years of that, I want to start buying single family homes to rent out as well. Ideally, I want to keep on buying and renting properties until I can make at least $5000 a month.

I will definitely look into my local market. It is never too early to start observing trends and seeing what raises and lower prices in a property. 

Thank you again

I have read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and I am currently reading/listening to "The audiobook on Rental Property Investing" by Brandon Turner. I am in love with the idea of Rental Property Investing. I am only on chapter 5 of Brandon's book but I love it.

He suggested in his book that I get on the Bigger Pockets forums early. I want to learn as much as I can and read as many books on the subject there is. I don't plan to buy any properties right away (hopefully next year), but I want to get started early. I don't plan to quit my job, but my goal is to make enough to match my monthly income from that job. 

I am Salt Lake City, UT and any guidance or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you