All Forum Posts by: Brandon Rush

Maybe check out Danbury, CT. Prices for a duplex will be in the $330-$360k range and its a little over an hour out. Great location and a growing city which will see some appreciation in years to come. There is also a Metro North station in town you can take into the city.

Thanks Lydina, good luck on finding your first property. One big tip that was given to me which helped a lot was to focus in on a specific market, city/town, and almost down to the street! I was looking all over the place which made it very overwhelming. Once you begin to focus it makes the decision much easier. 

@Jake Didion , congrats. Very motivating when others share their successes here on BP. Good luck on your journey!

I definitely agree with @Dave Foster regarding the return on equity, that's a pretty poor return. You are holding on to lots of money for a very small return. I would suggest selling the property and scaling up to something a bit larger, maybe a small apartment building. With $300k in equity you are potentially looking at a down payment on a $900k+ property. You also have other options such as some private money lending or cash purchases of some auctioned multi-families. 

Basically with $300k, you have lots of options and holding on to that single condo is probably not the best one. 

Good luck!
 

Yes, I had an inspection prior to closing on it. Few things came up with the roof being the biggest issue. The seller covered closing cost so I had some money to put towards the roof in the future. Unfortunately if a property does pop up which has a vacant unit, its going to be you and 20 other people putting in offers with the same idea in mind. You will need to come in strong on the offer, especially if they are MLS properties.

Hey Travis, welcome! I just went through this same process and will be moving into my first house hack in New Britain shortly. My single family should be sold and closed on by the end of the month. I have seen a number of properties popping up in Bristol for sale, have you been putting in any offers?

Another thing to note is banks may look down on the fact that you are selling your SFR and moving into a MFR, especially if you are looking to get some kind benefit of it being owner occupied such as a lower down payment. I actually had to write a motivation letter to the bank giving a reason why I am selling my SFR and moving into a MFR. It guess the letter was good enough since they granted me the mortgage.

If you ever want to chat more about my experience going through this process just shoot me a message and we can chat.

Good luck!

Thank You!

Hey Alex,

Welcome to BP. In my opinion, I would wait until you start school and figure out your house hack from there. Generally with your first home purchase you have better financing options such as low down payment conventional loans (5-10% down). But, remember that low down payments do not make a good deal. Since the market is so hot right now, you run a high risk of jumping into a non-cash flowing property with a high purchase price. I would suggest you wait until you start school, then purchase your first house hack. Since you will be there 2-4 years, you can purchase your house hack in the beginning and stay there after graduating or move on and keep it as a rental. Good luck and let me now if you have any questions. 

Welcome to BP James. My advice would be to start networking in your area to get ideas of how you can enter real estate investing. One thing to know from the start is you only know what you know. The more people you talk with, the greater your "box" of knowledge grows leading to bigger things. Good luck and message me with any questions you may have. 

I third (if that's a term) the house hack option as I am just getting into my first one now. As @Eric S. stated as a first time homeowner, you will have some great options. Outside of the FHA route, you may also be eligible for a 5-10% down conventional loan which will be cheaper in the long run. If you have any questions send me a message. Good luck and enjoy the ride!