All Forum Posts by: Brandon Rush

Date, Time & Location: December 15, 2022 | 5:30pm-8:30pm
Belvedere Cafe and Restaurant 82 Broad Street, New Britain, CT 06053
**Registration Required:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/4...

Topic of Discussion:

Join us for a year in review with some of the 2022 NEI guest speakers. Our past guests will be coming back to share what they learned in 2022 and some of their predictions and advice for 2023

Interested or currently involved in real estate and looking to surround yourself with like minded individuals? We welcome you to join us for our monthly real estate investor meetups in New Britain CT. This meetup is free and open to all who have some form of a connection to real estate or just looking to learn more.

Our meetups take place every third Thursday of the month and this will be our final meetup at Belvedere Café and Restaurant. We will be moving to a new location starting January 2023 that will be announced soon. Street parking is free after 5pm. Generally we socialize & network for the first 30-45 minutes, followed by introductions, then we get into our monthly topic of discussion.

There will be a charge for this event which includes a Polish buffet. Come out, unwind and treat yourself to some amazing Polish cuisine.

Hey Hariharan,

When I first started house hacking, I had the same idea of needed to make a profit while living there. As I found out, the goal is not necessarily to live for free. It's really to lower your living expenses while also owning property. There is no golden rule that says if you are paying to live in a house hack it is not a good deal. If you are house hacking and turning a profit, that is just icing on the cake in my opinion, especially with where prices currently are. 

When it comes to house hacking, my two main goals are to significantly lower my living expenses and to make sure the property will cash flow once I leave (which I feel is more important). 

How much would it hurt you if you had to pay $50, $100 or even $500 to house hack vs paying $1,200 , $1,500 or $2,000 a month for a rental that you do not own?

Hope that is helpful! Good luck.

 Happy Thanksgiving Ruben,

To help with your questions:

1) Yes you can. If you are signing them into a new lease, it is the equivalent of brining them on as a new tenant. You may want to check you landlord/tenant laws to be 100% sure. But over here in CT, this is not a problem.

2) I typically give tenants notice of a rent increase 60 days in advance and request that they accept and sign the new lease 45 days before the current lease ends. Waiting until the last second could result in tenants not vacating in a timely manner and you losing money. Also, giving the notice super late may throw the tenant for a loop as they may feel their back is against the wall with limited time to make a decision. In your case, get them to sign the new lease ASAP.

3) Another one where you would have to check your local laws. But, what I do is send them a summary notice at first explaining all that will be changing such as a new lease, the amount and the security deposit. I have them sign that document first to accept these changes and shortly after follow up with all of the new documents for them to sign. You could just hit them with the new lease at once, but I find it easier to send a summary letter first so they can easily digest the changes coming. 

4) Some landlords will say always deliver your leases in person and some say electronic is fine. I personally send everything electronically. Of course I make tenants initial every page of every document. However, I do see the benefit in taking time to meet with your tenants and review the lease with them. I have had several situations where tenants claimed "I did not know that was part of the lease" and I am sure it was simply because they did not read the electronic version I sent them.

Good luck on your journey!

Hey Elizabeth,

Is your single family nice enough to temporarily turn into a short term or mid term rental while you guys house hacked a multifamily for a year? That's one option. A bit inconvenient but, it's an option. Another option is you guys move into a live and flip with a non FHA 5% down payment option. The optimal opportunity would be to do an FHA 203k loan on a 4 family and refinance. May not be easy to find in your area, but its the unicorn option in my opinion.

Good luck!

Hey Anthony,

I would call them and ask them directly, do they have any intention of their co-worker moving or if it is possible this is something they would request in the future. Unfortunately there is no real way of telling if they will be truthful or not. Hopefully you can feel them out after they answer those questions and make a decision. If the tenant is qualified for the apartment, in the end all you can do is lease it out to them and be very specific in your lease about visitation and other occupants. Also, this is no different than someone who came by themselves with the intention of moving someone else in. It's only on your mind because you saw that other individual. 

Good luck!

 They may be able to help, but it will come at a premium due to the limited time they will have. Unfortunately I could not tell you exactly how it would go if you approached them at the last minute. Hopefully it does not come down to that. You should still reach out and introduce yourself anyway. Tell them about what you are trying to accomplish and see where they can help. This will put you in a better position for the next one. 

Good luck!

Hey Arsh,

Two attorney you can reach out to are:

Joette Trinh of Trinh Law
https://trinh.law/ 

Ben Potok of Potok Law
https://www.potoklaw.com/

Good luck on your acquisition!

Hey Milo,

Personally, I don't think its bad that you would be paying market rent. The question is, what are you trying to achieve here? If you are looking to just acquire a property, then this meets your goal. If you are looking to lower your living expenses, then this may not achieve your goal. But, this is a question you have to ask yourself. The benefit of you picking up this property is 1) You are now paying towards a property you own vs a rental (building equity), 2) You have the option of turning down your expenses a little bit if necessary (PM fee, vacancy fee and etc) 3)This is a temporary arrangement as you can up and move somewhere in a year and still have an investment property afterwards vs renting and having nothing after a year occupying the rental. 

For me personally, I would be more concerned about how the property performs once you leave the property. If you are only cash flowing $40-$80, that's risky business on a property that cost you $400k~. If you told me you were going to live there for the next 5 years, then that's a safer bet in my opinion.

Another thing you may want to consider is to turn the other unit into a short term or mid term rental to increase the income and decrease your living expenses. 

Lastly, with the "High Interest Rates", I actually believe now is a great time to buy. I would not say go out and find the most expensive deal on the market. Instead find a property that has a lower price point due to the increased interest rates. Nice thing is, while you will be paying higher interest now (but at a lower purchase price than 6 months ago), when you refinance, the numbers will look even better. Vs, those (including myself) who bought when prices were high at lower interest rates, who will not be refinances for some time. 

Hope that all helps and good luck on locking in your house hack!

Hey Vivan,

Sorry to hear you are in this situation. Here are a couple of options:

1) Offer to buy you way out of the lease. Inform the landlord of your situation and come up with an amount that you would be willing to pay in order to break the lease. Unfortunately they amount will not be little, but it may not have to be 10 months worth of rent, maybe he/she would be willing to take 3 or 4 months.

2) Continue to pay the rent while you look for a replacement. This may end up being an expensive option, but it's an option. 

Unfortunately your options are limited, especially since you have a signed lease. Just be honest with the landlord of your situation and see what agreement can be worked out. In the end, most landlords do not want to deal with an eviction as it takes time and money on their end. So, it would surprise me if they could not come to some kind of agreement. Good luck!

Hey Drew,

I would recommend you jump on to some of the CT Facebook groups and branch out for wholesalers. Some of those groups include "Wholesaling Houses In Connecticut", "CT RE Investors" and "CT Off Market Real Estate Deals and Funding". Hopefully you can connect with someone there. Also, if you need assistance from an investor friendly agent, give me a shout. Good luck!