All Forum Posts by: Benjamin Seibert

That's not a bad way to start. I house hacked for my first property (was just out of college). MD home prices are expensive (depending on where your looking) and it can be hard to find multifamily if you're closer to the DC area. It really depends on your comfort level - I'd talk to your wife and just get an idea of how comfortable she is. She may be completely okay with that - or she may not be happy living that close to someone else and not having much "true separation." Goodluck searching!

Setting up an LLC is pretty straightforward (as long as its set up and maintained properly). You may need to register the LLC with a certain state so it could help to have separate LLCs for each state you're investing in. I'd reach out to some investors in each of those states (through BP) for attorney recommendations for LLCs. They'd be the best contacts. Goodluck

@David Ferrante I was in similiar shoes to you a few years ago. It's doable but helps if you can get some private lending up front for help with closing/rehab or you develop a relationship with a seasoned investor and could partner with them by bringing them a deal and taking a small chunk of equity for some hustle and work. You'd learn a lot through the second method and could develop some great connections.

I went for the route of just developing my network, analyzing properties and learning as much as I could about investing in my free time during college. It helped a ton for after college so I could hit the ground running.

Whichever option you choose I recommend learning as much as possible and analyzing a ton of properties to clearly establish your criteria and know what a good deal looks like. David Greene BRRR book is great if you haven't read it before. Goodluck learning and getting started!

@Ken Alce no problem! If you decide to landlord your house hack you'll want to become acquainted with the landlording and eviction laws in your area. They're usually straighforward but there can be alot depending the city. You'll want to uphold the eviction notices to keep tenants honest and if you give them too much leniency it will just take more time to evict if required to do so (since they're time based and sequential). You can always post the notice and file for eviction without evicting the tenant in the end (always good to be human and work with tenants). But you cant get back lost time so it never hurts to follow the requirements.

@Ken Alce alot of people will self manage house hack properties since they're already living there. It gives a good idea and learning experience for real estate. 

In terms of not hiring a PM until eviction is needed, that's a risky idea. The eviction process is a long process with many steps. Once its time to evict someone, you'll need to follow the correct posting rules with letting them know rent is late, file the eviction with the court and so on. It takes time to get a PM onboarded and all the eviction steps are time sensitive and must occur in sequence. Also, usually PMs have a minimum amount of time in their contract (usually one or two years) so if you fire them before that you pay a penalty.

@Jason Cook it all depends on your market. Usually in areas like this, you'll have higher vacancy and higher capex/repair costs. Almost any property can be a deal - you just have to know what type of deal you're getting and what comes with it. If you're investment criteria includes C/D neighborhoods and these types of properties then this could work for you. You'll really need to focus on having a rockstar PM in rougher areas though. It can lead to some big problems if you have a lazy and bad PM. 

@Helen Lowery congrats on the completed deal!

@Ken Alce unfortunately, the % that you set aside to pay the property manager doesn't cover the actual repairs, those are extra. The % you pay the property manager is for them handling rents, renting out the property to tenants, evictions, etc... (some of those may be extra depending on your PM). In my area I calculate around $300-500 a year per unit for repairs, 10% for PM services and $1200/year for capex on the property per year. I'm pretty familiar with my market and these tend to be what the numbers are for my desired streets. Does that explanation make sense? Let me know if not

@Misael Carlos Vera thanks for the feedback! I sent you a connection.

@Zachary Coombs gotcha - yea some cities can be tough on getting a grandfathered in duplex to work. I invest primarily in Washington County, MD (small multifamily properties). I've been investing for about 3 years now. That's a good book! All the BiggerPockets books are great as well.

@Zachary Coombs congrats on the deal! How is the Chambersburg market? I've always heard the city was harder to deal with than nearby municipalities?