All Forum Posts by: Blisseth Sy

PS Interest rate on the $680K loan is 3.125%; I have paid off $48K of the principle and have $631.8K left on the loan. Per month, $1260 of principal is paid and $1650 of interest is paid.

More about the property: it is 3bd/2ba upstairs and a finished basement downstairs (~700 sq ft). My idea was to live upstairs, maybe rent 1 bdrm for $1250/mo (util included); and rent the downstairs for $1750-$1800/mo (all utilities included). House has solar panels so PGE in non-winter runs at $30 max.

My idea originally when I was single was to keep living in this property until it appreciated enough (eg 5 to 10 yrs) to sell it.

However, I realized that the air ducts and soundproofing of the top part of house vs bottom part of house makes it such that it's not a great rental as the way I described. The bottom tenant's noises and smells (eg cooking) come up to top floor. Thus, it makes more sense to rent the house as a single unit. Which makes the profitability of the house much less than what I thought it would be when I bought it.

Cost to improve sound proofing and separate air ducting would be quite large, given BayArea contractors' costs.

Thank you so much Allan! I will DM you. 

Hi all,

I am a Newbie first-time homebuyer/landlord here, hoping for some wisdom from the community.

I bought my first primary residence in Nov 2021 for $850K (20% downpayment) in San Pablo, California. I lived in it for 2 yrs. Then started renting it out last year 2023 November for $4700/month (renter pays all utilities) due to life situation change (moving in with my bf). I have priced the property according to comparable homes in the area.

My question: should I sell the house b/c it doesn't seem profitable?

More details:

Mortgage (principal + interest): $2930/mo

Property taxes: $15K/year

Home insurance: ~$1K/yr

Cost of home ownership/month: $4280/yr (not counting for any tax deductions related to the interest and property tax)

If I account for $20K of interest and $10K of property taxes as an income deduction, then I can reduce the cost by ($30K x 35%) divided by 12 = $875 per month = $3400/mo cost of owning the house

Rental income after 35% federal income tax + 9.3% state income tax = $2618/month (!!)

SO, I am paying $782/mo to rent my house to the renters (not including any maintenance costs)!

I have not factored in depreciation yet.

Am I thinking about this correctly?

Seems like I should offload this property as soon as I can recoup the purchase + real estate fees + closing costs? Or should I not even wait for that (eg the opportunity cost of my $200K now in equity could be spent elsewhere)?

Currently the house is valued at $805K according to Zillow (vs the $850K that I "bought" it for).

Thank you in advance for your input!

Newbie first time home buyer and first time landlord.

Greetings all, I'd really love your input: I rent currently but have been in the market to buy in SF Bay my first residence. I was considering:

1 - small ~750 sq ft condo (just me) - pro's: smaller input (~$110K downpayment + closing costs)

2- larger townhouse or SFH that is more space than I need, to have 1 housemate help defray monthly payment costs (con's: shared living space with renter)

3 - duplex or SFH with ADU/in-law where I live in one unit and rent the other unit (pro's: no shared space with tenant; con: shared wall/yard; close proximity with tenant; larger input required - eg $200K-$250K downpayment + closing costs) + repairs if needed)

I did not expect my first ever offer on a property was accepted today and now I need to decide if I want to live in scenario #3 above. The property is summarized as follows and I would REALLY APPRECIATE any comments here re: what I need to ascertain to understand if this is a good setup as a live-in rental/house-hack!

3bd/2b upstairs, 1400 sq ft with attached 2-car garage; stairs lead to finished basement

finished basement: 900 sq ft, 1bd/1ba where bedroom doesn't have closets; but is fairly large space

heating/cooling control: not sure if top/bottom have separate controls

meters (gas/water/electric): just 1 for whole house

Location: schools are 4/3 rating, but on top of a hill with Bay Views. 0.5 mi from 80E freeway (one downside is you hear freeway from yards but not from inside house)

accepted offer price: $906K with 20.5% down, requires $9K of dry rot repairs, and $5-$15K to move washer/dryer connection lines into garage so that both top and bottom units have laundry access.  

Monthly PITI: $4500 based on 3.4% interest and 20.5% downpayment

Rent potential for 3bd/2ba upstairs (1400sq ft) w shared garage and front yard: $3K-$3.2K

Rent potential of 1bd/1ba (900 sq ft) w shared garage and access to backyard yard: $1.8K-2K

I am leaning to live upstairs and rent out downstairs so I would pay $2500/mo to live on my own upstairs. Upstairs has a bay view and access to front yard.

 I also have option to rent out a room if I want if I live upstairs.

WHat do I need to address to know if this is a good househack? 

Greetings. I'm in SF Bay and new to real estate and house hacking. I am looking to buy a first property to live in and rent out space w separate entrance. Which is better: take a place like this and add walls/separate entry to carve out a rental unit or build an ADU in the yard?

https://www.redfin.com/CA/Pino...