All Forum Posts by: Carlos Valencia

Hi Hayden, 

I would say the stock market can be a little bit more volatile but based on the data and history both tend to recover. What I've learned so far is that investing is a long term game and not a get rich quick scheme lol. I think why not invest in both and diversify. If you can I would do both. Real estate investing can be time consuming and hard work especially in the beginning but once you do a few deals it will get easier and you will learn ways to make your real estate investing much easier. But until then it will take time and work. You can also try looking into syndication deals that's where people basically invest money on a deal like an large multifamily deal that has x amount of units and a group of people come together and put their money in that deal and have someone manage the deal to make sure its profitable. I would suggest to try and look into syndication deals but be careful as some are not that great in your return. Make sure you do your due diligence when looking into syndicating.

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan

Hi Jason, 

Yes you can use hard money but you will also need 20-25% down plus 6-12 months reserves depending on experience. Your rate will also be high and maybe 2-3 points cost. If your new it can be very expensive. Many DSCR loans don't allow for gift funds as its meant for investment properties so that can be a challenge when it comes to finding partners to help you fund this deal. You would have to season the money in your account or have them be on the loan with you. If the rehab isn't that extensive meaning you can live in the triplex you can also try financing as conventional if you qualify as you would only need 5% down. This way you can live in one unit and rehab slowly and not having to rush as you have a locked rate unlike when using hard money its only typically good for 12 months depending on your terms. Once you complete your rehab you can move out and rent out that last unit. Rinse and repeat.

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan

Hi Aidan, 

House Hacking is our specialty, majority of our clients start with house hacking and our team also house hacks. Happy to answer any questions you may have about this strategy. Quick tips don't max out on your first property make sure you can at least break even once leaving that property or be negative as little as possible. The key is to make sure you can also get the max rent from your property and one way to accomplish that is to rent by the room instead of renting out the whole house to a family. In order to rent out by the room you will also have to make your property marketable for to rent out by room and this means location will be key as well. There's many ways to plan to make this work first thing is to find out how much you can qualify for and what are rents going for in your market. 

@Albert Bui

Wow Dhruv I just went to a meetup that hosted a speaker and was sharing how Ohio is a great market to invest right now because you can actually cashflow. He did mentioned to look for off market deals and thats usually the case when finding these potential Cash flowing deals. Just like anything else right the goal is to buy as low as possible and sell it for higher or in this case be able to rent something and get monthly cashflow. If it was only that easy right? 

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan

Hi Kevin, 

it seems like your off to great start. That's always great when you accidentally stumble on something great especially in real estate. I would leave your current house and rent it out completely. Many people rent theres out by the room to get the most rent out of their property instead of renting to family because theres only so much you can get on rents when a family lives there. Take your savings and try to find another home to house hack with 3.5% -5% down and rinse and repeat. Many people use this strategy as it seems to be the least risky. You can use your rents to help qualify from the current house if you leave but only 75% of the rents the other 25% is used for vacancy thats why they dont allow full 100% to be used for income. Once you file your taxes with that rental then you can use 100% of the net after expenses. Sometimes it can be positive and sometimes it can be negative it all depends on how you do your tax planning for when you file taxes. 

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan

HI Jeet, 

Thank you for providing a simple and clear explanation on this whole NAR settlement. All this media confusing everyone and leaving all the important details is so frustrating that people are jumping into conclusion before really looking at all the details. All this means is just make sure you are an expert realtor and know what your doing to make sure you deliver the best service to your clients and standout from everyone else. Not that you didn't before but now more than ever.

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan

Hi Cody, 

Continue to network with like minded individuals in your local area as well in the BP community. Learn as much as you can from their scenarios and study the markets you would like to get started investing in. Highly recommend your current area where you live. To keep it simple if you have good credit and a decent amount of assets this will depend on your market on the amount needed but try to always have access to a good amount. Lastly make sure you have a high income if possible to help fund those assets asap so you can have flexibility when entering the real estate investing world. By having those 3 areas covered you will have more opportunities on what you can and cannot do. 

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan

Hi Ken, 

Those are some great points thank you for sharing. I agree with you not real estate investing is not an absolute meaning that what may have worked for one person doesn't mean it will work for you. There's so many moving parts in this business that just by removing or adding one of those steps or items can change the scenario completely to good or bad thing. Everything people read on BP should be taken like a grain of salt and do reach out to experts and get the real answer for their scenario to make sure they get the most accurate solution. Pros and Cons when it comes to anything Real Estate. 

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan

Hi Nora, 

Real Estate investing can be messy. You have to be ready to accept the risk and see if its worth the benefit every time you make any decision about investing. Also this is a long game not a get rich quick scheme. If you are thinking of starting out out of state it seems like you have done your homework on what you need to look out for and how to go about it. 

Many of our investors we work with usually start off with house hacking which is the strategy where you buy a home as a primary and rent out the rooms or units to help pay the mortgage and the goal is to add value and while living there and move out and either cash flow or break even in order to go acquire the next one. By buying as primary it allows you to get a loan that is fixed for 30 yrs and it will have the least cost meaning rate. Rates are much cheaper when purchasing as owner occupied. 

You can buy a home as an investment but it will be like a 1% higher plus you will need to out 20%-25% down. If you have enough assets to go this route that's definitely an option. You just need to ask yourself of thats the best use of your money or is it better to purchase as owner occupied and only put 3.5% -5% down and use the rest of the money to work somewhere else. 

I would say to attend local real estate meetups in your area and talk to more investors and ask them questions to learn from their mistakes and possibly meet a mentor while there. Good luck with your real estate investing journey. 

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan 

We deal with this scenario all the time with getting lease agreements from our clients as that is our main niche working with investors who buy 1-4 units as rentals. Calculating rental income and providing lease agreements is nothing new for us. Let me know if you have any other questions.