All Forum Posts by: Chad Lewis

@CherTong Her

I may be late to the conversation, but there's something that I think hasn't been specifically mentioned yet. Will the property cash flow if you weren't an owner-occupant? 

Let's say you purchase the property to "house hack" but the rent from the other unit doesn't fully cover the mortgage. I think others have a good point in suggesting that significantly reducing your monthly living expense, even if it's not to zero or less, is a plus. What I haven't seen in this thread yet is an analysis of the numbers after your FHA-required year in residence. What if you finish your FHA year in the property, then rent both units? Will the property cash flow at that time?

I think that's possibly a more important question.

@Cheryl Vargas thank you! I'm glad to be here. As for the property you're referring to, I'm still in the "financial runway" period where I'm just focusing as much as possible on saving and learning. Without having to get too creative, the plan is to save enough for a down payment with an FHA loan 12 to 18 months from now.

That's great to know about the meetup, thank you! Looks promising. 

@Brian Burke interesting, I suppose that makes sense though. Good info. 

@Csilla Veress thank you! I’m learning SO much already. It seems like a great community.

Regarding the coffee, I would certainly be interested in meeting other like-minded people. 

Thank you @Brian Burke! I have put those three episodes on my list and will listen to them after the one I'm currently on! That's awesome you're from this area too. My girlfriend and I just drove through Coffey Park this evening (we were coming from my parents' house a few blocks away from there) and remarked on the amazing progress that has been made on rebuilding after the fires. What is the investment market like in that area considering what's happened? I know many of the properties were approved to include granny units in the rebuild process - something my girlfriend and I would certainly be interested in.

Anyway, thanks for the welcome!

Hello everyone! My name is Chad Lewis and I'm from Sonoma County, California (currently living in Rohnert Park with roots in Santa Rosa). I work for Bamtech Media as an Associate Software Engineer, which I absolutely love and am learning a ton every day. 

I have always been interested in real estate and have generally understood its opportunities for building wealth, but I have only recently caught the "real estate bug" and become focused and COMMITTED to investing in my financial freedom and education via real estate investment. 

A friend of mine (who is an active investor) suggested that I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki to begin my journey - and WOW, did that really light a fire under me! Since finishing that and getting a better understanding of some of the psychology behind building wealth, my friend suggested I read The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner. I started it a day and a half ago and am 150 pages in and even more committed than I was before! Thank you Brandon for what is so far a fantastic and educational read. 

Aside from reading, I've been listening to the BP podcast religiously during my commute to and from work, and bouncing ideas off my partner (she's is on-board, thankfully!) when we have free time together. 

As for now, my sights have narrowed on House Hacking, as that seems to be the best option for both myself and my partner at this time in our lives (considering our living needs, our expenses/liabilities, and current lack of significant capital). My plan is to live more frugally while setting aside as much as possible over the next year to 18 months before making my first deal. During that time I will absolutely be continuing to educate myself and my partner and gaining as much knowledge as possible. 

Thank you in advance to the community for any welcomes and advice/suggestions! I am absolutely open to advice and it is more than appreciated. Also, if you live in my area, please reach out and let me know! I'd love to say hi and talk about this particular area with respect to real estate investing.