All Forum Posts by: Charles Masten

Hello BiggerPockets!

I am currently renting out a house in San Diego, as many of you know the barrier to entry here is so high for those of us starting out. The house I am renting and have been living in for 3 years is owned in full by the owner who bought it back in the 90s. Seller Financing seems like a great option to potentially get into a house hack in my market! What is the best way to approach my landlord and ask if this is something he would be interested in? What are some things I should get together before I ask if he would be open to it?

I know first I need to ask, and then listen to him and what he would like to get out of it or what he needs to get out of it, but as a rookie investor I would greatly appreciate any advice on how to approach this. Thank you so much in advance for your replies, this community is seriously the best!

@Matthew Horstmyer whoever said that was a wise person, I've heard a lot of the same rhetoric and it is so true! Congratulations on closing your first deal that is such a gigantic first step and I am so excited for you! Wishing you all the success and prosperity in your first and future endeavors. Is it in your neighborhood or OOS? 

@Curtis Mears that is very true. I'm beginning to understand I can have both, but good cash flow can lead to great appreciation. Thank you very much for your insight, I truly appreciate it.

@Zachary Beach that was my mistake, thinking I couldn't have one without the other. Thank you so much for responding, I can't wait to reap all the benefits from real estate and get started on the journey! I know we will make some mistakes but look forward to the lessons it'll bring. I wish you all the success and happiness in your REI journey!

@Aaron W. thank you for your words of encouragement! My partner and I are super excited to jump into real estate as well and with such a great community, like BiggerPockets and people like you and everybody else who took time to respond, I know its only a matter of "when" not "if" we will find success. Love your advice, we have started looking in markets that are appreciating more. We don't wan't to get stuck with analysis paralysis but also want to take our time and do our due diligence and make sure we are confident in the numbers. I know we will make mistakes, but welcome the learning process! As Yoda once said "mistakes the best teachers, are" haha. You're right, one of the many appealing aspects is being able to recover from mistakes by holding over time, thank you so much again! I wish you all the success!

@Michael Ablan that's a great way to put it! Thank you so much. I think that much cash flow is a great goal and totally attainable in REI. I wish you all the best!

@Justin R. thank you for taking the time to respond, very good information. I will definitely be making sure to get the best financing possible to set us up for future financing, something I hadn't thought about. Cheers Justin!

@Chris Ng I appreciate the insight thank you! Unfortunately the SD market just seems a bit too expensive for our budget to break into unless we found a remarkable off market deal, but one day!

@Evan Polaski wow that really puts the big picture into perspective with how different sized properties appreciate. My partner and I are looking for properties that will cash flow at least $200 a month (among other things of course) but keeping an eye on the interest rates is not something I had in mind. Thank you so much for your insight that is really helpful!

@Danny Randazzo gives me something to think about thank you so much for responding! Currently have one partner, but for markets that are much more expensive to get into such as San Francisco, San Diego, and LA; how many partners do you think are too many? For example if I could get 4 like minded individuals who all live in the same area with the same REI goals to go in on a property in one of those areas, is it still a good investment? Splitting 4 ways is not ideal and can come with more risk, but with much higher cash flow and appreciation in areas like those is it worth it in the long run?