All Forum Posts by: Chase Taylor

@Marcos Cardenas

I think a few other people nailed it already and as mentioned it depends on if you want to work in real estate or be an investor. That’s not to say you can’t do both.

My personal experience, I majored in economics with a focus in business analytics but what’s worked for me and I think is a good path is to major in something that will maximize your W2 earning potential and use the money to invest in real estate. I have peers that went in to a real estate career and I have built a much larger investment portfolio despite not working in real estate because my earning power is significantly higher.

I also work for a Fortune 500 so it has been helpful to understand how these types of organizations operate and translate this to my real estate investing.

Regardless of major you need to spend time building a real estate investment education. Join local meetups, read books, listen to podcasts, find a mentor once you have a base level of knowledge. You don’t have to major in real estate or finance to set up a real estate investment career.

I would be willing to bet a very small percentage of people on BP majored in specific degrees. It’s all over the map. What the ones who actually invest do share in common is going to be building an education in real estate investing totally unrelated to what they majored in.

Lastly, don’t disregard the need to build soft skills. Effective communication, emotional intelligence. The ability to work with others. You can understand real estate better than anyone else but if you can’t work with others it’s going to be tough sledding.

@Wes Mccullar

I work with Zuckerman & Associates here locally and would recommend.

Below is a link to a previous post with some

recommendations.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/933076-hampton-roads-va-cpa-recommendation

@Bryce Renicker I bought my properties off-market at a discount and rehabbed them. The past 3 years of appreciation haven’t hurt either. 

@Richard Rodriguez no problem. DM me and we can hop on a call. 

@Richard Rodriguez I've done a couple in Florida for Sub2 deals. What questions do you have? I would highly recommend Common Wealth Trust Services.

@Bryce Renicker I'm on my third house hack, all multi-family properties purchased w/ FHA loans. You'll need to refinance your FHA to conventional which will allow you to use an FHA loan again if your goal is to purchase a MFH w/ a low down payment. While it can feel contradictory to refinance to a higher rate, if you have the equity to do so and can drop your pmi it may balance out. I would also challenge you to not only think in dollars if you do refi to a higher rate but instead think about the opportunity cost of your existing FHA which is preventing you from purchasing a new MFH w/ an FHA.

Another option to look into if you don't want to Refi is to find a local credit union or bank that offers 90-100 LTV helocs which may give you the cash to put a higher down payment on a new owner occupied MFH. As others have mentioned make sure you are following occupancy requirements.

Lastly, and this was said before but get creative and don't think a MFH is the only way to house-hack. There are excellent opportunities for SFH w/ in law suites, apartments, ADU's, bedroom rentals etc. This will also come with much more favorable financing options.

 It's been said, so I won't beat it dead, but you will be hard-pressed to find a better way to start than house-hacking. I'm on my third house hack here in East Oceanview, and it's been critical to scaling to where I am today. One thing I would add as an alternative to MFH is to look for properties with apartments, MIL suites, guest-houses, etc. You'll learn that deals in this market aren't found but made! 

This is a moving target but for a while it was a waterfront multi-family home that I house-hack. I closed on this exact type of property, a fourplex right in an inlet off the Chesapeake Bay about 4 months ago. Living waterfront with my boat on a lift in my backyard that other people pay for is hard to beat.

In terms of investment properties, larger multi-family. I am in small-multi and SFH right now and love the efficiencies and scalability of moving my doors under less roofs.

There are some previous posts with recommendations @Ryan Merrifield

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/933076-hampton-roads-va-cpa-recommendation

Agree with everyone above. How are you determining that prices are 15k-40k above what properties are worth? Is that based on your personal thresholds you need to hit to meet your target returns? Also, when you say inventory is plentiful are you referencing a specific type of property? You will be hard pressed to find an investor in today's market that isn't facing these challenges. In today's world deals aren't found but made. An obvious callout if you aren't already is pursuing off market properties. If you are exclusively looking at properties on the mls you are massively limiting yourself. Another point, creativity, which has already been mentioned above. I just closed on a quad in Norfolk that I converted a unit to 30 day plus Airbnb and am generating an additional $500/mo on this door vs. my long term tenants in the building. I have also done Sub2, owner financing, house-hacking - there are countless strategies you can employ that make a deal. Ultimately, I would challenge you to reframe your mindset and think about how can you can create a deal rather than expecting one to appear. I'm in HR and would be glad to connect!