All Forum Posts by: Christopher Jason Lloyd

Heyo! Im @chrislloyd_realestate .  After getting my page running, it has gotten me a few million in sales volume!  Instagram has been a good one for me but took 7 months for the first closing from instagram.  You will need to build up your brand over time but since then I would say I average one closing every 1-2 months that I can trace back to them contacting me through instagram messenger.  Develop a consistent brand strategy, colors, typeface and posting cadence to stay top of mind with your followers.

If you are fresh out of college with a 9-5, I would first recommend seeing if you can qualify today to purchase the standard route with a real estate agent unless there is a reason you cannot qualify.  The real estate agent will have the attorney-approved contracts for the best protection.  You may be able to use your college time as part of the two year work requirement.

If you go lease-option, research local real estate attorneys if you decide to do the lease option and understand the risk you are taking on as the purchaser. 

Great post!  Real estate, just like most other investments are a long term play.  You can make good returns in the short term but long term is where the wealth is made.

VA loan - househack or live and flip. I like to "sandwich" my properties. I look in neighborhoods that currently have a lot of flips, older homes, near a chick-fil-a and "sandwiched" on both side by neighborhoods typically double in value. I have two of these that have appreciated well above the average city rates and the rents are increasing more than other areas in this market as a result.

Depends:

1. If the existing ducting works fine and the room is well insulated, it might make sense to just leave it as is.  If they want extra heat, they can get a space heater.  If they want it cooler, a fan/window unit.  Installing AC can be a costly investment that will take a long time to recoup.  Especially if the current setup serves its purpose.  

2. If your plan is to eventually move out and rent out the in law and the home separately or if the current setup doesn't heat/cool the room well, then I would do the minisplit.

As far as the utility bills, see if your area allows for RUBS. (Ratio Utility Billing System).  Typically electricity is split by square footage occupied by each occupant and water is by the number of occupants per unit: Example 2000 square feet home and in-law.  Home is 1500 sqft and inlaw is 500, home pays 75% of bill and the inlaw pays 25% since HVAC is the primary user of electricity. Because water use is dependent on occupants, usually this is devided up.  Lets say in that home you have 2 people in the in law and 2 people in the primary.  You have 2 people in each side using water, itll be 50/50.

You will get a lot of these the first 6 months or so after purchasing.  IMO, its junk but some people think its worth it.  I think life insurance is a better alternative.

This will depend on your area but don't forget about your long term play - in one of the cities in my market, you cannot STR on anything but your primary. Eventually you will move out so underwrite the deal as an LTR if this rule applies to your area.

 Great Stuff!  I assume this is conventional?

Hey there!

I actually did a househack deal with a client that was a student at Virginia Wesleyan last year, haha!  She cosigned with her brother to aquire this.  There are a couple options and let me know if you would like me to get you in touch with a rockstar local lender.  He will be able to help out and look at all options at your disposal.

In many markets, the ideal house hack is getting harder and harder to find but I always found this to be true after selling many househack properties to clients and buying them myself:

The more uncomfortable you are willing to get, the more money you can make in terms of cash flow.

Below are the different ways to make a househack work nowadays in my market and many others from most likely to cash flow to least likely to cash flow.  Notice that as you get more privacy and do less work, your cash flow will go down.

1. By the Room House Hack - Get as many bedrooms as you can to rent out.  You will likely find more deals that will cash flow while you live there on top of covering all expenses.  But as mentioned in the rule - this will be the most uncomfortable since you will be seeing your tenants in your kitchen almost every day.  Also check your zoning regulations to see if there are any restrictions for the maximum amount of unrelated occupants.

2. ADU (Live in ADU) - Rent out the home. It'll likely rent more than the ADU unless you have a unicorn where the ADU is nicer than the home. You will likely be living in the less desirable structure but numbers will look better.

3. ADU (Live in Main) - Rent out ADU. The clients that have made the most with this strategy is running an AirBnb out of the ADU. You live in the main home so turnover would be very easy to manage yourself or you could rent long term and just collect with less work. Less work, less money.

4. Multifamily - Good luck with cashflow.  At least in my market, people are simply looking to reduce their living expenses and are willing to pay way over because well... their mortgage will still be cheaper than the singlefamily.  They aren't analyzing the deal like you are which is why you are confused.  Your mindset on these properties is "well this is way to high priced, my cashflow is negative $500".  Their mindset "Oh my goodness, I only have to pay $500 per month to live here and all my other options are $1700+/month".  That is your competition and something to be aware of if looking for a 2-4 unit.  The play here is hold long term, value add and many will try and Airbnb or MTR a unit or two.

ADU's in my market are the most lucrative strategies if you find the right one. Just make sure it isn't falling apart and has its own: Water Heater, HVAC, Full Bath, Kitchen and Laundry. Also ensure there isn't some zoning restriction limiting what you can do with an ADU in your market.