All Forum Posts by: Chris Nerio

@Nick Thomas Have you looked an FHA loan? It only requires 3.5% of purchase price so in your case it would only be $11k. A seller paying closing cost is not all that uncommon FYI. Sorry man but sounds like you are attached to the property which is fine if you want it for a primary residence. As an investment it doesn't sound that great. Just giving you my two cents. I'm from the area and I know 100% you can find a better deal and one that you can make work with your cash position.

@Nick Thomas I’m not trying be negative but to me doesn’t sound like a “deal” if that’s what your aiming for. If the comps are showing a range between 315-340k and you are at 339k with no home improvements and the homes at the $340k level are with improvements this to me seems like a bad deal. You will have no equity from what it looks like. Although, I’m sure an appraisal will catch this too. Have you looked at what you can rent it for if you need to move out? 

@Aditya Maini What @Rick Sutton said is the same around here. Each room in the basement needs 1 single point of egress into a public way or to the outdoors (window or door). Think about that when you build the room. Look at section R310 "Emergency escape and rescue openings" in our code book https://codes.iccsafe.org/cont... If you end up putting an electric stove down there, make sure the tenant is not treating the bathroom sink like a kitchen sink with disposal, this could cause issues. Maybe try just renting it with fridge and microwave, make it more of a kitchenette and see what you can get. I think you can still get about $900 like you wanted.

Hey @Aditya Maini just curious. With this being a house hack, where will you be staying? In the basement, I'm assuming this will be like a kitchenette and not have a stove/oven? With a shared bathroom for all 3 bedrooms upstairs, I would calculate on the lower end to mid to be safe. Usually the higher rent gives you a personal bath from what I've seen in Leesburg. Demand will be there. FB is great for that. 

@Aditya Maini Good question. For the laundry, I made sure it was in a common and accessible space in the basement, however many townhomes will have a stacked laundry set up on the middle or top floor so it wouldn't be too much of an issue. Not to mention, laundry is a privilege or amenity and to be honest, yes it is an attractive feature but a laundry included is not a must in my opinion. My property is literally 1 minute from a laundromat. Actually when my current tenants in the basement move out, I plan on not including laundry. Yes, you can do that as well, just keep in mind kids adds a different dynamic but you can do that also. Adults will most likely take care of a house better than a child, depending on their age. That's the beauty of house of hacking to me. You can do what you want really. Remember you're 26 and if you're on this site, I assume you are a bit of a go getter so bust your *** at your day job and continue to progress. You'll make more money, save more, gain equity, and invest. Yes, @Tchaka Owen mine is in Leesburg and just in 5 years has seen crazy appreciation and a 64% increase in equity, not to including what has been paid off. What @Johnny Lynum is true, get a property where you will have instant equity. Like I said a little sweat equity is good and small improvements can go a long way. 

@Aditya Maini I think it is a good idea because our area is so expensive. This is what I did and it's been great but it is true our price vs rent ratio here sucks. Not sure how you are getting your total monthly costs but $2600 seems a little high for $350-400k house to me unless something has changed since 2015 when I bought mine, possibly taxes? Anyway, I would buy a property in a neighborhood with no HOA and needs cosmetic work, like fresh paint, cleaned, possibly floor/carpet replacement or just a good carpet cleaning, has good mechanical system (HVAC under 10 years old but Max 10 years old). Also, buy a property where there is enough space in the basement to possibly add another room and one that already has a full bath. FYI a basement with walkout is also a huge plus for home hacking in our area. The small improvements you make will add value to your home. It's not wise to bank on appreciation but at the rate things are going and the fact that we live in a strong appreciation market, in 3 years you could refinance, get out of the FHA and lower your payment. If the appreciation play doesn't work though you should be able to live at a very low cost and save for your next investment, not to mention the equity paydown by your tenants. Like I said, I bought an SFR and did this and it's been life changing. Takes some work but it can be done. I lived in the master bedroom rented all the rest of the rooms including basement out. Lived almost for free, my only costs were utilities.

@Emily Smith I did the mid tier level one. It’s comes with a money back guarantee. I believe it’s called “Exam Preparation” and cost about $150 or so.  

@Emily Smith Hey Emily, I’ll be taking the State exam in a few days. It’s 60 hours of pre-license class and then 30 hours of post license classes. I used Real Estate Express and did it all online at my own pace (took me about 3 months) but can be done a lot sooner. You can also do the 60 hour class in person with Moseley or one of these other providers.

@Andrew Pettit House Hacking is always possible but not like you might hear on podcasts and stuff. Not many multi family properties in Northern VA that make sense to house back. You can buy a townhome or SFR with a private entrance, or not, depending on how much privacy you want. I bought an SFR with an unfinished basement, built 2 rooms, came with a full bath and lived almost for free.

@Matthew Paul