All Forum Posts by: Christian Albright

Great insights. Thank you everyone! 

 Hey Joe,

My definition of small multifamily is when it’s still considered a residential property so (1-4) units. In terms of ability I feel that being able to purchase a small multi family or a larger what is considered commercial multi family are both options. It just comes down to how I would structure the deal and how I would finance it is what would change. If I could use projected rental income for small multi family I can most likely get a secured loan from the bank at a lower interest rate. If I ended up going with more than four units then it would most likely require me to use private money or a hard money lender to secure financing and therefore pay a higher rate initially until I could re finance into lower rate. My purpose for the post was to see how it worked out for people and what kind of deals they structured whether it was single-family or multifamily.

And to answer your question I’m going more for cash flow, but equity is always great too.  The end goal is portfolio growth as well as financial independence asap. As I’ve seen in Denver‘s current market at least working with single-family homes you sacrifice cash flow while living in a house hack but gain significantly in equity. 

I like the idea of small multi families due to the efficiencies of management in terms of all being in the same location. You also get economies of scale to some regard (especially in terms of mowing one lawn instead of four separate, signing up for one trash service, etc).

House hacking is the plan, I have a current townhouse that I am house hacking and I like that strategy. My current living situation does not necessitate a house and I like having roommates.  

An additional question would be do people prefer small multifamily or getting into what would technically be considered a commercial property? (5+ Units) 

I’m currently toying with the idea of going for a small multifamily property instead of a single-family home to make the numbers work in a more competitive market.

I’d be curious to see what people have to say in regards to what type of property they prefer.

 I agree Josh. In my current House hack I am not living for free but pretty close to it as I expected. It seems though that real estate prices in the Denver area have risen so quickly that rents have yet to adjust to accommodate them. Even after I would move out (after 1 year ideally) it seems hard to make a property cash flow. I have some other ideas about how to make it work so it’s not totally out of the question, but also trying to think of other strategies for when the time comes to pull the trigger. 

 Thanks Jonathan, the Midwest is definitely a market I’m considering I’m originally from Syracuse New York and was considering some properties there since I know the best neighborhoods but New York is a difficult state with very high taxes and low appreciation (at least in upstate). I hear Columbus is on the come up I’ll have to check it out, thanks for the tip.

Hi everyone,

My current strategy is house hacking but l realized recently that it’s hard to make a property cash flow with current real estate prices. That being said my property has gained a lot of equity since I bought it and I was thinking of leveraging the equity to buy an investment in another market. I’d be curious to hear how it went for you and what type of equity cash out you used? Thanks! 

@John Mayer

I believe it. Your story is exactly what I’m expecting if not more competitive. It’s hard to make such a big decision so quickly, but I’m confident that doing the research before will help me make a quick and conscious decision.