All Forum Posts by: Colin Simon

Hello!

I became a first-time homeowner (house-hacking a SFR) in late June. The whole process made me realize I like the real estate industry way more than my current one(financial analyst). At least that background gives me a leg up on analyzing deals.

At 168 hours, I figure that's a pretty cheap "entry cost" to figure out in more certainty whether or not I want to be in the industry as a profession. If not, I'll still probably gain valuable knowledge for my investing purposes. This google docs sheet provides a list of pass/fail rates for different courses, but I figured someone here might have input if any of them are better suited for investors.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/16a8x8_N4aO6HVv...

Thanks!

People generally prefer having their own space that they don't need to share. To a small extent this is a little different with single millenials who like living with one another, but that's the exception.

Families are almost always going to want their own space. They might like the neighbors but many of them will pay money to NOT share walls.

Of course, at some point a lower price is just going to attract people.

Quantifying this is a completely different thing. Rentometer.com will never be perfect, and this calculation seems like the hardest part to accurately assess. Glad you asked this question, because from BP podcasts and webinars, I am frequently wondering how one can send out so many sight-unseen lowball offers (Brandon Turner's "The Funnel") without putting a ton of effort into really hammering out the rental rates. 

Caleb,

Even if they still require 2 months of employment at your new company, it makes sense to contact them now. Then when 2 months(or whatever time) rolls around, they will think, "I told this guy to come back in 2 months, and that's exactly what he did. He must be serious. I think I'll actually invest my time in this guy instead of the yahoo that just walked in today."

Significant down payment?

Them's fightin words.

 Michael Cohen: Any idea if state lines impact this at all?

Lawrence,

I'm in the same boat as you; I just obtained a SFR and intend to house hack. I'm making the tenants sign leases for individual rooms.

However, you don't HAVE to do this. I'm in Colorado so that's the body of laws I'm familiar with: if someone begins living(3 nights or more) in one of your rooms without a lease, they automatically gain "month-to-month" rights. This means several things:
-Evicting them falls under the same rules (in CO that's ~11 days notice just to begin the process)
-If they have been paying you(for example $500 on the 1st of every month) and it is understood that this is rent, that rate "becomes" the rent in legal disputes
-Their bedroom door becomes similar to your front door. For example if it is closed and you open it without their permission, you are technically breaking and entering(whether or not they care is another matter).

@Jared Bouzek well, that is really good to know. Thanks!

Hello everyone!

I just closed on a 4bed/3ba yesterday - this is my first home. Hopefully tomorrow I'll write my last rent check ever. The plan is to live in the house with roommates, likely people I know. Given the hot market here, starting out with a single family home was the only way for me to approach house-hacking.

Long question:
I also have a friend who just landed a job in Washington DC. He leaves very soon and will rent out his place while he's gone. He feels that commercial property managers are too expensive - this presents an interesting opportunity to me, to try being a property manager part time(I work a 9-5 as a financial analyst). How do I figure out a fair price for managing the place? He has it listed at $2,650/month. Townhome. If I give him a discount from "fair market price" that seems OK to me because I'll gain some experience and discover whether or not it's something I want to pursue. Also he's giving me some great furniture for pennies on the dollar. From my perspective, I make out either way.

Thanks in advance for any advice!