All Forum Posts by: Daniel Toshev

   Thanks, everyone for taking the time to respond. 

    Yes, I'm trying to buy the next house hack, I guess I didn't make that clear. Unfortunately, seems like it will wait till next year because of this rule. As it is I'm left, on paper,  responsible for almost $1000 of the current mortgage and can't qualify for enough to buy what I'm looking for

 Hello, everyone. First time posting. 

  So, after few years investing out of state I decided it's time for a house hack. The house that I live in is very easily devideble. So I turned it into a up-down duplex. I'm renting the top and got a roommate on the bottom. 

  So that's 2 rental agreements and 2 rental payments coming each month. 

  However, when I tried to get pre-approval for a new loan I was told I can only use 75% of the average rent for the area. Even though I have the leases and can show a few months of payment I have to wait to do my taxes and show the rental income there until I can actually use that income. And that's a mortgage broker I've used a few times and trust. 

So, is there any way around that, or do I just wait until next year? 

  Thanks 

  Hi, Clayton. The way I look at it is simple. If the hypothetical 25k will make me more than 500 a month I go for it. I could use it for a few BRRRs (recycling it of course) that would bring way more than 500 and more importantly will significantly increase the growth of my portfolio. It's not really a formula, but that's how I look at it. 

just one more thing. Nowadays I find myself thinking more often just how leveraged I want to be

If you can rent and still buy one property out of state per year, I would suggest house hacking and use the saved rent to buy 3 or 4 out of state rentals. That's what I'm doing and it works. 

  Good luck

 Hi, Conor. 

There's pros and cons each way you go. You named a few of the cash purchase advantages. 

I did the same thing you're looking to do,  because I wanted to get started and get experience without too much risk. And if you only want 3k a month I think that's the way to go. 

 I want more though and that's why I'm starting to cash out refi now, so I can scale. That's the main disadvantage of cash purchases - you run out of money eventually. Another is you lose the advantage of leveraging. 

  just my 2 cents. 

  Good luck  

  Everyone is giving good advice. In my experience half of the  properties don't match public records and that's in your advantage since the taxes on 3/1 would be lower than 4/2..you should always check with the county to see what permits have been pulled on the property. That shows you what's been done by a licensed contractor. The thing I would worry about is if there is a significant difference in the taxed footage and the actual since that can, but not always , mean illegal addition

   They require you to make yearly inspections, tax you extra and generally give you hard time. I was told they think there's too many rentals and are trying to switch to owners 

  Center Point doesn't like investors , and is doing everything they can to make our lives harder. I'm staying away.  Thanks for the opportunity though. 

  You're right,  Jason.  And nobody can argue that the market is bad. But there's still money to be made. You just need to be a bit more creative and lower your expectations a little. My philosophy is that a marginal deal is better than sitting on the sidelines and waiting for the good old times to come back 

   I'm not really betting or counting on appreciation.  Instead I'm aiming at cash flow. So I'm going for the lower end of the market, C even some C- properties, but I'm getting around 20% on average. I know it's not much of a strategy, but it works for me