All Forum Posts by: Dan M.

I think its really smart to "house hack" into real estate. You won't be making alot of money but you will eliminate or offset your largest expense. I wish I started that way myself. In theory this will help you save for the next one. I'm personally a fan of duplexes because of the higher cash flow generally than single family which is especially needed when starting out to cover expenses that will happen. I would suggest keeping a capital expense fund contributing towards it monthly if possible, you can keep it in a high yield savings account or monthly treasury bills so you earn some interest on it and its liquid if you need it. Once your capital improvements on your first property are covered as best as you know then you can look at it as the 25% downpayment for the next one. 

Eventually saving on your own to get the next, third, fourth ,whatever property becomes a headache/chore/seemingly impossible. That's where in my opinion it pays to be creative and doing things like cash out refinancing equity, pulling from your 401k, using 0% credit cards responsibly etc. Its a challenge to continue to grow but ultimately rewarding if you can stick with it for over a decade. If your the type of person that can eat ramen noodles for a decade to achieve financial freedom your in the right place.  ( It doesn't have to be this way but makes it alot easier )

I'm curious and maybe a little devils advocate, why do you NEED a non recourse loan? Your going to pay alot more for that privilege. Are you that uncomfortable with the property that it has a chance of bankruptcy? 

@Charlie Dedinsky Your smart to house hack in the beginning, I wish I did. One thing to think about is what if you had roommates in a single family house instead of a multi family unit? Its cheaper rent for them and helps you also. Properties have skyrocketed in the area and in my opinion will continue to rise for the foreseeable future even at these higher interest rates. There's an orange county NY meetup if you search the forums you should find the post or check facebook if you have it. I'm a Realtor and investor, feel free to shoot me a PM if you got any questions or want an opinion on a property or anything in general. 

I'm looking to connect with people who are like minded in the Oneonta area. This includes and is not limited to Sidney, Walton, Norwich, Otego, Bainbridge. Feel free to comment below or shoot me a message or colleague request. 

I wouldn't recommend it for a number of reasons. 

What if she fixes the refrigerator 3 months from now? 

How much longer will it take for her to finish he cleaning and painting to her liking, while your losing rental income on the other unit by her essentially occupying 2 units?

Tell her (your attorney said if your afraid of being the bad guy) your unable to comply with her request, but you will let her know when the new unit is ready to move into. I would also give her x amount of days to move but let her know you will have to charge a prorated fee per day after that to move for occupying both units. 

I mean myself and any bank would need more details, but if you utilize that large sum as a downpayment and have a small mortgage, wouldn't you easily qualify for the debt to income? I assume you want to live in one side of it? The property itself should bring in revenue ( even if you choose not to live in one side) and generally a bank will accept a portion of that rental income into the calculation. 

Have you actually talked to a bank? Call around and talk to a few people I'm pretty sure you will find someone who will make the time for you who can tell you pretty much on the phone if you could qualify and ballpark for how much. 

@Luke Tetreault I think it comes down to what are your goals? Do you want to earn x thousand a month? Do you want to have airbnbs all over the country and travel between each of them and living an adventurous life? Do you want to self manage? Where do you see yourself in 10 years? How much risk do you (not) want to take? 

Once you clarify where you are and where you wan to be the answer should be self evident to you. The quick short answer in my opinion is this: If you want growth stick to the small multis that you know and once the mortgages are paid off retire fully. Your young, you have time on your side. Don't over leverage and carry reserves. Survive for a decade and watch your net worth grow tremendously. Best of luck. 

@Jason Mergl Talk to Stephen McCormick at Empire Real Estate. A quick google search will give you his contact info. He is a busy guy but he is very knowledgeable and could probably help you out with multiple if not all of these things. 

I don't own in Middletown. That said though strategy is important. If your doing an FHA and plan to stay in one side you have to figure out what that would benefit you. I don't know your living situation but if your paying x,xxx for rent or a mortgage and instead by living in one side and renting out the other you will be paying y,yyy instead and y is less then x that's great, especially if you can rent out your primary residence and make income there too.

I think the best thing to do is live in one side and rent the other when your starting out, I wish I did. You can always leave and repeat the process and rent out your old living area.  

My 2 cents is prices are crazy inflated right now, but believe it or not I think it will continue because of continued demand pressure for the area from people fleeing higher cost of living areas and moving there, with access to 87/17. At the end of the day if you run your numbers and analyze like 10 properties a day, and every single day scour the internet for anything new, you will eventually find something that works and know it almost immediately. Good luck!

Q2 is most important: If the mortgaage is upside down, it would have to be an approved short sale and that could take a very long time to rectify. This should be your primary concern. Id keep looking if it was not an approved short sale ( even an approved short sale takes a very very long time and theres no guarantee that you will even close on the house after months of waiting). 

q1)There are plenty of non traditional lenders that could offer you construction financing if the numbers make sense but it will cost you with points and a higher rate. However I would say those lenders would be more willing than a bank to write the mortgage, and after completion you can refinance it.

Overall, its probably easier and better use of your time to just find another house that doesn't require the construction and where the numbers make sense. Unless this is some type of homerun deal, which I assume it isn't if the mortgage is upside down, then why bother? Thats just my 2 cents though.