All Forum Posts by: David Johansson

House hacking is definitely ideal but I find it hard to find anything remotely good in SoCal unfortunately. 

I appreciate your take on this deal!

@James Ma 

I wouldn't say the appreciation is that great here. the same kind of apartment sold for over $200k in 2006 and there has been other identical apartments on the market trying to sell for $185k for the last 8 months.

I would start off by self-managing but I do want to calculate the numbers with property management in case I decide self-managing is not for me.

@Scott Brewster

Thanks for the reply! Unfortunately, I can't open the BP calculator as I don't have a Pro membership. I agree the cash flow is probably going to be non-existent but I wanted to get a second opinion as I'm not sure if I missed something or not. That darn HOA fee eats up a lot of the cash flow and like you said they can always charge you more for it if they need to.

This is a 1 bed/ 1 bath condo in Riverside, CA close to many shopping centres and a big hospital. I'm currently living in it and the owner is looking to sell.

Property Value - $168K (roughly)
Downpayment - $32k (20%)
Closing Costs - $4k

Rent - $1350-$1450 per month (that's what other similar condos in the complex rent for)

HOA - $268 per month
Property Taxes - $170 per month
Home owner insurance - $50 per month
Repairs/maintenance - $70 per month
Property Management - $120 per month (roughly) 

Principal and interest - $550 per month (roughly)

Is this a deal? I always feel like I'm missing something.

@Dmitriy Fomichenko Thank you! I'll be sure to check these out :)

Thanks for your advice @Jeff Burdick.  

I have looked a lot at zillow but I realized that redfin is much better for looking at multi-family apartments. Which site do you find to be the best and most accurate?

Hi BP,

My name is David, and I am a 25-year old accountant currently living on the north side of Chicago but moving to the near west side next month. I started listening to real estate podcasts and reading books on real estate investing a couple months ago after reading the most famous book on real estate investing (if you guessed Rich Dad Poor Dad, you were correct). 

I'm originally from Sweden and have lived in Chicago for 5 years while getting my Bachelor's as well as MBA, so I am pretty familiar with the city. As I am expecting to get my work visa next year, I would love to buy a multi-family unit to house hack depending on if I can find a good deal in a reasonable neighborhood. So this next year will be all about saving up for a down payment, closing costs, as well as anything else that is needed.

Even though I won't be buying anything for a while, are there any general tips that I need in order to make sure that I am ready to invest next year? Is there anything specifically I need to know that relates towards the Chicago market? Any tips on successful house hacking?

I would greatly appreciate any advice and/or feedback.

Best,

David