All Forum Posts by: Dan Guenther

Hey @Christopher Morris welcome to the community! 

First of all, you are on the right track regardless of the financing route you take. If you haven't already connected with an investor-friendly lender yet I'd highly suggest that. They will be able to walk you through the different scenarios with real numbers. 

Another thing to consider is your goals for this first house hack and your living situation. Is there a reason why you are set on a traditional duplex? Here in Colorado, we create a lot of non-conforming duplexes out of traditional single-family homes. Typically they have a side entrance that leads to the basement which can be easily split up with a door/wall. This allows investors to get into the market at way lower price points. Another benefit of this option is that it would allow you to get a conventional loan at 3-5% down. 

Reach out and I can help explain more/give you a few examples! 

Hey @Valerie DeFreitas! 

Welcome to the community! Have you gotten out to any of the great Meetups here in the Denver area?! The Meetup community here is amazing and a great way to not only grow your network but also share ideas with others who are seeking the same goals! Let me know if you want some recommendations. :)

Hey @Trace P., congrats on the closing! I'm not a contractor by any means but I've been through multiple jobs like this. By the looks of the pictures, it might be a good time to upgrade that walkway and get the grading done properly while you're at it. The most expensive part will be the concrete. I'd reach out to some local contractors that do landscaping and concrete work so you can get it all done in one job. 

Hey @Levi Dobson! I use a rent-by-the-room lease that is specific to Colorado. I also have a separate "roommate agreement" that outlines the house rules. Reach out and I can share what I use if that would be helpful! 

Hey @Niya C Sisk welcome to the community! 

Who is the connection who introduced you to this opportunity? In my opinion, this seems like a bit of a red flag. Sending $100k overseas for a property that you've never seen sounds very risky! I'd be very careful in this situation and make sure to do A LOT of due diligence before even considering sending a deposit. 

Hey @Teri Skrab, welcome to the community and congrats on getting under contract! 

Your question comes with a lot of legal implications and the answers will vary from person to person, hence the lack of replies on this one. These questions are best answered by legal professionals and an investor-friendly CPA. I'd connect with a CPA/real estate lawyer ASAP to talk about the best structure for you and your family. 

Good luck to you and hopefully all goes smoothly on the transaction! 

Hey @Oscar Linares, welcome to the community! 

Take some time to browse the forums, check out the "Learn" tab up top for guides on getting started, and connect with as many investors as you can. I'm sure there are plenty of local investor's Meetups in the LA county area. This is going to be the best way to narrow down your goals. 

Happy to help with any questions you might have at this point in your journey! 

Hey @Sophia Villebro welcome to the community! I'm also a MN native but haven't lived there in years 

This is a bit cliche but my biggest advice would be to focus on house hacking. On the agent side, this will be an easy transition into investing as you'll be working with a lot of single-family home transactions just like you would for non-investor clients. Learn the basics of running numbers and how to help people get systems set up for a successful house hack and you'll be off to the races! 

Reach out if you want to chat more about different options! 

Hey @Bart Van Leijsen welcome to the community! 

It's great to hear that you are already working in a real estate focused industry. That should help give you a good boost when it comes time to ramp up in the investing world.  

Take advantage of your 2-year timeline by connecting with other investors out here in Colorado, learn the market virtually through these forums and sites like Refin/Realtor, and get to know the pros and cons of investing in Denver.

Being a high-price point city, we use a lot of creative strategies to find good investments, especially for house hackers. In the greater Denver metro, you'll find a lot of single-family homes that were (or could be) easily split into two units. This is one way to get the duplex setup without the hefty price tag that most Denver area duplexes come with. 

Good luck on your journey and keep up with the education side until you are ready to take action! 

Hey @Talya Reynolds and welcome to the forums! There are a lot of different approaches to calculating a "good" investment. Since you will be house hacking, there are a separate set of factors coming into play that will drive this decision. A bad deal for a traditional investor could actually be a great deal for a new investor that is house hacking. Here are a few tips:

1) Rent savings - How much per year will you save on paying down someone else's loan vs paying down your own? Even if you aren't cash-flowing in year one, this does not necessarily mean it's a bad deal. 

2) Use sites like Zillow and FB Marketplace to figure out what people in your area are paying for rent and compare those places to your target property. This should give you a good idea of what to expect in year one and also after you move out. Think long-term when looking at numbers.

3) Use the BP Calculator on this site to run the numbers. Will the rent cover a good amount of your mortgage while living there? What will the numbers look like when you can rent out both units? 

4) Connect with investor-friendly realtors/lenders. They will have resources, tools, and insight for you that are specific to your market. 

I could write a book but for the sake of time, my biggest recommendation is to connect with other investors close to you!