All Forum Posts by: Erik Vik

Hello BP, I have a scenario that hopefully some folks could contribute their experience, knowledge, and advice towards. In this scenario, a young professional working a good job making a median salary, recently free of college debt, and rapidly beginning to save money, has two options - either live with parents/family very close to work OR pursue a house hack further from work. Now this person lives and works in Denver, CO, in an expensive area to buy, so, almost certainly would not be able to find deals nearby. In order to purchase a good house hack, they most likely would have to look a considerable distance from their work. Meanwhile, family live in the immediate area, so, this person could theoretically live for free with them, and, have a very easy, bike-able commute. This person isn't necessarily tied to the Denver area, and could see themselves moving away if the right opportunities, family reasons, or other circumstances arose. Additionally, they don't have any real issues with living with family.

Would it be best for this person to live with family, aggressively save, and look to purchase real estate at a distance in cheaper, more cash flow-able areas, OR, should this person move into a somewhat local house hack using an FHA loan, and just deal with the longer commute and less desirable part of town? This person would like to build a real estate portfolio consistently throughout their working career, and hopefully, build enough future passive cash flow to retire early, if desired.

Let me know what you guys think. 

-Erik 

Thanks everybody for the responses! I have strongly considered house hacking in Denver, however, currently have exceptionally low rent through renting space from a friend, and am within 3 miles of my office. I could very well be wrong, but I would guess that finding a house hack would be difficult so close to my office. Please let me know if I'm wrong! I work exactly 1.5 miles east of Wash Park on Colorado Blvd. As I mentioned, saving money is a huge priority for me right now, so being easy biking distance from my office is very important to me. BUT, if I'm wrong and there are opportunities in that area, then I'm all ears. 

Hello, 

I'm new to Bigger Pockets, and to real estate in general, although, have been interested for many years. I first realized how powerful real estate investing must be while I was in college. After making steady rent payments to my landlord, I began to wonder how much money she must be making on our rent. This thought stayed with me throughout the years, and eventually led me to stumbling upon Bigger Pockets. 

I've been working as an engineer in the greater Denver area for almost three years now. I enjoy my job well enough, however, do see a day when I'd like to leave corporate America for a much more free lifestyle. I've become very interested in personal finance and frugality, particularly the teachings of Scott Trench. My goal is to live as efficiently and frugally as possible, while spending the majority of my engineering salary on income producing investments, particularly real estate. The idea of freeing myself from the need to work a corporate job, and providing myself the freedom to pursue work that most interests me, has become self consuming. 

With frugality becoming an ever more guiding principal behind my daily decision making, I hope to soon position myself to be able to purchase my first small multifamily property, most likely outside of the Denver market. I'm originally from South Dakota, and am particularly interesting the Black Hills area. My mind is open to nearly all locations however. I'd love to connect with anybody out there who I could help, especially those interested in similar areas!

-Erik