All Forum Posts by: Essien Benjamin

Hey BP!

Does anyone have any CPAs in the King or Snohomish County that specialize in REI tax that they would recommend?

@Andrew Postell I agree with finding a market where I have a trustworthy team available. How would you recommend finding that team? I was thinking about joining online real estate meetups in areas where I was interested in and networking through those.

@Jared Hottle Yea I was thinking about going to the midwest for these properties. What sort of challenges have you found with Northeast Iowa?

@Kegan Scholl Hey man! A few years ago I was in the same boat, so I can definitely relate. The first thing I would do is get pre-approved for a loan, so that way you'll have an idea of what you can afford. Then find an investor friendly agent that will suit your needs (you can find one pretty easily here on BiggerPockets). Then here comes the fun part: go look at some houses! Since you're pre-approved, you'll be able to find house that are within your price range. 

When it comes to house hacking, I'd first figure out what type of house hack you're comfortable with. Would you be ok with living in a single family home and renting out the bedrooms or do you want a small multifamily where you can have a unit all to yourself while renting out the other unit(s). 

Determine the amount of money you're willing to pay while you live there and use that as a metric when analyzing deals. When you find deals to analyze, analyze them both ways: as a house hack and as a rental after you leave. If it doesn't pass one of these tests then move on. 

Using everything above has helped me in my house hacking journey, hopefully it helps you! If you have any specific questions, feel free to reach out!

Hey BP!

Throughout my investing journey so far I have been able to acquire 3 properties. The first two were turnkey and the third required a small renovation (conversion of a SFH to a duplex). Now I think I'm ready to take on a BRRRR and I'm super excited! The only problem is that my local market is pretty expensive and I'm looking for a market that would be better to implement this strategy with. Are there any markets that you have been having success with and would recommend? Or a better question, how would you recommend finding the right market to invest in? I'm still very new to this and haven't done a BRRRR or a long distance investment, so I'm not sure exactly the right questions to ask. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

@James Alderman Hey! Not quite, the mortgage + HOA is $1870 and I'll be getting rents at $1600. So if I include utilities on my end I'll still be paying between $300 and $400 every month

@Sherief Elbassuoni Thank you!

@Sarita Scherpereel Thanks!

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $329,000
Cash invested: $11,984

Second house hack after moving to New Orleans, LA. It was also my first small multifamily deal. The unit that I occupied was a 1 bed/1 bath unit. I rented out the larger unit which was a 2 bed/2 baths unit. I wasn't living totally for free, but I was still able to cover the majority of my mortgage with this house hack.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I wanted to get some experience in the small multifamily space. It was also in a very high demand area of the city, so I knew I wouldn't have any trouble finding renters.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found this deal on the MLS. At first I offered at purchase price which was originally $319k, but then the seller countered at $329k. It was such a good deal, even with the extra $10k that I still ended up buying it.

How did you finance this deal?

I used an owner occupant FHA loan and only had to put down 3.5%.

Investment Info:

Other buy & hold investment in Everett.

Purchase price: $245,000

House hacking a 3 bed 2 bath condo in Everett, WA. I live in the master bedroom and I rent out the other two rooms.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

This was my first ever investment. I was fresh out of college and wanted to get in the game as soon as I could. I didn't have much money available, so I had to go with the best deal I could afford.

How did you finance this deal?

Washington state has a special loan program for first time home buyers. This program gives loans at 0% interest rate and you don't have to make any payments on the loan until you move out of the property, sell, or refinance. I came out of pocket $2.6k for closing costs to fund this deal.