All Forum Posts by: Essien Benjamin

So I'm proud to say that I have purchased my first property! It's a 3 bed, 2 bath condo in Everett, WA. I plan on living in one bedroom and renting out the other two rooms. I'm super excited to start my real estate journey. But even after listening to all the podcasts and reading all the books, I'm realizing that there are still a lot of little details that I don't know. For instance, I'm planning on splitting utilities (gas, electricity, and internet) with my tenants, how should I have them pay this to me? Also, any online software that anybody would suggest for rent payments? I am thinking about using cozy.co.

Any advice on this or advice on anything that you think would be helpful would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

2 Votes

The investing class was great! Good information and it provided a great environment to network!

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Originally posted by @Lane Kawaoka:

@Essien Benjamin I lived in King country for 14 years and would not suggest house hacking because you are in a primary market.

I would buy for cashflow in Birmingham, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Memphis, Little Rock, Jacksonville, Ohio, or other secondary or tertiary markets.

Thanks for you advice @Lane Kawaoka! I was thinking about house hacking for my first deal, but it seems that my market is very expensive. Why do you think this is a primary market?

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Dave Skow:

Essien - congrats on graduation ...I would recommend meeting with a loan person for an analysis on what your income / debt/ credit would allow you to borrow...this would not mean you would need to buy a property immediately but this process would set some baseline knowledge up and also allow you to become more familiar with what the possible loan / borrowing Numbers look like ..thanks

Thank you, that's actually a great idea. I'll get that done ASAP.

1 Vote

@Justin Windham Thank you!

1 Vote

Originally posted by @John Barrett:

@Essien Benjamin I think you are on the right track by starting off with building up your savings. Real estate is a powerful tool for building wealth but no matter what strategy you plan on utilizing having cash reserves will always be necessary. There are many different meetups in this area which can be found on meetup.com. These are a great for meeting other investors, learning about different strategies and getting insights on how others are investing. The vast majority are free and the worst case scenario in attending is you meet some other investors you might otherwise not have met.

Best of luck with all your investing.

John

Thank you for taking the time to reply! Your advice is definitely appreciated.

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Originally posted by @Julian Sibley:

@Essien Benjamin Welcome to the Everett area and congrats on your job!

There's a local meetup in Marysville on the 4th Monday of every month. You can find a good amount of REI meetups on meetup.com

Meeting local investors will give you an opportunity to network and pick their brain a little.

Best of luck with your investing!

Thank you that sounds really interesting! Do you go to these meetups a lot yourself?

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Originally posted by @Jack Butala:

Welcome to BiggerPockets, @Essien Benjamin.Congratulations and I wish you a ton of success. You are not alone in your real estate ambition.

Thank you, that's reassuring!

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@Aaron Brooks Thanks for the advice! I actually lived in MA my whole life. Where on the West Coast are you thinking of moving to?

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All Forum Posts by: Essien Benjamin

Essien Benjamin has started 9 posts and replied 31 times.

Post: Newbie First House Hack!

Post: Newbie First House Hack!

Post: FREE Real Estate Education Class

Post: Newbie living in Everett, Washington

Post: Newbie living in Everett, Washington

Post: Newbie living in Everett, Washington

Post: Newbie living in Everett, Washington

Post: Newbie living in Everett, Washington

Post: Newbie living in Everett, Washington

Post: Newbie living in Everett, Washington