All Forum Posts by: Faraz K.

Quote from @Faraz K.:

Hello Bigger Pockets Community!

I’m new here and new to Real Estate in general, however I am very enthusiastic and determined to learn and invest wisely.....

You're in a great position, and you've got time on your side. Yes, as others have said, there are many ways to skin this real estate cat. That said ... here's what I think, based on our investor clients in Denver.

Buy in an city that allows short-term rentals as a non-owner. I know because of your business that you don't want a time-suck, but having Airbnb/STRs as an option for when you move out is just smart. In a metro like Denver, there are only a few cities that allow Airbnb in non-owner occupied rentals -- Arvada allows it. So does Wheat Ridge. Centennial does too, and Adams County will soon.

Next, once you determine the city, I'd buy one of three things:

1. A big SFH that you can do a rent-by-the-room house hack. In a place like Denver, you can get $800-$1,000/room. If you have a 5br house, you're renting 4 bedrooms at $3,600 to $4,000. If you don't want roommates ... 

2. A duplex. If you've bought in one of the Denver-area cities that allow non-owner occupied STRs, then you can short-term rent the other side to maximize your revenue. Or hey, you can also just rent out the other side long-term. (If you have more than one bedroom on your side, you could also rent out the second bedroom.) Then when you move out, you can rent both sides, or short-term rent one and long-term rent the other, etc. 

3. A SFH with a separate basement entrance. We find these all the time for our Denver and Colorado Springs house-hacking clients. You live up top, and rent the basement -- either as a LTR or as an Airbnb. (You can really only LTR it if you have a kitchen down there, so you need to know your zoning and whether that's allowed.)

I'm thinking about both -- A) how do you maximize your revenues while you live there and B) how do you maximize your revenues if/when you move out.

(Also, side not to all of this -- consider as an alternative to the above rental models a medium-term rental for traveling nurses or remote workers. It's a kind of in-between the STR and LTR. More money than LTR, less work than an STR.)

Whatever you decide, I wish you the best!

@Faraz K. Congrats on getting to the position where you're ready to make some moves in RE!

You said that you want to something that is not time intensive...as others have mentioned, the least time intensive option would probably be investing in some type of fund...though, that strategy has some disadvantages...as you probably know, the easiest strategy is rarely going to provide the best returns.

If your goal is to actually own real estate, then the least time-intensive way (and probably the best way to start as a beginner) is to house hack. A good way to start is to house hack a single fam house, or a small multi fam (like a duplex/tri/quadplex)--these properties allow you to get the best mortgage terms, since they qualify for owner-occupant mortgages.   

In my opinion, house hacking is the best way for RE investors to get started, because it comes with many of the advantages of other strategies (opportunity for cashflow, appreciation, opportunity to learn how to manage a property--which is extremely valuable experience), but it is typically much simpler, less time-consuming, and has far less risk than other strategies (such as flipping).

As I've said many times on the forums: it's a good idea for beginning investors to start with a relatively straightforward strategy (and avoid the more advanced strategies). If you were a beginner skier, you'd start off on an easy slope where you have the highest chance of success (you wouldn't try to ski a double black diamond--because there'd be almost no chance of success; and there'd be a large chance of serious failure).  House hacking is analogous to that beginner ski slope--it gives you the opportunity to learn the lessons that are critical for success in RE investing, with far less risk than the more advanced strategies. It's also much less time-consuming than the more advanced strategies (like flipping).  Plus, it can be very lucrative--there are plenty of multi millionaires who built their wealth via consistent house hacking.

As with the other strategies, there are many podcasts, books, forum posts, youtube videos, etc. on the topic of house hacking--checking out those resources would be a good place to start.

Good luck out there!

Salaam @Faraz K.- I'm an investor & realtor and was in a similar situation as you. You know you want to be in real estate because it's a smart move, but your time constraints don't allow it.

2 low hanging fruits that stick out: 

1 - investing in a house hack scenario so you can immediately start building equity instead of renting 

2 - investing through real estate funds and syndications. There are a lot of these out there, so look for the track record and reputation of each operator. You can use services like fundrise as a super passive way to get your foot in. 

As other comments have said, there's no one way to get into real estate. You can keep reading and learning and networking, but at the end of the day you have to decide to pull the trigger. Since you're already a business owner, the learning curve will be less steep for you as you have the ability to be resourceful. 

Shoot me a DM if you want to chat, happy to point you in the right direction or be a second voice to calm the information overload. 

@Faraz K. I highly recommend house hacking a multifamily property with low money down (i.e. 3.5% down payment FHA loan) in the market you spend most of your time, whether its San Diego, Phoenix or Denver.

Hi! I am very similar to you. Live in SD have spent a lot of time living in Phoenix. Similar income, savings, credit score and rent payment here in downtown SD. I am also looking for high ROI. I have not done a deal but have some extensive research over the past 6 months on all investing strategies.
I am a travel nurse and finding housing is the hardest part of the job as you sign a 3 month contract and have about 14 days or less to find furnished reliable housing so needless to say we’re generally desperate and need to find a mid term lease ASAP or we’re screwed. 
San Diego and Phoenix are 2 of the most popular cities for travel nurses. 
for example a 1 bedroom in Phoenix that would rent long term for maybe 800 you could rent for 1600 furnished to a nurse. We are forced to pay a premium because it’s a necessity. 
just thought I’d share a creative way I’m looking at higher ROI than long term tenants but less work than managing a ST air bnb 

Furnished finders is the main website nurses and other traveling professionals rely on. 

Good Luck!!! 

There are a ton of ways to invest passively in real estate. First, attending conferences and meet ups will allow you to meet potential partners for future deals. Get the meetup app to search for those types of events. I have invested in single family short term and long term, passively invest in 20+ CRE deals as well as actively invest as a sponsor.

With that being said, I would invest in the following:

- Passively invest in commercial real estate syndications.  This will allow you to focus on your job and let your money work for you.  Typically you will double your money every 3 - 6yrs.  I typically like to focus on the sunbelt for these.  TX, AZ, FL, etc...  Make sure the deals are cash flowing, a lot of syndicators are currently trying to sell you snake oil with no yield.  LOL.  

- Short term rentals with a partner.  High cash flowing

- Residential Assisted Livings with a couple of partner.  Super high cash flowing.  

Should be some good deals coming out with interest rates then refi when they trickle dow a little a couple of years down the road.  

Live-in flip!

There is no "generic best strategy".  The strategy you choose is based on the market you are investing in, the potential cash flow and/or profit that can be made in the market matched up with the strategy that delivers the deal best.  You can't (shouldn't...ever) go in with the idea you have a strategy you like, and try to apply it to every property.  You will make money on some, but you can lose money just as easily if you should have used a different strategy.

Bottom line is this.  You need to learn as many strategies as you possibly can...which should be a never ending/limitless number, and apply these strategies to every property you are analyzing.  Then, choose the best one that works at that time.