All Forum Posts by: Forrest Williams

Yes. In my experience, HOA fees have only cut into my bottom line and not provided much value. Condos almost always have fees associated with them as well. Since you may not always be nearby they may help you, since you won't be able to plow snow or cut grass. But if you get a SFH, you can pass that responsibility onto the renter most likely anyway.

Sounds like you're already on the right track. VA loan is the way to go. I would try to get a single family home that needs fixing up, fix it while you're living there, and rent it when you move. I had a friend in the army do this and he was quite successful at it. Try to avoid condos or HOAs, they often cost more money than they provide in value. With the amount you've saved up and a VA loan you're way ahead of the curve.

Probably not. If you're buying more than 1 deal per year for yourself then maybe, but still probably not. There are a lot of fees associated with being a realtor. You need to pay for the MLS, that's $1000 or so per year, licensing fees every year, class costs too. If you want to be a part time broker to get clients, you'll be paying for advertising possibly. And there are desk fees as well, it costs between $50-100 a month to have your license with a brokerage. And the commission will be split by your brokerage too, so if you earn $4,000 for a closing, you'll be paying half that to your brokerage. And you'll get taxed on your profit as well.

Right now you've got a W-2 and one building. I would find a good local realtor, and go to them when you want to get another place.

Hey! I got my start house hacking in the burbs, and it is a great way to learn skills. There are a couple different strategies for house hacking. One is to get and flip a single family home and rent out the rooms. Use airbnb, craigslist, or facebook. You gotta make your own group of strangers that way. Check what similar units in your area are offering, and price your room accordingly. Be upfront that it's a private room in a shared residence. 

If you can get a multi unit building, you may have more luck (and better returns). It can be easier to find tenants that way, since they know they'll have some privacy. Multi family buildings tend to be more expensive, but you can get higher rents and vacancy is less of an issue. Chicago is a great area to house hack in. Go for it!

Do you have a real estate attorney you can use? Or ask your agent to help find you one?

Another option is to go to the seller's brokerage and ask for your money back in person. You're a lot harder to ignore standing in the lobby.

House hack for sure. You must live in your primary residence for 1 year, then you can buy another to fix up and fill with roommates. When I did this, I always tried to get houses that needed TLC, so you can get them cheaper and lower your monthly mortgage payment. Repeat as often as you can. Would highly recommend living with roommates for as long as you can as well, because once you start living alone that's all you'll want to do.

Once I met a guy who was selling his condo for $100,000 - FSBO. I was interested in buying it. He showed me around, pointed at a few spots that needed work. He told me he wanted to avoid using a realtor because he wanted to save 6%. Then he told me he currently had an offer on the condo for $92,000. To save $6,000, he spent $8,000.

Realtors don't let potential buyers know the amount of an offer on the building. I could have offered him 100k for it, but he cut down the price with his own big mouth. That's why you hire a realtor.

Bring yourself and a tape measure. A contractor won't want to come out unless you already own the place and there's a good chance they'll get the work. You could look at 20 different houses before you find one you like, no contractor is going to come with you and give quotes for that many places without some compensation. If you already have a contractor you've worked with a lot and you trust each other, maybe. But since you're asking for GCs I doubt it.

While you're viewing a property, make a list of everything you want to fix or spruce up. Then find out the prices yourself once you get home. If you know how much materials cost and can measure, the estimating process gets a lot easier. Go to big box stores and look up prices for flooring, appliances, windows, etc. Once you get some numbers in your head, estimating costs gets a lot easier. I

In general, no. Sooner or later something is going to come up. They will be late on their rent, you won't fix something in a way they won't like, and it can all go up in smoke. Now you've got an angry tenant and one less friend.

I've been working as an agent for about a year, and while I've done a few deals with people in my sphere and gotten some referrals, I'd like to be doing more. Is paying a third party company for leads worth it? Have you had success with this method? Who would you recommend?