All Forum Posts by: Haley Dahlgard

Hi TJ!

Welcome to BiggerPockets! Wanted to let you know that there is an awesome REI meetup for women called She Invests in Roseville that I help host on the first Thursday of the month. Would love for you to attend! The address is 2237 Douglas Blvd. Suite 100 Roseville, CA. You should be able to find use on Facebook, Meetup.com, and Instagram. We start each meeting with a guest speaker and then there is always time for networking after. Hope you can make it :)

Haley 

Have you thought about converting existing square footage to additional units/ADU/JADU, or, if zoned, correctly, to a triplex? One of my clients have done this and I think that it's such a great strategy that I'd like to implement it for my next property. It's a great alternative to building an ADU/JADU from the ground up because it significantly reduces your upfront costs while still greatly increasing your cash flow.

My client bought a 4 BR/2BA SFH with a garage that was previously converted to the 4th bedroom. They turned this bedroom into a separate studio unit by adding a bathroom and converting the door leading to the house into a wall. They do short term rentals so instead of adding a whole kitchen/kitchenette, they just added a mini fridge and microwave. They also turned the master bedroom into a 3rd unit by converting the door to the rest of the house into a wall (they actually might have just kept the door locked..). The master bedroom already has an attached bathroom and it has a door leading to the backyard, so they just had to add a fridge and microwave. This family of 4 then lived in the rest of the house with 2 BRs, 1 BA, the living room, and kitchen. Genius!

Hey Tristan. I can help you analyze house hack properties in Sacramento, but it would be helpful if you shared more information. For example, Do you plan on moving out and then renting the whole property out at some point? If so, when? Do you need to cash flow when you move out? Have you started analyzing properties yet? If so, what have you been seeing? 

Hey Ali. I house hack and rent by the bedroom here in Sacramento (in Arden Arcade). The demand for room rentals is definitely very strong in the area. I have used Facebook Marketplace to advertise for my rooms and get an overwhelming amount of interest, but with that being said, not everyone who shows interest in renting a room will be a good fit. I've learned that screening your room rental tenants thoroughly is very important, and will be especially important since they'll be sharing space with your parents. Feel free to reach out to me if you'd like more advice on room rental in Sacramento. 

Other options for a house hacking if your parents would like more privacy would be to either purchase a multifamily property, a house with an ADU, or split a house into separate units. There are not as many multifamily properties in Elk Grove and Roseville as other parts of Sacramento as you probably know, and multifamily properties can be challenging at times because they're often already occupied with tenants. Therefore, a house with and ADU can be a great alternative if your parents would like more privacy. I can also give you some advice on how to split a SFH into multiple units if that interests you, just let me know!

@DJ Dawson and @Sergey Tkachev - Thank you for the meetup info. I will definitely attend the next in person meetup! And thank you for your insights on BRRRR. I really hope to go this route in the future.

@Aaron Bihl - Thanks for the honest advice! 

@Mike D'Arrigo - Do you mind elaborating on how Atlanta, San Antonio, Cleveland, and Columbus are very different markets? My understanding is that some markets are known for great cash flow/low price points (more of the midwest markets such as Cleveland and Columbus?) and others you are able to cashflow but maybe not as well, but are better for long term growth due to high job and population growth (such as San Antonio and Atlanta?). Is there something else major that I'm missing when trying to compare the markets? 

@DJ Dawson - Great meeting other investors in Sac. Do you attend meet ups here? If so, are there a lot of out of state investors at Sac meetups?

@Anthony Morrow - OOS = out of state :) 

@Aaron Bihl - I know OOS investing can be hard, but plenty of people find a way to make it work. Yes, I definitely need to do what I can to find a good contractor so that doesn’t happen to me! Why do you think the appraised value went up 60%? That is a lot! How does that affect property tax? Isn’t there an appraisal when you first buy and the property tax is based off of that? 

@Melanie Gatton - Thank you for the resources! I see you’re in Sacramento, I’ll send you a PM. 

@Joseph Cacciapaglia - Thank you. I think I need to decide how important cash flow is to me. When you say investors in SA invest more for a high return rather than cash flow, do you think most of them are still receiving positive cash flow of at least $200/month?

@Joseph Cacciapaglia - There’s a lot of things I like about the San Antonio market. A couple of negatives may be the lower median wage and higher property taxes. What do you think about these two things? Thank you for your insight regarding “light BRRRs”. If I still wanted to go with a lighter rehab without refinancing, it would still be adding value to the property, correct? 

@Brenden Mitchum - I understand deals may be hard to find, especially at first, so you’re right, I shouldn’t give up and choose a different market if I can’t find something at first! It’s encouraging to hear that good deals can still be found in Atlanta. I think I’m leaning towards Atlanta as I have extended family there. 

Hello BP! I am a new investor who recently moved to Sacramento from the Bay Area. I would like to househack in Sacramento, but want to start focusing on investing out of state.

I work as on occupational therapist, and my first goal is to be able to cashflow enough that I can be financially free in 3-5 years, and then grow from there. I currently have 80k to invest, and can save about 15-20k more per year. I am interested in no/low money down and creative investing strategies, as I don't think I can reach my goal if I have to put 20% down on each property. I'm thinking BRRR is the way to go. Perhaps do a lighter BRRR first to gain experience, then do heavier rehabs. I'm also interested in seller financing and investing with partners (who can provide more capital) once I start to build my investing resume. I would really appreciate any suggestions on how to work with the amount of capital I have to reach my cashflow goal!

I have been spending way too much time trying to choose an OOS market. I am thinking that I should avoid the super popular markets because there is probably a lot more competition, but I’m not sure if this is the right way to think. I am currently looking into San Antonio and have also considered Columbus, Cleveland, and Atlanta, as I have friends and family there.

I love real estate and am eager to get over my analysis paralysis, start making connections, and building my team!

Haley