All Forum Posts by: Jasmine Anderson

Originally posted by @Jake Milan:

Hi Syed, I have the same goal as you. House hack a 4-unit within the next 12 months. I recommend checking out www.city-data.com to check the area out. Also trulia has decent information via map view -> Local info. This has helped me get a better understanding of the Houston area.

Hi Jake, I ran across this post and am curious if you were successful in finding your 4-plex house hack?

@Alan Pederson @Michael Craig thank you both for your input. Unfortunately, another thing about the market I live in is how quickly deals are moving each day. Someone offered a full price cash offer today and the seller accepted. I will take both of your advice into consideration as I continue to search for my next property

I am very close to putting in an offer on a duplex to house hack, but I'm wondering if I should follow through or continue to wait for something better. A few minor details:

My fiance and I have been looking for a 1-4 unit property to house hack now for over a year. We quickly found that our market doesn't provide too many of these, and the areas where they do have them are way over priced. Our wedding is in May and we need to find a place to live pretty much asap (we do not currently live together). We finally found a property that doesn't need too much work and won't require too much improvement before move in and seems like the perfect live in investment property on paper, but I'm not as excited about the numbers as I should be. On a very basic level, we plan to put in an offer for $265k (quite below asking price). PITI is estimated to come out to about $2,070 at that price point. I will be using an FHA loan. After pulling rental comps in the area we think we could rent out the smaller unit for about $1,150 and the larger unit for about $1,300 once my fiance and I move out of it. That said, if we buy it our monthly out of pocket mortgage payment would still be about $920 if the numbers work this way and cash flow once we move out and rent the other unit would only be about $380, which is what I feel you should expect from a single family property, not a duplex. I've always expected to buy a 2/3/4 unit and have the tenants pay off the mortgage while I live for close to free, but that isn't the situation that I'm finding myself in.

I'm hoping to get the opinions of other investors. On one side, I feel like I should suck it up about the numbers and follow through because we've been looking for so long for a property, if we pass who knows when the next one will come along. We would still have an investment property that has cash flow (however small it may be) and would always have the option to refinance later and increase rents over time. What are your thoughts for someone in my situation with these concerns? Any input or advice is much appreciated!

PS: if we decide not to proceed on this particular property, our alternative options would be to either buy a single family house and find a way to turn it into an investment "eventually" or renting until the market falls low enough to get better pricing on properties. Neither of these options are ideal to us

Thank you @Teri Feeney Styers great feedback! I will definitely start talking to lenders to see what my options are. 

I have been looking for a duplex - fourplex to house hack for a while now and am finding that inventory is low in my area and the locations where small multi family units exist tend to not be great areas to live in. I've been researching new construction vs. buying, and I find that many articles say that new builds may cost a little more up front, but can save in other ways in the long run. My concern is that most of these articles are directed to ppl wanting to build their own single family residence. In thinking of a new build project as an investment, I have a few questions that I have not been able to find any comprehensive answers to: 1. Do new construction investment properties typically make less sense than buying and rehabbing an existing property? 2. Would I still be eligible for an FHA loan with new construction if I still plan on living in one unit? 3. Would I be able to consider possible rental income when applying for a loan since there may or may not be many comps in the area? 4. What type of restrictions should I look to avoid when searching for land to build on? 5. What other questions or concerns should I be raising that I may overlook? Any and all feedback would be a great help! Thanks!

I have been looking for a duplex - fourplex to house hack for a while now and am finding that inventory is low in my area and the locations where small multi family units exist tend to not be great areas to live in. I've been researching new construction vs. buying, and I find that many articles say that new builds may cost a little more up front, but can save in other ways in the long run. My concern is that most of these articles are directed to ppl wanting to build their own single family residence. In thinking of a new build project as an investment, I have a few questions that I have not been able to find any comprehensive answers to: 1. Do new construction investment properties typically make less sense than buying and rehabbing an existing property? 2. Would I still be eligible for an FHA loan with new construction if I still plan on living in one unit? 3. Would I be able to consider possible rental income when applying for a loan since there may or may not be many comps in the area? 4. What type of restrictions should I look to avoid when searching for land to build on? 5. What other questions or concerns should I be raising that I may overlook? Any and all feedback would be a great help! Thanks!

@Eric Worral got it, thank you!

@Eric Worral If I create a RentPrep account and have the potential tenants log in themselves to enter their information, does that cancel the need for written consent for running a credit/background check?

Thanks @Gulliver R., I will look into both of those

Thanks @Frank Chin! I'll look into all of those.