All Forum Posts by: Jared Bouzek

@William Schloth Welcome to Bigger Pockets. $20k is a good amount of savings and you should be able to house hack. It would be a challenge to do multifamily but not impossible. You will want to make sure you're working with a lender who is counting rental income from the other units you're not living in toward your qualifying income. This will help boost how much you can qualify for. If you're strictly interested in multifamily, your best route will be either FHA or a loan called Home Possible. Let me know if I can answer any financing questions for you.

Thanks for the tag @Chris Lopez

@Eric Dupuis I think you'll find a divide on Bigger Pockets on whether or not Denver is a wise investment right now. That divide seems to be driven by the mindset of each individual and what they are trying to accomplish. If you're house hacking, it's absolutely possible to find a good investment with $30k. It just depends on how much work you're willing to put into it.

If you're going to look at a Conventional cash-out refi, you will be able to pull out up to 75% LTV. A HELOC is more dependent on the individual lender as they each set their own terms for their HELOC product. In general, I recommend the HELOC when there is going to be a recycling of money such as somebody looking to draw equity for flips. If you're looking to access the equity for a long-term investment, it usually makes more sense to go the Conventional refi route to get the better rate & terms locked in.

@Anna M. What LTV are you attempting to get with your HELOC?

It might help to get input from some of the local Denver investors who have experience with the local banks and credit unions. I know if you searched through the Colorado forums you would find previous threads where people have recommended credit unions who are good to work with.

The issue with HELOCs is that there are no standardized guidelines like you would find with Conventional mortgages. Each individual lender will set their own guidelines for their HELOC product, so you just need to find one that has no issue with accepting your rental income.

@Jared Lang Welcome to Bigger Pockets. My first recommendation would be to start attending local REI meetups. This will allow you to start networking with other investors. You can learn what they do, what has made them successful, and what mistakes they've made. This might help you zero in on what aspect of REI most interests you. Don't let anybody discourage you because of your age. You have just as much ability to be successful in REI starting out at 18 as anybody else if you put the work in. If you do things right, you'll be way ahead of investors much older than you. Good luck getting started.

@Justin Carter Glad you got the first flip under your belt. We can only do so much reading, listening to podcasts, and attending webinars. Eventually you just have to take action and learn through the process.

Hey @Justin Carter. Welcome to Bigger Pockets. How did your first flip go? Any lessons learned in the process?

If you want to connect with local investors, there are plenty of meetup groups around. I know there is one meeting in Castle Rock tomorrow around noon. A few advertise meetings on Bigger Pockets. Use the search bar and check the Colorado specific forums. Networking in person would probably be your best route to meet local investors.

@Nick Cooley Congrats on jumping right in and taking action. If you're accounting for all costs and getting that cash flow number, that's pretty strong for our market. Great to see people proving it can be done if you put the work in.

@Derek Hutson If you're interested in multifamily and primarily motivated by cash flow, you might consider looking in Colorado Springs. I think you can still find a good mix of cash flow and appreciation there and it's still relatively close where you could drive by your properties once in a while.

I would think you could do a little better than $100-200/month in the Denver area, but it will probably will be harder to locate decent cash flow in Denver. You may want to check the assumptions you're using. 

@Mark Leavitt Welcome to Bigger Pockets! House hacking is a great way to get started. As you said, you need a place to live anyways, so might as well combine your efforts. House hacking appeals to people who don't have much capital to get started or those who just want to get started with a minimal investment to conserve your funds for other opportunities. I'm happy to answer any questions you have on the financing side. Good luck getting started!