All Forum Posts by: Jeff Pollock

Love the idea of helping out the community here and figuring out a way to create some passive income in the process. I’ve also been thinking about something similar and live in Truckee too! I really like the look of the units you linked to as well and could definitely see there being demand for them here. I also have a day job that generates a good amount of income and currently working on a house hack in my primary residence, but fully support the idea and would love to help in any way I can. Let’s connect and talk more about it!

Hey Everyone,

I'm mid-flight on a renovation to turn part of my primary residence into a studio and house hack, and also midway through reading David Greene's BRRRR book. In it he argues that if you can fix something major like a roof prior to getting a house appraised as part of a refi you'll recoup part of that investment with the additional value you'll be able to pull out after getting it done.

My roof needs to be redone and I'm torn on if it's worth it to liquidate some stock to get it done prior to getting the house appraised to generate funding through a HELOC or cash out refi that would be put into another investment. I had originally planned to use either HELOC or funds from the cash out refi to get the roof done afterward, but David's argument sounds interesting. I realize I should have the reserves on hand to not have to liquidate stock but I've prioritized the house hack work over the roof for the short term and now considering changing direction based on this new information I just read. Has anyone been in a similar situation or have thoughts/experience with a decision like this? Thanks in advance!

Hi @Peggy Lindsay, thanks for reaching out! I appreciate you making the effort even though your husband is booked through the fall. I'm not looking to flip. My primary residence has what was once a garage on one side of the house and is now interior living space with a separate entrance and a half bath. The idea is to turn that into its own self-contained Junior ADU with a full bath. Since the unit would be a rental I'm not necessarily looking for top of the line finishes, and would rather be closer to middle of the road tenant-proof type finished product that looks nice. If this sounds like something that's in line with a project he'd take on I'd love to connect further to talk through specifics. Let me know when you have the chance!

Thanks,

Jeff

Hey @Andrew Stewart! I'm at the same point you were when you originally posted this - just bought my first property in Truckee as a primary residence and planning on house hacking to fund additional opportunities likely in the same areas you mentioned. How's it going? Would love to help you out in any way that I can and hear about your last 4 years.

Hey @Jimi Smoot! Were you able to find a solid Contractor in the Truckee/North Lake area? I recently came across Bigger Pockets, bought my first property in Truckee, and looking for one as well. 

@Dustin Allen, interesting thanks for calling it out. I’ll definitely have to look into that. Do have an idea of what the ordinance is actually trying to protect against? If it’s being discussed in South Lake I’m guessing it may be coming up where I am as well. 

Great call, thanks Jon! I'll definitely check the Air DNA calculator and I think I'll just have to make due with not much comp volume in the area to begin with. If there's anything I can do in the future to help out in the future once I'm a bit more experienced in the Tahoe area don't hesitate to reach out!

Hey Everyone, I'm really stoked to be under contract on a 3BR 1.5BA single family home in Lake Tahoe, CA and I'm trying to figure out what makes the most sense long-term. What really sold me on the house is a completely separate great room and half bath on one side of the ranch style home with a separate entrance. My plan with the house is to have it as my primary residence and house hack the next couple years until I can get into another property, and in the meantime increase the value of the property/get it to a place I can cash flow, likely with AirBnB given the location. 

The question with the separate space is, do I create a nice master bedroom with full bath that connects to the rest of the house, or should I make the separate space into a whole separate in-law unit? In the interest of beginning with the end in mind, I would ideally hold onto it long term, have it cash flow, and always have a place to go in Lake Tahoe when I wanted to. 

If I went the in-law route I feel it would be an easier quality of life to house hack with short term rentals, because I could essentially rent out either side of the house and always have a place to stay. The downside of this would be that the place itself would be less appealing to larger groups coming to Tahoe to vacation that would pay more per night for a 4BR 2BA with master bedroom. I also think that while the in-law provides more flexibility, the route with master bedroom and bath may increase the value of the property more than an in-law and give me more flexibility in terms of exit strategies. Maybe I can create the in-law for the short term and plan to be able to add a door to the main house if I need to open it up down the road to turn it into a master after I move out?

I haven't been able to find any solid analysis comparing these two or estimating ROI or costs to build associated with both, so any help would be very much appreciated!

@Michael Henry it definitely helps, thank you! I really appreciate it. 

Hey everyone! I'm in Escrow on my first home that I plan to buy and hold onto while I improve the condition of the house while I'm living there before either renting or putting on AirBnB. Where I'm located is very much a seller's market right now (Tahoe, CA), and the seller has expressed up front that he's not willing to pay for the cost of any repairs. Being under contract I am doing due diligence and have an opportunity to submit the Request for Repairs asking for the seller to give on some of the larger health and safety things I'm finding need to be done before I move into the house after I conducted an inspection and uncovered lots of baggage associated with an insurance claim for a fire at the property.

My questions: 

- Does anyone have experience negotiating at this point in a seller's market when bigger ticket health and safety items have come back on the inspection report?

- Are there common/effective strategies for negotiating as the buyer in this situation when you have inspection report and official quotes as leverage?

My agent told me that if I ask for a price reduction in line with everything I've uncovered I may risk sounding greedy because the seller feels the house is already priced well below market to "account for current condition." I was advised that we should show the full amounts of quotes we've received, then ask for a portion of what the total fixes are to compromise, and we may have a better chance of him reducing the price. What does the group think about this path forward?

Thanks in advance from a rookie trying to make this first step into real estate more of a leap!