All Forum Posts by: Brandon Allenczy

Newbie here working on his first house hack!

Hello everyone. My wife and I are in Western NC and have found a fantastic property in Waynesville NC (about 30 mins outside of Asheville). 2 separate homes on one parcel of land. We would live in the main house, long term rent out the other house, as well as Airbnb a private room in the house we live in, as the house has a beautiful mountain overlook.

Our lender has asked nearly all of the banks he works with and all say that the loan has to be for one roof on one parcel; they won't lend for two homes on the same one. I know my first option is seller financing, which our agent is looking into. The second option is local banks.

Does anyone have any other ideas about how we can get this deal done? Possibly negotiating the deal contingent upon the seller subdividing the parcel? Let me know of any ideas!

Thanks guys

I've heard of many people borrowing a down payment for buying a property when using traditional financing. Whenever I speak to a lender, however, they make it very clear that you can't "borrow" a down payment and it has to be "gifted" to you.  

Does this mean it's actually illegal to pay back someone who gifted the down payment? I'd love to hear from any lenders/brokers on this. Is this a big deal? Or is it one of those things that is "technically" not allowed but everyone does and lenders don't really care that much? 

I feel like it's kind of sketchy to say you're being gifted the down payment when you intend to pay it back but I'd love to hear other's thoughts about this.

Hey everyone!

I've seen a lot of BP posts about people that live in Asheville, but aren't investing here. I understand why, but I'd love to hear from those that are putting their money to work in the Asheville market. If you invest in or around WNC message me and I'd love to buy you lunch sometime! 

My long term strategy is to purchase multiple small multiplexes by getting in with owner occupied loans, living there for a year, then moving to another one. 

Hope to hear from you!

@Chris Harjes yeah that would be great! And yeah she really doesn't trust agents (again, older lady) but I think she might get to that point. Message me if you want the details! Also,(@Jake DiSabatino) I have looked into owner financing (a lot). I know there are potentially ways for us to buy it, but we have no money for when things go south. One leaky roof or bad hot water heater and the Allenczy's are out of the game. We feel it's much better now to keep the cash flow from our current rental, build reserves for a year, then buy a SMF property. Thanks for the suggestion though!

"I really should be wearing gloves.."

This was the thought that was going through my mind while I was scrubbing black mold out of a cabinet using a sponge and comet cleaner (worked surprisingly well BTW). It's definitely not what most people spend their Wednesday night doing, but I had finally gotten some time to work on the projects that needed to be done. 

My wife (Erin) and I have recently gotten our start in the real estate world. I've been learning from the Bigger Pockets Podcast and a good friend/mentor @Joe Prillaman for about the past year. With very (and I mean VERY) little money to make our first moves, we decided to turn our house into our first rental property. While it's true that you can buy property with no (and low) money down, it's not wise to do it with absolutely 0 cash reserves. We decided to follow the Set For Life approach (thanks @Scott Trench). We took the resources we had, turned our home into a rental, and headed to Asheville, NC. 

Here, we're using our cash flow along with a frugal lifestyle to build up a one year runway. At the end of that runway, we'll buy either a duplex or triplex, house hack for a year, then move out and do it again. This way we live mortgage free, and accumulate multifamily rentals along the way.

The mold story comes in at the point we're at now. We're currently renting a unit in a triplex that was built in the 1930s. The owner is older, hates real estate, and needs help maintaining the place. I offer my (basic) services in exchange for money being taken off our rent. The most recent endeavors have included washing windows, exploring basements, and cleaning moldy cabinets. It's not glamorous, but we're dead set on financial freedom, and I believe in working hard now so our money works hard for us later. We have a burning desire to be financially free; to not be dependent on wage paying work, and to use our money to glorify God. These are the first steps, and I can't wait to see what the rest of the journey has in store.

Hey everyone!

I'm looking for a bit of advice in my unique situation. I am currently renting one unit in a triplex in Asheville NC. It is a beautiful log cabin home right off the highway, minutes from downtown and the blue ridge parkway. It sits on 2.5 acres of land adjacent to Charlotte hwy, and is so close to I-40 that she has signage available for whatever is put here. The property is zoned Commercially. It was built in the 30's by her Father, so it is an older home and does have some issues. However, it is liveable. The ideal tenants for this place are ones like my wife and I where we're willing to put up with more for the sake of paying less.

 The owner is tired of real estate, and wants to sell the property. I actually am looking at buy and hold for properties like these, however my wife and I are building up cash reserves right now for landlording so we're not really in a position to buy it from her. I've been helping her out with odd jobs around the property and finding tenants for her to get the units rented in the meantime. 

Does anyone have any ideas about how to get this thing sold for her? There are so many possibilities as to what could be done with the property/land around it that I don't know where to start. Any feedback/ideas would be greatly appreciated! I'm sure I left some details out so reply or message me directly to discuss!

@Jake DiSabatino perfect! We'll keep you informed as to when we get something going! Looking forward to crushing the mountain game with all you gents!

Sorry about the typos:

* what I would need IS just a group...

@Robert Ombres that sounds awesome! A mastermind group Ian exactly the kind of thing I’d be looking for. What I would need isn’t just a group of people that gets together and tells what they committed to, and what they actually did. This in a group setting turns the important into the urgent and drives execution. Feel free to DM me if you want to talk more about a group. Sounds like @Jon A. might be interested as well!

@Andrew Jolly Welcome! We just moved here about a month ago! We’ll let you know if something gets started. 

Hey everyone!

I'm setting a goal for my wife and I to buy a property in the next 90 days. We're looking specifically for an off market duplex to house hack in the Western North Carolina region. 

I'm very interested in the 4DX method that Brandon mentions in Podcast episode 328. Our WIG is to go from 0 to 1 duplexes by 12/31/19. I'm looking for a group of other investors that could use some accountability in getting their first deal rocking and rolling. Anyone want to connect and have a weekly discussion about goals/progress? I imagine if you're on BP, real estate is probably a big part of your life. Let's get serious about encouraging and spurring one another on to start making moves!!

I'm down to either meet up in person (around Asheville) or hop on a call once a week for a discussion.

I look forward to hearing from you!!