All Forum Posts by: Jimmy Lieu

Hi,

This is a very useful post! Just a quick question, why do you need the prorated rent? Is it because on the date of closing, there would have been a # of days which the renter has paid the month for? I am having a bit of trouble understanding. Thanks so much. 

Hi Jacob, this is amazing and so inspiring. Just wondering but you were able to do cosmetic and add a half bathroom for only 3k? I'm looking at adding forced appreciation myself by doing something similar but adding a room or bathroom costs like 10K+ or more. How did you manage to do it for only 3K?

And did you have contractors doing pretty much all of this work? Or did you do it yourself? Thanks.

Hello BP community,

Earlier this year, I started my real estate journey. For the past few months, I've been accumulating as much information as possible. I've read a good amount of books, been listening to podcasts, roaming BP forums, and asking questions. I was planning to house hack in Columbus Ohio after I graduated college.

Fast forward a few months, and I just graduated college about a week ago. I feel like I have all the tools ready to move to Columbus Ohio and start house hacking right away. I have the capital and have learned all of the basic real estate fundamentals. However, I still don't feel "ready" to move for some reason. I'm currently residing in Portland Oregon right now, and Columbus is a completely new place. I don't know many people there and I've never visited. The reason why I chose Columbus is because I liked what Columbus had to offer and has a booming real estate market. I could definitely see myself living there.

In addition, we're still in the Covid pandemic. When I initially wanted to move to Columbus, I wanted to spend a few months to network and connect with other investors in the area. I wanted to go to real estate clubs and meetups. As a complete foreigner, I just wanted to meet new people (while having fun and going to bars and etc too). I feel like during this pandemic it is a bit harder to meet other people overall.

I feel like I am just telling myself excuses and I should just move to Columbus. I know it's the right move, but I just don't feel "ready" but I have everything I need to do it. I know there's never going to be a right time so I should just do it. Any input or anything would be appreciated.

For someone in my position, what is the advice you would give? Should I still just move to Columbus Ohio during this pandemic? Is anyone in a similar situation as me right now?

 Crypto.com and Celsius are both good options. I know BlockFi is a very good platform too but you're limited in your withdrawals.

I would recommend looking into cryptocurrency decentralized finance. I convert my USD to stable coins that match my US dollar 1:1 and I lend it out to defi. I get around 8-12% APY on all of my capital and I can convert it back to USD at any time.

I don't put my capital into savings or checking accounts because you're losing money value faster than inflation and .05% APY is not worth it for me.

Hi Ryan,

That helped so much. Thank you so much!

Just making sure I fully understand but after your refi, you will lower your interest payment by around $75 monthly - which will lead to you saving around $2k over life of the mortgage.

On top of that, you get to drop your PMI which is around $150.

So you save both 2k from dropping the interest payment AND $150 each month from PMI. Is that correct?

Hi Kris,

So you suggest going with major lenders like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and if it doesn't work out to go with local credit unions? I have heard local credit unions give out better interest rates and terms... so why wouldn't we try using credit unions first?
 

Hey Sean,

I'd love to connect. I'm moving to Columbus in a month or two and looking to expand my network too.

Hi,

This is a great post. For a buy and hold, would you recommend doing a cash out refi and for a BRRRR would you recommend doing a HELOC?
 

Hi all,

I am learning more about refinancing myself. I am confused about when to do a rate-and-term refinance. I understand that a lot of people are talking about doing refinances right now to get a lower interest rate and reduce their mortgage.

However, wouldn’t it be bad because your 30-year loan would be reset and you would have to start from the beginning again? Therefore most of my mortgage will be going towards interest rather than principal?

Could someone clarify this for me? How would you be able to calculate if the lower interest rate or term would be worth it in this case?