All Forum Posts by: Joey Sargeant

I bought a property about 16 months ago and have been renting it out for 14 months. The market in my area is going crazy and a few people have told me to sell. I never really planned on selling, was always the plan to long hold but it could be beneficial. I would reinvest the earned money into a multi family home so I could live in one unit (currently living back with parents due to a break up).

I paid 170,000 for the 2 bed 1 bath home. My realtor thinks I could get 225,000 for it. 

My accountant says i can claim principle residence since i did occupy it at one time and don't own another property.

About 30-35K free and clear profit to put into another place and pay off student loan completely. Also, I would just buy another place and keep this one but I am only approved for 250K more and that can't buy a multi family anywhere in the market.

In the end, keeping it is fine, the only motivation for selling is the quick cash. Its almost like a flip that i did no work too. My only investment is the 9K down payment and 4K in small renos.

Anyone have any advice or opinions for me, be super critical!

Built in 70s. I have done some minor cosmetic work: painted, flooring and some landscaping but nothing even close to major. It will need a roof within 3 years.

Funny- I have exactly 5,000 in an account designated to this property. 

Thanks Cameron! 

Originally i had asked about renting out rooms of my SFH I purchased but circumstances in life changed and I will be renting the entire place out as of September 1st.

5% down on $170,000, bi-weekly payments of $380 =  $760/ monthly
Insurance and taxes of $300 monthly

Renting for $1200 plus all utilities.

Leaving me $140 a month for all miscellaneous: repairs, vacancy, etc. I wont be cash flowing really but the property should ultimately pay for itself most months.

I will be continuing to live at home and not have a monthly expense for such as my parents are the sweetest. 

Therefore, I have the question: 

Should I pay the mortgage out of my own money, acting as if I had the mortgage with no one renting, and then setting the rent aside in a tax free savings account. After insurance/taxes I will have around 10-11K in a year saved up from the property alone (if nothing goes wrong). $760 a month is about 1/6 of my monthly net income and therefore very manageable. I will continue to save roughly 1/3 of my income as well for my next property.

OR

Use the rent to cover mortgage and expenses and just save my income.

In the end i suppose it is the same outcome, i am thinking however, paying my mortgage and putting the rent directly into a savings account would be a smart, efficient way to save.

Any thoughts?

Hey Fred, 

Sounds like were both starting the same thing. I have recently purchased a single family home as well and am trying to decide who/how to go about renting the rooms out. My original plan was to rent rooms to my two friends for $400 each. Just to test the market I posted an add online offering a room for rent for $440. Well, in the past 24 hours since posting I have gotten so many responses. I weighed the pros and cons and really thought about what it is I want.

On one hand I can live with my two friends, which would be a ton of fun! But it also means my house becomes the central location for everyone hanging out- since just like you- all our friends live with their parents. So that means: high traffic- messy and noisy. Also it is a total of $80 less a month, which isn't  a huge amount but every bit counts.

I also realized living with people I wasn't friends with makes it a lot easier to be a "landlord". I would struggle telling my friends what to do, how to keep my house and to STAY OUT of my food. With renting to other, I can set boundaries and rules right off the bat and will have no issue at all reminding if need be. 

I guess in the end you have to decide what you want out of your house: a fun experience as a 22 year old, living with friends and getting half your mortgage paid for at the same time? Or have that mortgage paid down and be slightly uncomfortable living with randoms but knowing your place will be governed completely on your terms. I just think looking at it objectively, no matter how good of friends you are- it is hard to really lay down the law with them and there is times that will probably need to happen!

As for rent pricing- i simply searched up room rentals in my area and there were a ton, based my price on comparison.

Hope that helps a little, I am totally new and beginning this journey so my advice comes with no experience!

Good luck

I have plans to add an additional bedroom in the basement of my house so I can bring in another room mate to cover my mortgage completely. 

I am curious with how beneficial adding rooms is to a property- when the plan for the property is to rent after I move out. I think I a bedroom is a always a good idea because I can get more in rent. However would adding a bathroom be beneficial? Bathrooms are more expensive to add and bring more risk to problems once it becomes a rental. It would be very convenient for me while I live in the house now to have a bathroom right beside my room, but I am trying to think long term and be smart with the money I put in. 

The same question goes for every area of the house. Do the benefits out way the cost when adding rooms or making big changes to a rental? 

I just closed on my first deal and I'm looking for feedback/ advice.

I purchased a small 2 bedroom, 1 bath home in a small town of 5,000 people located an hour from big cities Ottawa and Kingston (Ontario). I purchased the property as a live in house hack. I purchased the property for 170,000 with 5% down. I have a friend ready to pay 400/month plus the internet bill. My monthly payment is 980 (mortgage, taxes, insurance) and i will have gas and water on top of that. Estimating a monthly cost of 1250. 

The property currently has a room in the basement that is unfinished and is a "workshop." Room is good size and I would like to convert it to a bedroom. This would allow me to live in that room and get another room mate in for 400 monthly. It was also make a better rental property when the time comes. 

Average rents in this town fro 2 bedroom homes are 1000+ and 3 bedrooms 1250+. 

My goal is to live in this house for 2 years while i save for my next place (hopeful multifamily) and then rent out this property. I would have purchased a multifamily of the start but i was only approved for 170,000 by my lender.

I average $5,000 a month in income as a registered nurse so the 850-950 monthly expense of the property is not a huge chunk of my income and therefore i can still save a lot for my next place. 

Looking for any advice, critique or questions that could help me. My real estate goal is to continue purchasing and get as many doors as i can, it is just difficult to find a lender because i am only a "part time" nurse and my hours are not guaranteed, however consistently $5000/month for the past 18 months and hours are a plenty. Also from what i have read and listened to, it seems it is harder to get lending in Canada as compared to the US.

Thanks in advance and look forward to hearing any thoughts