All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Dempsey

@Sam B.  Congratulations on your perseverance into a great deal!  You surely had it more difficult than many investors, and came out with alot of valuable experience.  It surely would have been easier to walk away at any point.  The rehab turned out incredibly.  Some of those rooms are huge and each after picture looks amazing.  Thanks for sharing.   I hope others find some inspiration in your story!

For those of you house hackers out there, could you provide the numbers to your deals?

What makes a house hack successful in your opinion?

What are reasonable expectations of a househack?

I have done a house hack that has worked well for me. Success in my opinion is ending up in a better financial situation than you would be renting, plus the benefits of mortgage paydown, etc.

Put simply, if the down payment on the house saves hundreds a month vs. renting and the cash on cash makes seems like a no brainer for those comfortable house hacking or interested in this strategy.

I would be curious as to what others think. Thanks for sharing.

Congratulations Christian.  Sounds like you now own a great property in a great area for a relatively low cost.  And I am sure you learned a ton throughout the process ready to use for the next piece of your portfolio.  

Cheers!

@Helga R.

As you can see above, where the staircase leads to makes a large impact. In my home, the spiral staircase leads to the roof. The only furniture for the roof was easy to assemble on the roof or could have been hoisted if needed. The square footage this staircase saved made the bedroom on that floor much larger than any competitor’s home could offer with a traditional staircase. In my opinion, the spiral staircase is more aesthetically pleasing as a bonus.

Bottom line, its necessary to evaluate if the space saved is more valuable than any inconveniences caused to the location needing to be accessed and the limitations to the tenant/buyer pool.

@Ken Ch

If you are having system difficulty with the online application , you could go apply in person and they should be able to help you submit everything properly. Best of luck with your rental!

@DeMonte Hester

The cashflow is negative $600 while you are living there then? And you could rent else where for $750/$800? From a cashflow perspective this is a razor thin difference given you must lay down 3.5% and closing costs and commit to homeownership/landlording. While these are not things to be afraid of, they do require more time out of your schedule than renting. The cost of your time should factor in as well.

I would look into conventional financing with a low down payment if you can find a lender who offers it. That way PMI will drop off and help your cashflow.

@Gaurav Bhasin

As previously mentioned, you can compare ROI as per usually by analyzing cost and finding a solid rental comparison to determine what type of revenue that might generate.

If you are spending $2100 and getting $50/mo, thats cash on cash of 28.6% ($600/$2100). Not to mention the potential increase in value and tax benefits of this upgrade.

Be sure to verify with comps that you would be able to generate demand for the rent increase.

Jonathan Dempsey

PA Real Estate Agent

Coldwell Banker Preferred

@Ryan Cu

Hey Ryan, congrats on your interest in starting your RE journey. I am sure we all can appreciate your aspirations to focus on your artistic passions full time. To be sure that I am reading that right...you saved up $500,000 before going to graduate school?

There is alot you can do with $500K. Your answer is going to come down to what your monthly expenses in combination with how passive you are looking for your investment(s) to be.

@Ankan Basak hey Ankan, is this a property you are in the process of rehabbing? Would love to hear and see pictures of how it turns out if so...good luck!

@John Moore

As an agent, I can say that I want to help my clients however I can. I aim to provide ARV comps for an area. However, I always want clients doing their own research as well. Like mentioned above, its the investor who has all the skin in the game, meaning they should care enough to run through the numbers themselves, even if only to double check agent provided analysis. Its important to learn areas as an investor, and it will have to happen eventually assuming you plan to build a portfolio making the most informed decisions you can.

Also, agents want you to be happy with your investment and know investor clients are likely to use them again if they are satisfied with their deal. Given this, I personally tend to be conservative with ARVs. I’d rather put the time in and find a client a “homerun” and build trust for the future as opposed to being aggressive with comps and leaving my clients dissatisfied.

Best of luck in your investment journeys,

Jonathan Dempsey

Real Estate Agent

Coldwell Banker Preferred