All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Greene

Both answers are correct. In terms of maintenance, they are generally safer because you are not responsible for the exterior and common areas and potential leaks, etc. But the other side of the coin is correct - the downside, and it can be huge, is potential assessments from HOAs who aren't solvent enough for new roofs or roads or maintenance.

This is a great place, but you are brand new and looking for help spending money in the US. What that means is that you will get some good advice from people like me who tell you to do a lot more due diligence and unless you plan on coming to the areas to check them out, don't invest, and others who will tell you every area is good and invest right now. You are setting yourself up to get pitched and you won't even know it.

No one can answer that because we don't know what market you are in and what your list price is versus the actual value, as well as the scale of the town.

When something hasn't sold in 50 days, it's overpriced. Have you lowered the price at all? What does your realtor say about the price? Is it listed with a realtor?

It depends if you need or want the money out or want an asset that will bring in income, especially since you own it cash. Balance that versus lending the money out at 10 percent.

You are rushing and that can lead to a first property mistake. What capital do you have available now to buy or are you only looking for seller financing? At 19, house hacking is the best option if you have the downpayment and closing costs set aside. You should be going to real estate investor meetups to meet other, more experienced investors, instead of looking at markets farther away before you really know what you are doing.

I don't think the LVP will feel right with carpet underneath and it's not a sound installation practice to have that buffer layer there. @Bruce Woodruff can weigh in as well. There are so many options for LVP now, from lower priced to higher.

Yes, but just call your lender and ask them what you have to get to in order to get rid of your PMI.

Just focusing on the passive income you want to achieve will leave you chasing cash flow which will have you buying properties in worse areas with harder tenancies that seem to cash flow better, but will have large cap ex.

Any time someone asks a question about where to invest and it can be anywhere, they aren't ready to invest and are opening themselves up to every pitch in the world on an area. You have to do some more research.

Are you saying 200k in cash so you could spread that out among multiple downpayments or 200k via a loan?

These are good questions, but keep in mind that a month of obsessive research is still the absolute tip of the iceberg. Here are my best answers:

1. I would focus on a duplex first so you learn house hacking and management of one tenant. If you are single, look for uneven multis where you can live in a small unit and rent out the bigger one (e.g. - 1/1 and a 3/2 instead of 2/1 and 2/1)

2. Yes, the more units you go up, generally the less players in the game so there is some advantage in purchase competition as you go up, but also more management scale and cap ex for someone who is new.

3. Do not focus on the best price for properties when you are new. That will get you looking at cash flow and end up in a lower rated area than you think. You want the price that works for you in the best appreciation potential area possible. Your relationship with an investor-friendly realtor will be crucial here.

4. If you are house hacking, you wouldn't use a HELOC, you would just refinance. You could use a HELOC, but with VA loans you have an allotment so you can get loans on more than one home depending on how much bandwidth they give you.

How far away from the property will you be? I would say definitely do not in almost all cases because it's very easy to manage one property. Is it a single-family home or condo? Why spend 12% for someone to manage a property in good shape where you just collect rent and respond to an occasional need? Just make sure everything is updated and you will be able to manage it easily.

You have done your research from afar, just crunching numbers. That is how you lose your money and make terrible investments. You want to do your first BRRRR in a town where you know no one (if you don't live there) and have to trust brand new contractors and sub-contractors? You need to work on this for about a year before you try to buy anything if you want to have a better chance of success.