All Forum Posts by: JooYung Choi

I would say getting a modern front door and painting your garage door would bring value to the home. Gotta stick to a theme and color scheme!

Hey Andrew,

Congratulations! Sounds like a great deal. You were able to buy a property off market, do powerful renovations, and now you are sitting pretty with 4 rentable units and lots of equity. 

Keep up the momentum and kill it on your next deal too!

Hey Devon,

I would definitely move to your next house hack, even if it means you are coming out of pocket. Keep it short term with only a year in mind. Once you leave your next home to buy your 3rd property, now you are renting out 4 + units and certainly more cashflow. Not to mention the appreciation and equity build with more properties (maybe another HELOC?)

Plus moving to your house will allow you to take advantage of the best loan programs!

Hey Matt,

I believe in real estate as a long term investment vehicle. Cash flow is nice and definitely important but true wealth is built in equity. The longer you are able to hold your property, the more time appreciation will have to do its magic. You can also force equity by buying homes that need work and getting it up to market standard. When you have equity, you will always have options. 

Definitely talk to a couple of lenders to see what you are pre approved for. Keep in mind if you buy another primary residence, you'd have better rates, terms and can pay as little as 5% down for multi family up to 4 units. Investment properties will need 20% down. 

I would try to work with investor friendly real estate agents. Whichever investing route you decide to take, your agent should have good insight on what you are trying to execute. 

If you can seller finance a property in your neighborhood, that's a huge win! 

Best of luck to you and your wife!

Have you considered switching to an MTR model? Check out some AirBnb monthly comps in your neighborhood to see if it is worth the upfront furnishing costs, monthly utilities and other expenses like professional cleaning and landscaping. 

Love that you are spending your commute at a mobile university. So much content out there!

House hacking is a solid way to get started in real estate investing. Here are some ways to get started analyzing deals.

For a Single Family House Hack:

-Reach out to a couple lenders to give you a good idea of what you are approved for. Locally or on Bigger Pockets. Your best option is a Conventional or an FHA loan.

-Identify some neighborhoods you'd like to live in. If you like the neighborhood, chances are other people will want to live there as well.

-Find some properties to work up. Take note of the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and proximity to public transportation. Bonus points if you can convert an office space or finish a basement.

-What's the PITI?

-Since you will be house hacking, see what 1 bedroom rentals are going for in the area. You want to be priced under that number since the kitchen, bathrooms and common areas will be shared. Pricing can vary based on bedroom size and other amenities like a private bathroom.

-PITI minus (rents x number of bedrooms) = your debt obligation

If what you owe at the end of the day is less than what you would spend on housing per month, that's a win! 

With Multi Family Homes, you have more options of course. You could rent out a unit at market rent AND rent out bedrooms in your own unit. Potentially get paid to live at your own home.

The confidence grows with the reps.

Best of Luck!

Recommend purchasing a primary residence first, ideally a home that needs work in an appreciating neighborhood. Work on the property / live in the property for at least 2 years. I promise you will have options once you finish renovating.

If you purchased correctly (location & purchase price), you will have enough equity so that you can either sell it for tax free capital gains, cash out refinance (if mortgage rates are lower), or pull a HELOC to acquire your next property!

Have you considered purchasing a short term rental? More cashflow but of course more work. Highly recommend self-managing so you can take advantage of a cost segregation and the short term rental loop hole!

Hey Allen,

I can see that you have put good amount of thought into your plan. Looks decent.

Some things to consider:

Holding Costs - you will be paying your HML interest only payments for however long it takes you to renovate

A Full Gut for 60K seems too good to be true

Remember your ARV / Refinance interest rate are moving targets. They can fluctuate based on the market and economy.

Don't forget a contingency budget!

There will also be closing costs to refinancing into DSCR.

Lenders need 6 months to refinance a loan, anything sooner, you're probably paying a good amount of points / DSCR has to be rock solid.

There also may be additional costs in maintaining your property. Landscaping, Snow Removal, Pest Control to name a few.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

For any successful BRRRR or Flip, it all comes down to the purchase price. You can be in any market you choose as long as you buy correctly. Do the proper due diligence on ARV, estimating rehab costs, closing costs, holding costs (to name a few) and you will have a good idea on what the purchase price should look like. Don't forget to budget for contingency!

If it is your first investment, highly recommend investing locally unless you have people you can trust in those out of state markets. 

Good Luck!