All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Hey everyone,

So I've recently purchased a four bed - 2 bath in Pittsburgh, PA and have two questions concerning the monthly rent.

1.  I am currently charging $450 / room. Should I bump the price up to $500 including utilities? Or should I leave it at 450 + utilities? I'm house hacking, so I'll be living in one of the rooms.

2. The houses in the area as a whole are renting anywhere from 1k-2k for a four bed - 2 baths. The houses going for 2k are A houses, my house is probably a B- house. The neighborhood is probably a B. I'm wondering why people don't charge rent/room instead of charging rent / entire house.  It seems like there is so much more opportunity for cashflow.

This is my first rental home and am not sure how I should set my rent.

Thank you so much for the responses.  I have forced air heating and the unit is from 1994, so I will definitely look at getting an upgrade.  I am 90% certain I will get central a/c, however, I will have to get a window unit for the third floor because the cold air will be too heavy to make it to the top.  I have never heard of an energy model, thanks for the advice. Would it be worth it to install a second floor return duct or trim the doors to create more air circulation because there are none on the second floor.

Hey everyone,

My name is Joe, I'm 24 years old, was in the military for 5 years, and with the money I saved up I bought my first house in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was the third house I looked at, but between myself and my agent we were certain it was a good deal and turned out to be. 

I purchased it for $90k with a 30 year loan to maximize cash flow. The mortgage will be $640 / month and rent will be $550 / room.  I will be living in one room and be renting out the other 3 bedrooms.  I close on July 10, and plan on having my roommates (friends) move in August first.  There are no window units so I plan on spending $4k on central A/C, $300 on a new oven (broken), and will most likely be painting all of the bedrooms.  The house is in pretty good shape, but I just have no idea where to start adding value to it.  I'm a full time student making $3300 / month through the GI Bill and would like to start saving for my next investment property, but also start improving the house as I am living in it.  

I am looking for good recommendations of books or advice for a systematic approach on how to handle my first house. I am more than likely going to be going the BRRR route.

Thanks guys, hopefully this wasn't too bad for my first post.

I will be asking for advice, being my first real estate deal, as I have mixed emotions hoping everything will be okay. I honestly don't really know where to begin, but I will begin asking a couple questions.