All Forum Posts by: Joshua Filkill

As others have mentioned, I would start with house hacking where you live. First talk to local lenders in the area you decide to live in and see if they have any low down payment programs before you use an FHA loan.

Next you can expand your portfolio in a market that has some combo of cash flow & appreciation, there are some great cities in the Midwest that can achieve this and have a lower barrier to entry than a city like Austin. I operate in the Columbus and Cleveland, OH markets and would be more than happy to give you a run down of the benefits of both. Feel free to reach out!

Hey Lewis - Looks like you're looking at a few cities in the Midwest. Have you taken a look at any cities in Ohio such as Columbus or Cleveland? Columbus has seen great appreciation that is projected to continue due to large organizations such as Intel, Honda, Nationwide Children's Hospital and Wexner Medical Center investing a lot of money to expand operations and create many new jobs in the area. Cleveland is also consistently known as a top ten market for cash flow with opportunities to get in at a low PP. 

I would first invest some time learning about real estate investing while saving some money. BiggerPockets has some great books such as The House Hacking Strategy by Craig Curelop, The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner, and many others. You can also attend the webinars that BiggerPockets hosts to learn more about investing and see how to analyze a rental property.

I agree with @Jake S. you should learn more about house hacking as it's a great way to get started in real estate. I started off house hacking a duplex and the rent I collected covered my PITI, so I was practically living for free besides some minor maintenance costs.

Good luck!

Are there any local REI meetups in the Cleveland area? Would love to connect with more investors in the area.

Hey all,

I'm looking to house hack a duplex in Lakewood and would love to not have to pay PMI. Does anyone know any lenders that'll do a low down payment mortgage with no PMI in the Lakewood area?

Hey all,

I'm looking to house hack a duplex in Lakewood and would love to not have to pay PMI. Does anyone know any lenders that'll do a low down payment mortgage with no PMI in the Lakewood area?

Hey Everyone,

I'm finally ready to start building my real estate portfolio in Columbus, and I'd love to start getting to know other investors in the area. My goal is to close on two multi-family properties this year, one being a house hack and the other using a conventional loan (Which may require partnering up with another investor). 

Are there any local meetups I can attend? I'd love to connect and talk real estate!

Hey everyone,

I posted a couple months ago about wanting to house hack in Madison. I will be moving there in early June and want to get a jump start on things. Does anyone have any recommendations on investor friendly agents? I'm looking for a property that would only require minor repairs, and would be move-in ready to rent out by the room. I signed a six month lease to give myself time to learn the area more and meet more people, so I'd love to get together at a local meetup when I get to Madison. Any other advice you might have to help me get started is much appreciated.

Thanks!

@Mike L. Thank you for the response. I will be working in Verona and I will be signing a six month lease to give me some time to learn more about the area. I am able to do some work on my own, but it would be more minor things. I do want to learn a lot more about BRRRR and flipping so that I can do more work on my own. I was thinking that the best way to house hack in Madison would be to find a single family house and rent by the room to the roommates I will have when I first move there. I would love to chat more or even attend some events that may be held in the Madison area when I move there to meet some realtors, lenders, contractors, etc.

Hi everyone!

I will be moving to the Madison area upon my graduation in June. I am not familiar with the area at all, but I do want to start investing there as soon as I can. What are some good neighborhoods in the Madison area for house hacking or investing in general? If anyone has done a house hack there I'd love to hear about your process, what strategy you used and how everything went. I'm also interested in possibly using the BRRRR strategy, so any advice on that would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks!