All Forum Posts by: Joshua Filkill

@Jordan Alexander The Craig Curelop book is great, @Gavi Balsam You should read it if you haven't already. 

Besides education and saving you should network as much as you can. Go to local meetups and meet investors, investor friendly realtors, lenders, etc. That way when the time comes when you're ready to house hack you'll already have a team together.

Quote from @Nat Love:

Quote from @Joshua Filkill:

@Nat Love You could and avoid paying PMI, but at the cost of a way larger down payment. The idea is that you can use that extra money as reserves or find another property to invest in. You could even put it in an index fund and let it grow overtime instead of having it tied up in the property.

Thing is, 1. That 20% down is about 1/3 of the total equity I have in my primary. 2. There area I'm looking to buy is too competitive for FHA offers, sellers will only take at least 20% down. Any thoughts?

1. Are you planning to refi or use a HELOC?
2. I had the same issue when I was looking with an FHA loan. If using conventional will get you the perfect house you want to house hack then maybe go for it. In my area I just had to be really patient until a house came up that would accept an FHA offer, they had a cash offer on it but it was low so they decided to go with me.  Many cash offers for these houses will be low ball offers so they make sense for the buyer. In regards to competing with conventional buyers, you may have to add some incentive on top for the seller if you're losing out to conventional buyers when you're trying to buy with an FHA loan. Make sure you have a realtor that understands house hacking and can help you with this.

I would also advise you to not limit yourself to FHA. Check with local lenders to see if they offer low down payment programs, one in my area doesn't require PMI. 

@Nat Love You could and avoid paying PMI, but at the cost of a way larger down payment. The idea is that you can use that extra money as reserves or find another property to invest in. You could even put it in an index fund and let it grow overtime instead of having it tied up in the property.

Quote from @Sarah Baniewicz:

What side hustles have you done to earn extra money to purchase a first real estate property?

 Doordash delivery helped a lot when saving up for my first property

Quote from @Cassie Bevington:

Heyyy BiggerPockets Community! My husband and I are located in northwest Ohio. We own/operate a painting business, Bevingtonlife Painting Co. and see a lot of beautiful real estate in our business. Beginning a real estate journey with the rest of you! Listen to the Bigger Pockets Podcast while painting all the time! Time to join you guys on the big world wide web :)

Welcome to BiggerPockets!

Quote from @Berkay Talay:

Thank you all for your helpful responses. I meant to ask what is the general Rule of thumb for how much the rent is supposed to be. Sounds to me that generating cash flow out of a house hack strategy is not easy especially if the homeowner decides to dwell in there

 There's not really a rule of thumb for the exact amount you can charge in rent. This depends on the market rent for the area. Look up rentals in your area on FB, Zillow, or use Rentometer or the BP rent calculator. 

Generating cash flow is hard when house hacking, but if you get close to covering your mortgage then I consider it a success because you would be paying more to live somewhere else and not have the tax advantages and having your tenants pay down the loan.  

@Romie Graham Congrats! It took me three years from when I found BP to close on a property, wish I did it sooner. 

@Chaitanya M. If you're mainly looking for cash flow then the Midwest is usually the best option. A city like Cleveland is great for cash flow. I operate in the Cleveland and Columbus markets and we have many out of state investors looking at Cleveland for cash flow and Columbus for a mix of some cash flow and good appreciation. Let me know if you have any questions about Cleveland/Columbus!

@Agatha Michalak I recommend trying to invest locally when you start and then you can expand to long distance when you're ready. When investing long distance you need to put together a great team that you trust. 

Attend local meetups, network on BP and build a team in your area. 

I'm with @Nader Shariff Cleveland is a great place to look at when your goal is cash flow