All Forum Posts by: Kenny Banuelos

Is it a good idea to form an LLC to buy your first house hack?
If so what are the advantages and disadvantages?

What are some things that you can write off?

Any feedback helps, Thank you BP fam!! 

Marcus, 

There is definitely a lender out there that is willing to work with you, House hacking is a great way to get started in real estate!

-You don't need to make a certain amount of money to qualify! Using an FHA loan is a lot easier to get pre-approved, but you will need that 3.5% for a downpayment as well as 2-3% more for closing cost but you can also get sellers credit and not have to pay as much upfront. House hacking and FHA loans is a common strategy.

-Think about what asset class you want to go into as well, whether you are doing a short-term rental, mid-term rental, or long-term rental, you can also use up 75% of the rent income from the separate unit if you do decide to go into multifamily, this could make it easier to qualify for a small multifamily property.

-If you have 10k for a downpayment it's good that you are thinking about having reserves, but you also have to think about closing cost, if you are worried about not having tenants having a couple months' rent would be ideal

-If you are new to real estate, start reading books, listening to podcasts, analyze deals, learn the tenant screening process, property management, see how you could mitigate the risk on the house hack, find an exit strategy, but most of all have patience. Once you are ready, I would start talking to multiple lenders see what works best for you, it would be great if you found a lender that has experience with house hackers! Have an idea of what you are looking for when you are working with your real estate agent.

Best of luck! 

Good job Rodney!
1) It is hard to say which strategy or financing to choose but I believe the first step should be getting pre approved and seeing what you can afford and start narrowing down your options maybe you can't afford large multifamily or don't have the capital for a rehab on a BRRRR so something like a single family or small multi family would make more sense.
2) Figure out what strategy you are comfortable with, you mentioned you had a wife for example, maybe house hacking a duplex (living on in unit and renting out the other) will be more comfortable than house hacking the basement of a single family. 
3) As for financing, get pre approved see what you can afford and maybe you only have enough for FHA 3.5% down and closing cost, I don't know the Spokane Washington market. I would talk to different lenders and maybe you can convince the seller to do seller financing that would be great! Also get sellers credit to not have to pay as much closing cost!
4) What I would do with 40k if I was in your shoes is i would get pre approved analyze the potential deals on small multifamily specifically a side by side duplex. Calculate cash flow I would hypothetically receive from STR MTR LTR I would put down the 3.5 FHA. I would house hack subsidize my mortgage which gives time to build up capital and would refinance to conventional loan and start my next investment! I really think this strategy can work for anyone and can really help launch you off into the direction you want to go with real estate wether that be cash out refinance, HELOC, another FHA, conventional, BRRRR, large multi family , single family, arbitrage , STR, MTR, LTR etc..

Warning I am not an experienced investor! This is just my personal opinion and how I would deploy your capital in RE.

17 year old high school student looking to provide value in exchange for a mentor as well as looking for opportunities to network and learn with experienced small multi family investors! I’ve learned a lot from listening to tons of BP podcasts and real estate rookie podcasts.  Please share your experiences as house hackers and property managers.  I’m going to be a senior and graduate next year and I want to get as involved as I can with Real estate to be able to have my first investment before I graduate. I have $24,000 and still saving! looking at duplex’s in the $500,000- 550,000 range in the strong Salt Lake City, Utah market. Picture me as a younger version of yourself what would you do in my shoes?