All Forum Posts by: Kevin Forsell

Hello everyone!

I'm very excited to get tarted on my real estate career started! By the end of next year I will have saved about $50k for a down payment plus some reno budget. I plan on using the BRRRR method.

I live in Jersey City, NJ, and the home prices are very high in this area. The upside is I can manage the renovation much easier, and for my first reno, it will be much easier to have a local property. 

Another option is to invest in Salt Lake City, Utah because my best friend lives there and owns his own Property Management company. He has connections to trustworthy Agents, contractors, CPA's, and lawyers, and of course, he would manage my property(ies) for me. The home prices are also much more affordable, and from what I am learning, the Salt Lake City market is getting very hot, especially considering the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2034. 

So, do I find my own team and invest (at least to start) in North Jersey, or do I use my friend and his contacts and invest out of state? I'm leaning toward SLC, but it does worry me to invest out of state. 

(By the way, 50k is my starting point. I plan to start searching for properties when I have 50k, but likely will have more reserved by the time I close on my first property. I know I'd likely need more if I decide to invest in Jersey). 

Thanks for all your help! I'm excited to hear what you think!

Kevin

Hi everyone, I'm a new investor only in the "creating a foundation" step of my real-estate investment journey. I have $10k in savings (3 mo emergency fund) and I'm the process of eliminating about $16k in debt (credit card, and auto loan) before really sprinting toward saving for a down payment and reno budget for my first flip. 

My landlord wants to sell the building I live in currently. It's a 4-plex (3 story walk-up with a ground level unit with a separate entrance). One 3 bed, one 2 bed and two 1-bed (all 1 bath) and about 1,000 sq ft each unit. The building is located near the Hamilton Park area of Jersey City (highly desired neighborhood, walkable to the PATH into NYC). He is willing to sell for $2.2M. I'm inexperienced in this, and having trouble seeing if this is a good opportunity to House Hack. I already live here, my unit is renovated, the others are not, allowing a perfect BRRRR + House Hack strategy. The issue is, of course, I don't have the capital. Is this a deal good enough that I should seek investors? Are there any agents out there who are familiar with this area who can let me know if this is a good deal?

Am I getting way too ahead of myself and need to focus on saving money for a deal that's more appropriate for a first-time buyer?

Happy to answer any questions about the property. 

Kevin

 Thank you Tammy, I appreciate that. I’m just learning, so now that it’s been made clear that this is a bad idea I won’t entertain it. 

 This was a quote from the agent, which concerned me and prompted me to dig deeper and ask professionals on this forum. 

 Before asking this question I wasn’t aware that this was against the law, I was just asking about some advice I was given by an agent (who I won’t be working with). I’ll be finding a new agent by the time I’m ready to make an offer. 

 Hi Luke, thanks for the detailed answer! Yes, this agent obviously gave me questionable advice. That’s why I wanted to confirm with this community before even continuing to talk with this agent. Very new to the game here. 

I will end up living in one unit and renting out the other(s) until the 12 months are up. And most likely start again on a new property. And I will be using a different agent. ;) 

Hello all-

I'm saving for my first multifamily home and my Agent (who invests himself) advised me to house hack for at least my first property. I expressed some uncertainty with living in the property and he told me some under-the-table advice; you don't actually NEED to live there, you just have to have the "intention" of living there. Once the property is sold, you can rent out all units, and no House Hack Police will come knocking to check if you're living in the property. 

Obviously this is more ideal for me (and I assume for most people), but the thought of cheating the system scares me a bit. Has anyone done this? If I do this and the lender (or anyone else) finds out, what might the repercussions be? Thanks in advance for the advice!

I'm saving now for an investment property, but I live in Jersey City, NJ. Duplexes in the area are minimum 500k, and need a lot of work. Should my first property be a local investment or should I look in a more affordable area? 

Context: I'm 33 and make good money at my FT job (Netting around 9,000/mo), and I'm not willing to move away from Jersey City. I currently have about 10k aside for my real estate investment journey. I have a good agent in the area (who also invests) and he suggests I save 50k in order to purchase a property with HFA, house hack, and have some reno budget. I really enjoy my FT job, so I don't mind spending 2+ years to save the 50k and learn more about investing. What are your thoughts?