All Forum Posts by: Kevin S.

@Ryan Luby why not make having both unit's vacant part of your agreement to close on the property? That way the seller is the one having to deal with getting rid of the current tenant?

@Account Closed they have been predicting a recession for years now, so I would in no way count on there being one in 2020 when you are planning to buy. And even if there is a recession, you most likely aren't going to see the impact on housing prices (in my opinion) that were seen during the previous recession. Regarding your choices A, B, and C:

A) If there is a recession going on (and I'm not saying there will be) and prices are lower, why would you pass on getting in when prices are lower?

B) A reasonable choice

C) Not sure why you would put down 15-20% when you could go with option B and only put down 3.5%. The only reasons I could come up with are 1) avoiding PMI and 2) the property you want to purchase needs rehab and therefor wouldn't qualify for FHA 3) you are buying an investment property but not living there (in which case you would be putting down more like 20-25%. If either 1) or 2) are your reason, then you could go with a conventional loan and probably only have to put down 5% (maybe 10%).

@Doug Phillips if it were me I'd say no. There's no incentive for you, and as you mentioned a lot of increased wear/tear. I know my lease has language in it that prohibits this sort of thing, I would just inform your tenant that he signed the lease with the intention of being the only renter and that's what you're sticking with. I would also keep an eye on the property and do inspections in the coming months as if you say no there's the possibility that he may ignore you and move the cousin/dog in anyway behind your back. Good luck!

@Jordan Keables it means you need to hire a CPA. It sounds like you may be asking this question because you're hoping to get around hiring a CPA by hiring a less expensive, non-CPA accountant, but seeing as you either need to be a CPA to conduct audits, or be an non-CPA accountant working for a CPA firm, you're going to end up hiring a CPA either way. Just find a local CPA who can audit your financials and prepare the required financial statements and move on. Good luck!

@Steven Asifo most duplex/triplex/fourplexes on Zillow are under "Apartments" so just filter for "Apartments" and "For Sale" and that should help you identify most of them. As other's have suggested, there are other sites such as Trulia/Redfin/etc. that actually have a multifamily option so you might try those as well. Good luck!

@Garret Hohn one other suggestion would be, if you have spare time, offer to be an unpaid intern for someone in the RE world (RE agent, investor, etc.). This would get you some hands-on experience and would allow you to ask questions without feeling like you're taking up their valuable time without giving anything back.

@Garret Hohn I would say that the question of paying down your student loans vs. saving up for a downpayment has several factors to consider. 1) What interest rate are your student loans at? How does that interest rate compare to you're ROI from investing (property specific). 2) Since you'll just be starting out as a new engineer, do you think you'll have the time to do REI immediately? Do you think the time/stress from doing REI will negatively impact your job performance as an engineer? Since your job as an engineer will be the main driver for downpayments (at least for a while) you don't want to do anything that puts this job at risk. 3) If you just paid down your student loans, how long would it take you? If the answer is less than a year, I'd be tempted to just pay off the student loans before I began investing, while using that time to identify neighborhoods/areas to invest in, etc. If more than a year, consider all the time you'd be missing out on hands-on learning if you don't start investing in REI right off the bat.

All that being said, I am currently invested in a duplex that I am house-hacking and am also paying off my student loans at the same time. It took me several years to get to this point, and looking back, I wish I'd done it immediately out of college, but that's just me. 

@Chad J Muse you'll need to check with your employer (HR department) on whether 1) your plan allows for Roth contributions, not all plans do, and 2) whether your plan will allow for a Roth conversion. My guess would be that your plan will not allow you to convert to Roth while you're still employed, however you may be able to roll your 401k over into a Roth plan after you terminate employment. If you do convert it though, you would have to pay all the taxes at that point. Since you're still employed, if your plan allows for Roth contributions you might consider just switching your contributions going forward to Roth.

@Account Closed said, "own it"

@Garret Hohn congrats on getting started early in life, wish I had been when I was your age. My biggest suggestions would be 1) Read - any and all REI, budgeting, rehab, etc. books/blogs/articles/magazines/etc. you can get your hands on. It's amazing how much info is out there, much of it free or very low cost. The better prepared and organized you are going into it the better chance of a great outcome. 2) Figure out your RE goals - as you read/research and get a better understanding of REI, you will want to plan things such as investing strategy (rehap/flip, buy and hold, etc.) as well as the location or market(s) you plan to work in. 3) Practice running the numbers - BP has their calculator and you can find (or create) similar ones in excel. Pick properties off listings you see or Zillow or craigslist or wherever and run the numbers, do this multiple times so you have a good working knowledge of how to quickly identify if a property is worth pursing. 4) Network - this can be done through your painting job, but there are also a lot of good REI groups around, including a local chapter of the Real Estate Investors Association (REIA). Go to meetings and talk with experienced investors, you never know when a shared connection can pay dividends. Good luck with your REI career!