All Forum Posts by: Kyle Curtin

Quote from @Brian Sardinskas:

@Kyle Curtin,

Great information! I never knew that there was a public master plan for each city. This is a golden nugget! Thank you for sharing!

Thank you homie! I loooove the master plan’s man… Many people don’t look at them! :) 

Good afternoon! Today I am going to give a few tips about assessing the location of a potential property that you are looking to buy and a few things I like to look at! These are in no particular order I suppose but all good items to look at when you are trying to understand a market well (especially for the first time!)

1.) Master Plan for City- This one is awesome! Most towns/cities have a master plan for the aspects/areas of the city that they are actively focusing their efforts on, and are pretty thorough with specific plans for carrying out those efforts with estimated timelines etc. Sometimes there are LITERALLY MAPS on the sections being revitalized… Reading through these documents gives you a TON of insight… it’s basically insider trading but COMPLETELY LEGAL my friends…. USE YOUR RESOURCES!

2.) Market Rents for City- I talk about these a decent amount lol. I like to use a mix of the 2024 HUD Fair Market Rents, MLS previously rented units w/ pictures to see what type of tenant expectation aligns with the rent price, AND Rentometer.com to get a bunch of data on a new market. I personally like to use 3 different resources to get a good sense of what rents ACTUALLY trade for in a new market :)!

3.) Market Data- I like to personally look for top employers in that market & how many employees they have, look at trailing population growth and the direction it has gone, the population itself if it is an tertiary market, job growth, median area income, etc. These I find through US Census.gov data, City-data.com , and other free sites I can get my hands on lol.

4.) Neighborhood Scout Crime Map- I like this one too. You want to have a “deeper” (I’ll leave it at that 😉) understanding of a market you are considering investing in, especially if you are planning to owner occupy for a little while. The numbers may look great on paper, but if there could be a larger threat to your safety than you bargained for, websites like neighborhoodscout.com can help you navigate that dynamic before learning the hard way!

What other resources do you like to look at when assessing a new market? COMMENT BELOW YALL!

Quote from @Daniel Hwang:

Hi,

I'm looking to leverage my first property to purchase a second property. I understand there are specific methods like cash out refinancing, HELOCS, and equity loans. 

If I take those out like a HELOC how do I actually pay that loan back as I'll still have a monthly payment for that loan? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hey Daniel! It depends on a bunch of factors. How are the debt terms that you have on your 1st property? Is it fixed? Did you get a sub 3% rate that is gorgeous from 3 years ago? Is it meh rate wise? How much equity is in your current property? Are you looking to househack your next property? Are you currently an owner occupant in your 1st property?

The split in the road that I personally crossed a few years ago was whether to do a HELOC or a cash out refi on my first building. Both have their pros and cons, but the debt I have on the building is 2.6% fixed rate FHA. It cash flows nicely, and has a pretty fair amount of equity in it. I was in a position where I needed to lever it somehow while I was still an owner occupant (I since have moved out of that building and rent it out as a rental), and ended up taking a heloc. I got the highest LTV because I was an owner occupant even though the rate came out to 9.25% at that time…. 

Like everyone mentions below, it is difficult to make it worth it in todays environment to beat the heloc rate, but it’s access to capital at the ready for you to use in the event that you find something crazy. It acts as an emergency fund In my opinion while it’s not deployed anywhere, and god for bid you have a large capex item go that you might not be 100% prepared for and you can resolve it immediately. You won’t have a payment if you don’t use it, just like a credit card. I personally recommend that if you have good debt on the first one to take a heloc, and if your debt is meh to potentially look into cashout refi’ing on the 1st building and keeping your eyes open for the next opportunity :) Analyze both accordingly and talk to your lender as well as other investors to get their thoughts!

Quote from @Preeti Sharma:

I have funds for down payment to house hack in Boston. Can our Boston college student use the funds to house hack where she lives and get other students to rent. Need advice on financial side and a recommendation for an RE agent in the  area who has experience on house hack. 

 Hi Preeti! That is an awesome idea! I know of a few very successful local investors that did that in Boston. I myself househacked my first 3 family in Leominster, and am getting ready to buy my next one shortly while helping clients get theirs :). I would love to connect! 

Quote from @Mason Weiss:

If both tenants understand that the living area is shared upfront, then give it a shot. Sure you might deal with some minor tenant disputes, but your profitability will be higher. Depends if you are ready to take on the additional headache in this management style.

 Gotcha! Thank you! I may give it a shot :) 

Quote from @Conner Olsen:

Quote from @Kyle Curtin:

Hey guys! How do you guys feel about renting a bedroom in a furnished 2 bedroom unit with another unrelated nurse renting the other bedroom- 2 different tenants/leases in the same unit?

How do you typically navigate the harmony with the other person with cooking, getting ready in the bathroom, sharing cabinets/fridge space etc? Do you think it is worth trying out or not? I have noticed a surplus of tenants looking for 1b furnished units and haven’t gotten any for a whole 2b yet. 🤔

Thank you!

What's the rate difference between your 2b and a 1b. If it's similar enough just get one of them to stay?

 It is drastically different haha. The 1b units go for about 1500 on the high end and 2600 for the whole unit :) 

Quote from @Mackaylee Beach:

hmm definitely seem's like something I would avoid. 
 Is the nurse already a tenant? If so, how has her response to this been so far?
Interested to hear how this works out for you.

 Yeah I hear you there. I haven’t done it yet, I have my 2BR MTR unit rented to someone through Airbnb at the moment but some folks have reached out through furnished finder for 1b units 

Hey guys! How do you guys feel about renting a bedroom in a furnished 2 bedroom unit with another unrelated nurse renting the other bedroom- 2 different tenants/leases in the same unit?

How do you typically navigate the harmony with the other person with cooking, getting ready in the bathroom, sharing cabinets/fridge space etc? Do you think it is worth trying out or not? I have noticed a surplus of tenants looking for 1b furnished units and haven’t gotten any for a whole 2b yet. 🤔

Thank you!

Quote from @Keith Winkelmann:

Hello,

For those that have STRs near the beach, is there a keyless front door lock system you would recommend? 

Thank You

Hey man! I highly recommend the Schlag Encode. It runs about $350 but has a pretty awesome app that gives notifications on if the door is open/closed, you can open/close remotely with a button push, and you can create up to like 100 custom pin codes and change how long certain codes are good for etc. The install was very easy, it is a bit pricey but other than that I love everything about it. The only other thing, it takes 3-4 AA batteries I believe (I forget lol). Not sure how long the batteries usually last but I’m thinking of keeping a secret lockbox hidden somewhere outside with a physical key to that lock in the case that the batteries die and I am offsite etc. I like it man!

Quote from @Geoffrey Greene:

Are folks using these? If so how do you keep track of the codes and make sure it's ready for the next visitor? I've stayed at some STR's where the electronic door code didn't work and it was a real pain as we stood at the door waiting for help. I want to make sure if I install these kinds of locks that the experience is flawless for my guests. Any advice on how to proceed would most welcome.

I am using one for my MTR that is almost done, I wouldn’t do it any other way :)

I highly recommend the Schlag Encode. It runs about $350 but has a pretty awesome app that gives notifications on if the door is open/closed, you can open/close remotely with a button push, and you can create up to like 100 custom pin codes and change how long certain codes are good for etc. The install was very easy, it is a bit pricey but other than that I love everything about it. The only other thing, it takes 3-4 AA batteries I believe (I forget lol). Not sure how long the batteries usually last but I’m thinking of keeping a secret lockbox hidden somewhere outside with a physical key to that lock in the case that the batteries die and I am offsite etc. I like it man!