All Forum Posts by: Kyle Shankin

@Lynn Milos thanks for asking! Yes, the house rented shortly after my post for $825/month. That tenant stayed there for 2 years and then moved on. The house was only on the market for a couple of weeks before we found another tenant whose currently renting at $875/month; they're going to renew for another year in about a month. We refinanced the house as soon as we could and it appraised for $86k, so we made about $6k. We're cashflowing about $250/month if my memory serves me correctly.

 The important piece here is "...what's agreed to in the contract."

If you're wholesaling the property, you can either agree to have your buyer pay for the final water bill (and then make sure you tell your buyer that's part of the deal) or have your seller pay it before close.

If you're on the buying end, read the contract so you know what expenses you're agreeing to. 

There's no standard in negotiations, so be active when talking to all available parties and know what you're agreeing to do and what they're agreeing to do.

Perhaps you could could try finding a partner (or multiple partners) to go in on the deal with you.

@Russ Loven if you're already at the point that you know you want to house-hack, then maybe decide how you're going to do that (1 big house w/ roomates, a duplex, tri,quad etc.) then talk to a realtor and a lender to see what your options are. They will help you identify and acquire your first property. 

Keep in mind, property acquisition doesn't happen overnight, it's a process. Start looking now and keep soaking up information, working on your credit score and tackle individual obstacles as they come your way.

Thanks for your service!

@Joseph Sammarco there's a lot of good points on here already. I want to add that it would be good to start with a plan, even a basic one. Figure out what your expenses are so you know the number that you need to get to for your investments to take over. Then decide on what type of investing you want to do and research how to do that, then move onto actually doing it. 

I highly recommend listening to the BP real estate podcast, it has TONS of information about the various types of RE investing models. 

I love The Richest Man in Babylon for money-handling principles. It's a quick and easy read, of course that doesn't mean the message will be accepted by the reader. You can lead a horse to water and all that...

Whether or not you need management depends on how involved you want to be with the process. Also, it looks like you added an extra 5% in there without a label, is that for capital expenditures? 

 IMO - the idea of buying a house that you might want to live in in about 10 years with maybe only the ability to break even sounds like a risky investment. You're money might be better spent elsewhere. 

@Christine Seeley what @Scott M. said is spot on for State requirements and calling the building department will get you a nice quick answer. 

I'll add that my experience has been that battery powered smoke detectors with 10 year batteries have been the minimum for the areas that I invest in (though I'm on the east side of the state); unless you're doing some type of structural rehab, in which case a hardwired detector is required. 

I've heard good and bad reviews on combo detectors and have used both, so far so good on both fronts. 

I think the most important takeaway after follow local and state ordinances would be to ensure that the devices are maintained and replaced when needed. 

 Can't put it much better than that. 

@Zac Lindquist, just to throw it out there as another option, you could hire it out. Have a property management company source and find you a tenant.