All Forum Posts by: Kyle Spearin

@Yamin Htet this is all great advice. I'm just going to suggest a few other areas of the city because you got a lot of great recommendations.

You might want to consider East Boston because prices are still "affordable" in relation to other parts of the city, the main draw being the airport. Lot's of people traveling for work might target Eastie for a STR. Another place in the city to consider is anything in Jamaica Plain/Brookline area near the hospitals. Traveling nurses for medium term rentals or you could use it as a STR for college graduations, etc. as it's not far from many schools.

You'll have lots of options no matter where you go in Boston, good luck!

@Brian C Kelleher I did a 5% down with JDFCU with no PMI. Essentially they split up the loan into 2 loans to avoid it. This had 2 different interest rates, though so you'd want to look into what you would be paying on a monthly basis with that blended rate vs actually just paying the PMI.

@Jerri Diaz I'd recommend starting with house hacking. It allows you to put less down, learn all about real estate while living in the property, and potentially reduce your living expenses.

There are different ways to house hack as well, so if you're interested in becoming a landlord, you could try buying a 3 family (for example) and see if you like it. You could experiment with a live-in flip to see if you like flipping houses and the skillset that entails. You could do a value-add multi family that combines these two strategies. 

House hacking is an awesome way to experiment in a relatively low risk environment. 

@Tryn Mesarch congrats!

@Adam Benjamin Sanoe, congrats on running a successful business! Here are some general tips:

1. Identify your goals-- what do you want to get out of real estate investing? Cashflow, appreciation, etc. Think about your lifestyle and wealth strategy in relation to real estate.

2. Determine where you want to invest.

3. Determine your strategy. This will be informed by where you invest because certain markets are better for certain strategies than others

4. Learn about your market and strategy. Network, read, drive around your area, etc.

5. Apply what you've learned and take action.

@Slaven Slugic you could look into insurance brokers in your area. They will do the price shopping for you and find the based vendor based on your requirements. Another option is doing this yourself. 

If I were in your shoes, I'd reach out to people in my building or neighborhood to see what they're paying and who they're using. Good luck!

@Sarah Allyson Shipp congrats!

@James Trobaugh in either situation, you could use an FHA loan. There are also conventional 5% down loans--it's not just 20% down. Being a college student, you could house hack a single family if you wanted to have roommates, or you could house hack a multi-family.

Given that you're just starting to learn, I would highly recommend talking to lenders and real estate agents in your area. Tell them what your goals are and see if they are willing to help educate you through the process. You can also reach out to people on biggerpockets who are doing what you want to do.

The more people you talk to, the more you'll learn!

@Jackie Buzzerd welcome to BP!

@Paul Elston I invest in the Raleigh metro and currently have projects in Dunn and Fayetteville. Luckily, it seems like the Raleigh and Charlotte markets are both growing like crazy!

As you start your search, I would highly recommend digging into the specific neighborhoods. For a house hack, start with what YOU value and work backwards from there. In the future, when you go to rent the property, that will also be attractive to people like you, which is who you want you want to rent to (in my opinion).