All Forum Posts by: Leonard Sanford Jr

Good Afternoon BP,

I am reaching out as I am in the process of seeking out lenders to finance my first house hack deal, a 3 bedroom 2 full bath Colonial. From what I have learned early in my investing career, is that your DTI ratio can play a huge role in determining whether or not a loan is approved from an Underwriter. Given that knowledge, I know that my personal DTI ratio may be a little higher, although I am still currently in school and my loans are all deferred. As I navigate through this process, I would like to know whether or not there are specific types of owner-occupied loans that are more amicable to a person with my DTI situation? Would seller financing or a land contract be better to seek out? Much love and thanks in advance for any new knowledge or wisdom!

@Daniel Haberkost Thanks so much for the feedback Daniel! I am glad to hear that House Hacking has been such a powerful financial tool for you my man. I am definitely excited to begin this journey. I think you're hitting the nail on the head, as long as I let the expectations be clear from the beginning I imagine everything will go more smoothly. Have you ever used the property management software Cozy? If not, how do you go about collecting rent from your House Hack or other tenants within your portfolio? I was thinking of just utilizing Venmo, Apple Pay or Paypal so that it saves the tenants and myself a trip to the bank. 

@Daniel Haberkost I totally agree, Daniel. It seemed like the clear cut choice for me without a doubt. After only a day or so of marketing I have a friend who has committed to leasing one of the rooms for at least the next year. I am working on occupying the second room now, but I have some promising leads that have been generated from a Craigslist posting I created. 

@Parker Massengill Thanks for the feedback, Parker. I am leaning towards going that route, as far as primarily advertising to friends for the very reason you highlighted. Since I will be sharing the entire unit with two other people, I figure that it may be better to go with people I know. I have one friend already who has committed to renting out one of the rooms, so now I just need to find another. 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $110,000
Cash invested: $5,000

A beautiful 3 Bedroom 1 Bath fully remodeled ranch!

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

After a lot of research, I learned about House Hacking and the power behind it. This is a strategy that has been used by many investors to start the foundation of their portfolios.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found this deal through an automated list that I set up with an agent, and we negotiated the deal after the showing.

How did you finance this deal?

Approved for a low down payment owner occupied loan through my personal Credit Union.

Great Morning All!

Very happy to share that yesterday I secured my first property under contract. The property is a 3 bedroom 1 bath single family ranch. I am planning on renting out the other 2 private rooms, and based on the numbers I've run using the BP calculators it will cash flow nicely while I am living there and when I move out. With that being said, I am interested in hearing tips for success using this method from others who have done it successfully. For example, would it be better to market to friends or venture into marketing to "strangers"? I truly cannot understate how integral this site has been to my early success! Thank you all very much in advance for the feedback.

A side note, I can honestly say that Craig Curelop's book The House Hacking Strategy is a gem! Would wholeheartedly recommend that to anyone using to utilize this strategy. 

What's up Woodrow,

I'm currently residing in Ann Arbor. Welcome to BP, you will love the site. I am not much further along than you are currently on your journey but would love to share what I've learned and some things that have worked well for me here in the early stages. If you haven't already I would sign up for the next free webinar that @Brandon Turner hosts every Wednesday at 7pm, there are TONS of helpful topics he goes over in great detail. Also, I would recommend the book The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller and I would read the BP book The Beginner's Guide to starting in RE. Looking forward to connecting!

@Sharlene Mulchandani Thanks so much for your feedback! I there a particular PM software that you like to use? I am a millennial, so to be honest the more items that can be handled electronically, the better for sure. Of course, I always want to do what future tenants feel the most comfortable doing. Currently, I do have an active Paypal business account under my LLC. I will need to do some research and see what, if any, fees are associated with collecting these types of reoccurring payments.

@Bjorn Ahlblad Wow, totally didn't know that having a direct deposit setup for tenants was doable. I feel that would probably be the best route. Do you also give them written invoices/receipts to keep track? 

@Kevin Paglia Reading some of the BP books is always a good idea for sure. I'm currently reading The House Hacking Strategy by BP's own Craig Curletop if you haven't already checked that one out I would highly recommend it. I will definitely do some research on Cozy and possibly even give it a try. Thanks for the feedback Kevin, and best of luck! I'd be happy to connect so we can bounce some ideas off each other if you'd like