All Forum Posts by: Levi Dobson

Welcome, and congratulations on taking the steps to purchasing your first home! I was in a similar situation when I was first getting started. I wanted to buy a house because I told myself that I would never in my life pay rent. When it came down to it I just wasn't mentally prepared to make that decision at 19 years old. @Quade Porter That is not to say that you are not ready! I ended up purchasing my first house at the age of 24 and house hacked it. I purchased the largest square foot home I could afford in the area that I wanted to live. By renting all the rooms out (and living in one of them) my entire mortgage was covered. Even though I know I could've been extremely further than I am now, I don't regret holding off. A mentor will definitely help leaps and bounds. Who knows, if I had the support of a mentor at your age, maybe I would have made that purchase. I guess what I am trying to say is if your not ready, that's okay. You will get there! Don't put yourself in a situation that you are not fully committed to.

House Hack, it will change your life!

I have had a lot of success with house hacking. I purchased my home about 3 years ago with the intention of buying a property that I could use for house hacking. My goal was to start with a duplex, living in one side and renting the other, but I was priced out of any multi-family properties in the area that I wanted to move to. I ended up purchasing the largest square foot home I could afford that made the most sense to house hack. I ended up purchasing a 2400 square foot home (4 bed, 3 bath) with two bedrooms located in a daylight basement and two bedrooms on the main floor. I then split the large basement room, which was around 250 square feet, into two smaller rooms and added a kitchenette to the basement laundry. The week after I moved in, I had two of the bedrooms occupied (upstairs) while I lived in the basement and did the remodel work. Once I finished the remodel, I rented out the final two bedrooms. Each room rents for $875, bringing in a total of $42,000 per year - that’s $126,000 in the three years . That $126,000 I made in probably 160 hours of work (between research, viewing homes, purchasing the home, the mini remodel and finding tenants). My home has also appreciated about $150,000 in three years. I highly recommend house hacking, it is a great strategy. BUT I do realize this does not work just anywhere. Location has been everything for me in my house hack. I live in the suburbs of Seattle where rent is extremely high. Renting rooms is the most affordable option in our market. This style of house hacking also does not work for everyone's lifestyle...

When I was searching for my house hack I was priced out of the area that I wanted to live in Multi Family. I ended up purchasing the largest square foot home I could afford in the area I wanted to live. I rent room by room and make more from rent than I would if I rented the place itself as a regular rental. @Jake Handler I second to not exclude single family house hacking, but I realize that it is also a lifestyle that not everyone is willing to live. Best of luck on your house hack!

@Anne Sophie
I have found that there are many traveling nurses looking for rooms to rent in local roommate/room finder facebook groups! Although FB post advertisements get lost in the feed, I have had decent results direct messaging and providing info. Not the most passive approach, but it works.

Thank you for the advice, I haven't even started practicing as an agent yet. I guess I should just wait to see what mentorship opportunities I get offered once I start working.  

Congrats!

I am looking into some online mentorship programs and was wondering if anyone has taken the Buffini & Co courses or Krista Mashore's training program? I've heard a lot of mixed feelings about these types of courses/and how they are all the same (if you've taken one you have taken them all) etc.... Any insight/suggestions on this would be appreciated! TIA

Wow, hacking a studio apartment sounds like a tough living situation haha. I never attended University but a friend of mine told me that he rented a house and split the cost with others in order to afford rent while in school. I imagine the demand for single family rentals in college towns are pretty high. I'm curious to hear landlord experiences renting in college towns! Time to go research Universities with largest enrollment growth this year...

Does anyone have experience in house hacking in a college town? I'm thinking that students would be a great target market for this strategy since they're used to living in dorms. On the surface, it seems like a good investment opportunity, but I wonder if the high turnover rate and potential for irresponsible behavior from young renters would make it too much work/high risk.