All Forum Posts by: Liam Martin

Hi Tom,

Thank you very much for the reply. Yes, both of us are co-borrowers and we each have 50% ownership.

Agreed, the current real estate environment definitely does not make things any easier.

Hello BP,

My friend and I purchased a duplex in Boston and have been house hacking for a little over a year now. When we decided to purchase this property, we had several in-depth discussions about expectations, responsibilities, and obligations involving the property. The goal was to split our obligations and responsibilities evenly and to "step up" when the other person is busy or unavailable. I have known this gentlemen for years, he is interested and moderately knowledgeable in real estate investing, he is financially competent, and many of our long and short term financial goals align. Knowing this, I had very few reservations about going in on this deal with him.

I quickly noticed that my friend, and now investment partner, was not actively engaged in our investment. Since moving in, I have been solely responsible for coordinating with the property manager, meeting with contractors, calling contractors and receiving quotes for repairs within our unit, dividing our monthly bills up and sending payment requests to him and our other two roommates, performing minor repairs around the property, landscaping and snow removal, organizing and submitting documentation for the property, inquiring about refinancing, etc. The list goes on and on. This goes without saying, but I will say it anyway: I have no problem taking care of the above tasks. What I do have a problem with being taken advantage of by my partner.

In February, I decided to put together a detailed list of obligations that he previously agreed to fulfill that he has not yet fulfilled. We sat down and discussed the situation. During the discussion, he admitted to being a very poor partner thus far, but agreed to be more involved moving forward. 

It is now almost two months since we have had that conversation and nothing has changed. We are planning to move out in September 2022 so we are able to rent out both units. I fear that this issue will only worsen once we are no longer living under the same roof.

I am hoping to get some advice on how to proceed from here. Thanks in advance!

P.S. Respectfully, if your advice is to avoid entering a partnership in the first place, please keep it to yourself. Thanks!

@Liam Martin thank you all so much for the guidance on this. I now have a much better idea of the pros and cons of withdrawing/borrowing from my 401k!

@Tim S. Hi Tim, thanks for responding. Yes, this is with my current employer.

@Justin Phillips hey Justin, thanks for responding. Regardless of whether I go for a loan, withdrawal, I’ve promised myself that it has to be on an amazing deal. I couldn’t agree more about your recommendation on patience. We have plenty of time!

@Dominic R. This is a great point Dominic thank you, I appreciate the response

@Bradley Padula hi Bradley, thanks for this. I appreciate the detailed response and your willingness to help. I have been working with a loan officer, so I might pick his brain about some of the points you make here.

@Michael Cox hi Michael, thanks for offering some insight on this, I appreciate it. I’m going to start including the loan in my analysis’ and see if some deals make sense. Thanks for the tip

@Lien Vuong Hi Lien, thank you very much for your insight. That is a great rule of thumb, I will definitely use that moving forward.

I’m sure this depends on the individual and a number of other factors, but would you recommend a withdrawal over a loan or vice versa? And why?

@Aaron Montague hi Aaron, that is an excellent point. Looks like a loan might be the way to go. The article you included on your response was extremely helpful as well. Thank you for your insight, I appreciate it!