All Forum Posts by: Laura Shinkle

Last thought and then I'm done! I know you don't intend to befriend the tenants. That said, you'll still want to be friendly and a good relationship with anyone you live with. Like @Osazee Edebiri said, it really isn't a big deal to manage a home you live in. You're not commuting across town to get there, dealing with tenant schedules, etc. With as many tools as there are now for background/credit/criminal checks and rent payment systems, it's really not bad. 

Also, I have several clients that have done this in CLT. Not necessarily targeting trendy areas, although I like that if it's feasible with your budget. Multifamilies are a struggle here, too. 

Good luck!

@Chase Kaye I'd check out different websites where roommates would look. Roommates.com, facebook pages, things like that. You could also do an Airbnb room rental, especially if you're in a great walkable area. 

When I lived in Asheville I never had a hard time finding roommates (back before it was called a househack). If you're priced right and it's a good property, they will come.

Just my two cents!

 Ah, sorry for the late reply then! 8 ppl in 2550sf is a lot! How much are you charging in rent, just curious

@Jennifer J. Allran definitely talk to lenders who can do bank statement loans. Also, don't restrict yourself to just FHA. Conventional is an option with 10% down payment and is sometimes (usually in my experience) the better option.

Buying land and building is definitely a different ballgame. I would recommend taking some time to pause and remember what your goal is with buying the home. Make sure your path matches the goal.

Honestly. For 8 people, tankless would be the best option. Hot water is not something that is an unreasonable demand, and with adding two more people, it sounds like you'd be putting a big load on that water heater. Just my two cents. It's more expensive, but your tenants will appreciate it.

Just out of curiosity, how big is this house?!

@Vivan Bhalla it sounds like you're not sure where to start and you searched for someone specifically doing househacking in your area. Even if there aren't many ppl in your specific area doing it, the basics are the same across the country. 

The beauty of househacking (and why it's popular) is it allows you to buy and investment with 3-5% down (low cost of entry, relatively) and ideally decrease your living expenses at the same time. The tenants then pay you rent, which goes toward pay down of your mortgage (thanks tenants!). You get appreciation as the market ideally goes up.  You also don't have to worry about rent increases, deposits, pet fees and moving costs. The other side of that coin is you're responsible for maintenance. 

There's different types of properties you can do this with. Traditionally, multifamilies are the favorite since you get your own living space. You can also buy a home with multiple rooms and rent by the room. You can do long term tenants, mid term furnished or short term tenants (Airbnb, VRBO, etc). STR tenants will be more work, but likely more cashflow.

Step 1: Talk to a Realtor in your area that seems competent in this strategy. Or at least one that you can explain it to and they're on board and can recommend locations/lease amounts, etc. 

Step 2: Talk to a lender. I put lender second because often Realtors can connect you with great lenders to talk to so you're not just randomly calling banks. 

Once you're preapproved, look at what type of properties you can afford in different areas. THEN dial in to what rent would be in those areas and if it'll work for you. Once you have an area locked down, jump on it when a good property comes up. Your Realtor will guide you from there. 

Take that first step, you won't regret it! You can find investor friendly agents in the 'find an agent' tab at the top

@Hassan Karaouni I get the reasons why, I just think you'll have a hard to finding people to do those things for you with you living in the property. Depending on the type of tenant, it likely won't take that much time from your year to do those things. Ideally things aren't breaking all the time, and once you find the tenant it should be fairly easy. For example, I manage my own MTR (which I don't live in) and it takes maybe 3 or so hours from me a month. 

If you do find someone willing to do PM with your househack, let us know! I'd be interested to learn how your search goes

@Bryant Sala that's awesome you found some local lenders willing to lend! I really didn't want you to give your low interest rate on that FHA loan either! lol

@Andrew Postell I've been told by every lender I know that 15% down is the minimum for a multifamily property, conventional loan. If you want to do less, FHA is the route to go. It's not for lack of asking questions, every lender I've asked (and I work with good ones), they've all told me the same thing.

If it's like similar loan programs targeting lower income folks, I don't think that loan product would work here (literally). Typically those are 80% of the median household income for the zip code/county/census map area.  Someone making that low of an income can't afford the payment on a $500k duplex. Our inventory of multifamily properties is really low and the prices are high.