All Forum Posts by: Mark Hove

@Trent Strang

I would try explaining to the tenant the value of a 3 bedroom unit and increasing rent a good bit. Hopefully doesn’t scare her off because it sounds like she’s a good one.

In regards to your calculations, you’ll need to bring a good bit more than 5k to the closing table. Got to pay the lender, put money in escrow, pay the attorney, pay the surveyor, inspector, appraisal, the list goes on. This doesn’t even include any touch up work you might want to do! Fresh paint, new toilet, new flooring, etc. I would account for $15-20k to get you to closing to be conservative.

Best of luck on your first deal!! I snagged my first one with similar numbers back in October. It’s been great so far

@Akkiemaj Frederick

Never trust realtor.com or Zillow! They know the acreage of the lot and the tax record square footage and they slap a number on the house. Can be literally be hundreds of thousands of dollars off- I’m not kidding. Get a good realtor or appraiser on the phone and ask them questions determining value. Look at comps are local rental rates. That will help you much more than realtor.com or Zillow. Best of luck!

@Craig Curelop

Love this thread! Great idea! My fiancé at the time, now wife, but our first home (duplex) in October, just a few months back. Got married in November, renovated unit A, and moved in mid-January.

Bought off market for $164,000. It appraised for $182,000 at the time of purchase. Put about 12-15k into unit A... new tile, new shower, new countertops, new appliances, paint throughout. I’m a realtor and so I’m always checking comps- I’m confident we could get at least 215k for it now.

We currently live in unit A. Our mortgage payment is $1108. We put 5% down FHA. We are planning to refinance to conventional soon which will drop the PMI and will hopefully get our payment below $1000. Unit B has not been renovated to the extent of unit A and it rents for $845. My guess is when we move out we'll be able to get at least $1000 for unit A.

So while we live there: our housing expenses total $500 or so a month. Mortgage, utilities, and then subtract rental income. It’s nicer than I would have ever imagined living as a recent graduate and newlywed.

When we eventually move out, we’ll have an estimated $1900 in monthly income and a payment of $1000. Not too shabby. It’s been a great experience. Now trying to find the next deal :)

@Ross Bernard I’d be happy to help!

@Nick Quarandillo

Stay in college AND get going on a real estate career. And network!! I’ve had countless clients come from the people I met in college.

@Cameron Dye

Don’t work an hourly job that all your peers are working for $10 an hour. You’re more valuable than that. Get your RE license. Find deals, network with investors and builders and the people you go to school with. Get a few transactions under your belt while you’re in college. Depending on how much you have to pay for your tuition, you should be able to get your undergrad degree in 4 years and have a size able chunk of change (30-40k) when you graduate for your first property, house hacking a multi family preferably.

My junior year of college in the fall I worked a desk job on campus. Long boring hours, made like 2k. My spring semester of junior year I assisted a realtor. Better hours, more enjoyable work, made 4k. My senior year I started handling transactions on my own, showing houses, getting deals. Made about 30 throughout my senior year. Graduated and bought a duplex.

All that to say, don’t settle for a job that has no upside (working at a university library for example) just because it’s comfortable. College is a great time to try things out. If I fell on my face senior year and had no transactions, who cares! It wouldn’t have mattered. You can’t do that once you’re in the real world.

@Kyle Fitzpatrick I'm not a lawyer so don't take this as legitimate legal advice... I'm house hacking an duplex right now using an FHA. I looked into what you are talking about. Your LLC would be worth next to nothing because it would be so easily pierced. AND there are tons of benefits to living in an owner occupied property that you would not get to reap the benefit from... lower down payment, lower interest rate, no capital gains if you live there 2+ years then sell, the list goes on... I would FHA house hack at 5% down

I've been a "stalker" of the BP forums for quite some time now, reading and scouring posts without contributing much. I started the search for a duplex in Durham NC in early 2018 in an effort to buy and house-hack. I sent 100+ hand-written notes, asked property owners, went door knocking, and finally stumbled upon an off-market duplex that was too good to pass up! I work as a full-time realtor so I had all the paperwork, resources, and skills to negotiate the deal and get it to closing without having to pay someone else a commission. My fiancé (getting married in 3 weeks!) and I closed just last Friday. We used an FHA loan and put 5% down and the appraisal came back 18k over contract price. When living in one half, our mortgage minus the rental income, will be $350. When moved out (a few years down the road) we hope to cash flow $300-400/month. It rents for 1% of the purchase price.

Can't thank this community enough for the wealth of knowledge that it is. I hope this encourages readers. Even in a hot market (Durham is very very hot) deals are out there! They certainly aren't on the MLS though. Keep working hard and don't get frustrated if you don't find a deal in the first week. I got serious in finding a duplex in April of 2018. 6 months later and the work has paid off. Now it's time to do it again :)

Property taxes are based on the vacant lot that existed before this home was built! Definitely expect a spike!