All Forum Posts by: Mathew Wray

Me personally, I would pause your plan for just a few weeks. Eviction moratoriums are being enacted left and right and although they may not hit you in OK, is it worth the risk that you put a tenant in place and next month they can’t pay?

If you have a year’s reserves saved up, go ahead and do it...just know that you’re coming to a city that’s about to lock down: tough to find a place or enjoy the area. 

It sounds like you’re both in a great situation so why risk over-leveraging yourself right now...give it 4 weeks and see what happens before making a move. In 5 years the memory of an extra month in OK won’t matter, but it could help you clarify the choices and options available to you now.

Mathew

@Gavin Dowdy

I’m generally a guy that advises against selling as much as possible-you’ve already got the asset, gone through the search and buying process, paid the closing costs, etc. 

While there will be plenty of good properties to house hack here in Portland when you get here (eventually), the real question is what to do know. With a low down loan on your townhouse there in UT it’ll be hard to see the rent bumping up enough to make the risk of negative cash-flow worth it. 

A couple thoughts/questions:

1. Is taking the job in Portland going to provide that much of an income boost to even be worth the headache/move?

2. Is the wage increase substantial enough to offset the negative cash-flow by letting you make up the difference without impacting your quality of life?

3. Is anything happening in your area (not that familiar with UT, sorry!) that makes you believe you’ll get an appreciation jump in the next handful of years (university expansions, major employer relocation, public works, etc.??) 

4. don’t let current events dictate your future response...obviously there’s a cloud over everything right now but we know it will pass in time just like wars, terrorism, and financial crisis’ in the past. 

5. Finally, can you rent by the room there in UT to earn more from two-rooms than one unit? Might not be enough space but might just make it worth it too. 

Those aren’t answers, but maybe answering them will help clarify the situation and your options. 

Best of luck!

Mathew

You’ve clearly been thinking about this for awhile!

A couple questions @Dado Vucak

Is your wife onboard with your house hacking strategy and moving every year or so to accumulate properties using low down loans? Can you accomplish the same thing without selling your current house? Can you get a HELOC now, before you move out and use that to fund repairs and acquisition?

@Lance Thomson

Morning Lance!

We generally heavily advise against condos as investment properties with a few exceptions...

If you already own it then it can potentially make sense to hang onto it as a rental. The only common scenario where we’d recommend buying a condo as an investment is if it’s going to improve your life in some way (you plan on retiring there in the future, a kid will be moving in the area in a few years for school, etc.). 

While there are some big positives (low maintenance), I don't think they're generally outweighed by the negatives of increasing HOA payments, reduced appreciation, and my biggest concern-changing HOA rules on rentals (what happens if the board changes the rental cap or eliminates rentals all together?).

I’d definitely take another look at multifamily or even single family (at least you’ll get the benefit of higher appreciation over time). 

Best of luck,

Mathew 

Morning Camron,

One other wrinkle to look at is location-where is the property located and what class of tenant will that property attract?

I’d rather pay a little more for a better location and end up with a better tenant situation than go as cheaply as you can and end up with what you paid for!

Have you looked out in Beaverton/HIllsboro area? At least there (depending on the area) you’ll have access to Nike/Intel employees as potential tenants for your house hack. There’s some 4 bedrooms out there in decent areas under 400k  

Maybe reconsider a duplex-rent out one side on a long-term lease and run your side as a more involved house hack by the room? I just sold a 3/2 one side, 2/1 other side Beaverton duplex for 410,000. In your case, you could live in the 3/2 side and rent out both extra rooms. Plus, the advantage of a duplex is that a lender will count some of the rent towards your income unlike a sfr where you’re going to get roommates. 

Keep your head up! You’ll find a way to make it happen!

Mathew 

Morning Natalie,

What branch were you in? I spent 5 years with the Marine Corps (98-02, 05-06). 

My VA loan benefit helped me buy two rentals, one of which I'm now leveraging for a business partnership. So I'd say my VA investing has been life changing.

On the brokerage side, if you can educate clients on their options and ability to use the state VA loan in addition to the federal, you'll be light years ahead of other folks. There's a couple key differences but knowing how and when to use either one is an extra powerful tool in your tool belt.

Mathew

@Joseph Crunkilton

Aren't floating homes great?! Such potential and what a cool-lifestyle. Like you're discovering there's a whole additional level to buying a floating home having to take into account stringers and floats, distance to the dock, parking amenities, etc. 

The big challenge here that I fear you'll run into is the moorage. While there are plenty that allow long-term rentals, there's only two that I know of in the Portland Metro area that allow for short-term rentals and they're both out north near Scappoose. 

There's a couple reasons specific to houseboats that a property could be on the market for over a year-some moorages have extra restrictions, don't allow full-time liveaboards, require a home to be moved to a new slip, or the age-old: it's priced too high. Other than that, you may run into financing issues-while there are lenders that will underwrite loans on floating homes, they're not your 3% down FHA loans so many people run into trouble there.

Do the numbers pencil out as a long-term rental?

Matehw

@John Livingston Bullier

Hey John, there are a couple of GREAT lenders who can likely help you out. Julee Felsman in particular, here on BP as well, is an amazing resource and problem solver!

Mathew

@Trey Jones

There are a handful of grants and options that can reduce downpayments below 3.5% (some combination of grants or forgivable 2nds) but (and don't quote me on this because I'm not a lender) I think they are all limited to single family residences. 

Happy to connect you with a couple lenders who will know more about the specific options!

Mathew

@Jeff S.

pretty sure Cozy.Co syndicates ads to a variety of websites, facilitates tenants paying online, etc. I’m considering making the switch to them myself (I still post everything myself, one at a time)