All Forum Posts by: Michael Doherty

Hi Kyle,

Congrats on getting started with your duplex in West Hartford - great area. I’m a local investor/agent, and actually live in West Hartford currently. 

My portfolio consist of apartment buildings and different commercial assets throughout CT. 

I’d be happy to connect with you to discuss your goals and how I could be of help! Feel free to message me.

 We ended up moving and buying a single family house which was our ultimate goal. House hacking was a great stepping stone to buying a single family and couldn't recommend in more highly. 

@Alex Molina Congrats on getting this one under contract. I know New Britain well and it's taken off. I used to house hack in New Britain and here's what I think. If you are only putting 3.5% down then your LTV is high... numbers would cash flow more by putting 20% down as required with a non owner occupied loan. So you are sacrificing cash flow but also not putting a lot down. If you goal is cash flow to become financially free then this isn't a great deal. You are paying a premium for a 2 family. If your goal is to keep working a W2 and have a couple deals on the side and build equity and not 'need the cash flow' keep it. With that said you can always sell down the road and capture the increased equity and then use the profits as a BRRRR so this could be a great starting point. Additionally, by house hacking you will only be coming out of pocket 1,000-1,200 most likely for 'rent'.... I don't know how the inside looks but you cant find many decent places to rent around here for much cheaper.

@Jeff Puciato I would look to refi out of your FHA loan if the equity is there and repeat that. Or I would find a value add deal and fund it using hard money. Offer cash/hard money for the house (so you get a better price), rehab it and pull out your down payment or most of it. I know a few hard money lenders that will only require 10-15% down and fund 100% of the rehab.

@Keron Castle Hi Keron, I guess where in Hartford is your 3 family. Are you in the north end, west end, south end or downtown? I ask because depending where would lead me to say Mid term rental (focus on travelnig nurses ect) or short term rental (Airbnb). If you are located in the south end or north end would get section 8 or a normal tenant (which you probably already have). If you are West end I would go Mid Term rental or airbnb. And if you are downtown I would go airbnb or mid term rental. 

I have an airbnb in Fairfield, Ct but I am targeting a completely different clientele. There is a pretty strong demand for mid term rentals in Hartford with Hartford Health Care, Hartford Hospital, Trinity ect ect. I recently sold a house in the West End and it had a traveling nurse in it.... owner got a great price because of the rental income he was getting. 

@Yoel Peyamipour Hartford, CT has a strong rental market and many tenants utilize housing vouchers of various programs. For example, I am selling a 6 unit (3br 1b) each unit and all the rents are $2,000 a month (3 of 6 are section 8) and tenants pay their own utilities. There is still good cash flowing assets out there you just have to know where to look. For CT I would consider: Hartford, Bristol, New Britain, Manchester, Meriden, Middletown. 

@Alex Molina definitely house hack. If I could re do it I would look to house hack a 3-4 unit and really take advantage of that 3.5% down opportunity (or any low down product available to first time home buyers). I only bought a 2 family and wish I had done 3-4 units. Keep in mind inventory is low in Hartford county and FHA loans/offers are not ideal for the seller (as opposed to conventional or cash) so you will have to be competitive in other ways when making offers. Let me know if I can be of any further help.

@Mckenzie Jean I am not aware of any banks allowing a HELOC on a non owner occupied investment property. What my partner and I have done to side step this is.... Key Bank allows a Business LOC for up to 50k. Not $50,001 but $50,0000. Anything 50k and under they don't require and proof of income, verification of assess ect. All you need to do is have an LLC, it may not even have to be active for over a year. You can say the business makes whatever you want and there is no verification. You are personally guaranteeing the return so they will ask for your social ect. My partner and I correctly have a few of these out right now (through multiple LLC's) and it's helped when we needed it. The rate is not fixed so right now we are paying around 13%.... its a short term fix so keep that in mind.

@Andrzej Lipski Hey Andrzej hope your well. I go to CTREI and many other investor meetups... I am sure we have spoke or met at some point. I am an investor friendly agent and may be able to help you. I also have a portfolio of my own strictly multi family and commercial property. I have a portfolio of C class and B class buildings, similar to what you may be looking for. 

My team and I do quite a bit of wholesaling as well and come across deals all the time. Lets connect outside of BP, I think I can help you reach that goal. My partner is also a commercial broker/hard money lender. 

I think Hartford is a fine area to invest in but just like any city, there are some areas/street you certainly want to avoid. I own a number of units throughout Hartford County both residential MF and Commercial. Hartford County in general is a great place to house your portfolio. The challenge with Hartford the city is high taxes and that is very top of mind as everyone's property was just reassessed this year. I would suggest you look into other area in Hartford County like Bristol, Manchester, New Britain and way the pros and cons of each area.