All Forum Posts by: Michael J Scanlon

@Ty Rainey

Read Craig curelop’s book on house hacking

@Ty Rainey

Doesn’t mean it’s too late to house hack! Can always make it happen. If you want to discuss particulars further, lets chat.

I would talk to the lender and see if he can still rent it. He did "intend to occupy" and clearly has valid reasoning for why he cannot. Intent is typically the deciding factor but its interpreted in different ways. 

I would pretty much always start with a house hack if you can. Then from there you'll be living for free or close to it and you can start to take that extra money and put it into rehabs and other deals. If you need any help, message me and I'm happy to hook you up with connections down there or answer any questions. 

It isn't "needed" and its all up to your preference. I got mine and I love having it because it allows me to work with investors everyday so I make money doing the research I was going to do for myself anyway. I never take deals from my investors but there are enough to go around. Having access to the MLS, for me, is awesome. I can set much more refined search criteria and I have access to other tools that allow me to mine for properties based on distress, absentee owners, etc. If you have any questions, feel free to message me.

House hack! Buy a property to live in and buy something that is 2-4 unit. I would use a home possible loan if you can (5% down) but FHA is also possible (3.5%). Live in one unit, rent the others. If you have any questions, feel free to message me.

Problems in houses are like spiders. If you're afraid of them, its because you're not sure what they can do. It's hard to separate the dangerous ones from the not dangerous. 

So, learning as much as you can about what things cost and what you can see versus can't see within the walls is key. That being said, I am afraid of foundation issues because I don't know enough about how extensive foundation issues can be and how to differentiate minor versus major issues. Guys who work doing foundation for a living might walk into the same property and know exactly what to do about it. So ultimately it's just about learning what things cost and seeing what price you can get the place at and whether the math makes sense. In theory, if it still makes sense to tear a house down and rebuild it financially, you can always do that.(Even though that rarely makes sense). There is always a price though so get to know some contractors and read J Scott's book on estimating rehab costs and you'll be on your way. : )

It tends to, yes. Access to public transportation, extensions of expressways that access major cities into further suburbs, etc. It's never a guarantee as there are many factors but yes, it would correlate highly with increased values so long as that public transportation is providing access to a major metropolitan area. 

One of the guests on a recent podcast (within the last 6 months) used a local partner on every out of state deal. I think its genius if you carefully interview local investors and give them part of your deals while putting up more equity than they would because they manage it. 

Here is what you should consider:

Can you sell, buy a new property and cash flow better using your VA entitlement on a different property? Your net worth return on investment will be positive because your equity pay down plus appreciation and tax savings will be far greater than the -$200 cash flow but you still don't want to be negative cash flow if you can find a better property. Where is the current property and where will you be moving? Feel free to message me.