All Forum Posts by: Nate Arrington

@Clarissa Artis We did an FHA, that way we just needed 3.5% down because we are living there

@Clarissa Artis Me and my wife just started a house hack with 3.5% down, and that has worked well for us so far. I agree that finding a partner is probably your best bet for no money out of your own pocket, or you could save up for a 3.5% down payment on a house hack. I’m still trying to solve a similar issue for buying my next property. Best of luck!!

@Lucero Galvan So the house we’re in is kind of unique because there are no stairs in the inside, so the basement has its own entrance and is totally separate from the upper level where we live. I have seen them though where there is a shared entrance and then you can go up or down, with doors in the right places for privacy at the entrance

@Dallin Caldwell Sounds awesome! I’m in northern Utah doing a house hack and we have loved it! Definitely a great way to get started.

Hi Lucero, I'm not sure I am the most qualified to suggest an answer, but I'll give you my perspective. Me and my wife are doing a hack and renting the basement (ADU) and we have loved it so far. We got it for 3.5% down which was way nice. I think from what you're saying is seems like it would be less up front for a SFR, but it would also take money to convert a SFR into a duplex. So that's one thing I would weigh. Also the time you are rehabbing you are missing out on rent. Lots of factors for sure, but I'm definitely a fan of the house hack!! Best of luck!

@Michael Taylor Sorry I don’t have any experience with this, but I’ve had a similar question of how to handle raising rents when buying a property with tenants. Let us know how it goes!

That sounds solid to me! I'm also pretty new. The only other suggestion I would have to slightly tweak that is a house hack, where you buy a property with multiple units, so that you can live in part and rent part at the same time. That way your mortgage is offset even while you are living there, and then it'll obviously be more profitable when you move out. You could still buy something that needs some work but just rehab the rental unit quickly to you can start earning from that. Me and my wife are currently doing a house hack, so feel free to reach out!

Hi Justin, me and my wife are currently house hacking and I love it. We rent our basement, it doesn't cover all the mortgage, but it's a good chunk. If you're able to rent room to room I'm sure you could make money/live for free if you find a good deal. I'm not sure I've heard of a book solely on house hacking, but I did recently read How to Invest in Real Estate by Brandon Turner and they talked about it in there a bit. I think the best way to look at a house hack is just as a normal rental, and then just make sure you account for yourself living there when calculating rental income. It also depends on your end goal for the property. If you want to make money while living there that's different than if you are planning on living there a shorter time while "losing" money (paying your small portion of the mortgage) and then keeping the property after you move out for positive cash flow. Feel free to message me if you want to talk it over more. But hands down I would recommend it to anyone, especially if it's your first house. Best of luck!

Hi Pramod, I'm not in that area, but another good place to ask might be on a Facebook group for real estate investors in your area, best of luck!

@Bob Houston It’s been mentioned above, but I’d say stick to whatever your lease says. If it’s not in the lease then make the best decision you can with what you’ve got and then add things to the lease trying to cover any situations that may continue to come up with this situation. Then you can point to the lease as the “bad guy” if needed in the future. Good luck!