All Forum Posts by: Nate Monson

@Roman Balmakov If you are planning on holding the property long term and have enough reserves to cover even worst case scenarios it could still be worth it. But consulting with the town would be good to try to understand what they're permitting process is like. Determining the cost on something like this is only something you'll be able to find out by talking to the city. Good luck!

 Hi Tyler, 

Since you did a house hack for your first property, I think the easiest next move would be to go house hack another one. That would be the lowest barrier to entry in most scenarios. If you're comfortable living where you are, equity in your current property or your savings rate would be the two other ways to get your next one which is going to be much slower. Maybe an outside the box idea would be to try to force some equity by making some improvements in the house you live in. If you have the ambition, you can figure out almost anything now a days through some youtube research. 

Good luck!

@Jamie Dupont Well you aren't alone in having struggles in the early going in real estate investing. We've all had them. Think of it as starting a business, no one who has done so has had things go perfectly. And while you may be experiencing worse than average issues here, if you can stem the tide for the time being financial you will come out of the other side learning a lot and you will be ok. 

Without being in the situation it's tough to say for sure what exactly the PM should've done. It could be possible they tried to collect rent, and with the tenant knowing she's leaving, chose to not pay. And for you to recover rent at that point wouldn't be worth the hassle of suing. The good news is that this person is out and you can do the repairs and move on which is a better situation than some people end up in. 

When you select the next tenant I would certainly ensure that you have your eyes on the applications that are coming in, and ask that you are involved in the decision making process. 3x income, clean credit and background checks should be a minimum for approval, even if it takes a month or so to find someone. 

Hi @Jamie Dupont I'm very sorry this is happening to you, that is awful for them to do that. It sounds like the tenant is still there so priority number one should be getting them out. If you haven't hired an attorney I might consider doing so as this situation sounds like it could get ugly. 

Regarding this insurance issue, I would certainly try to get new insurance without making any repairs. There is a chance your best option will be to go over the asbestos siding with vinyl. But be sure to consult with the city for their local guidelines. 

As far as how you move forward from this, if you are confident in the area and acquiring a new tenant that will treat the property better, you can view this incident as a sunk cost and move on that way. If you aren't confident in other management prospects then liquidating the property and looking at some other investment avenues may be the best option. 

I wish you the best of luck and safety in the storm.

Hi @Teahjsia Frazier where are you looking to invest? Would be happy to discuss the capital region/Albany area with you. Any questions you have in general I am happy to discuss some general strategies as well!

I think if you have confidence in a property manager in your area it can be a good decision. There are many out there that aren't worth their salt. But as a previous post mentioned if you have some flexibility in your profession (time) and the personality to engage with tenants daily then it is truly possible to run things remotely when you go abroad. If you focus on putting the right tenant in there the first time around, you will likely be just fine if you run things on your own. Good luck!

 Hi Eric, 

You're right it would depend on your debt to income ratio, but buying 1 investment property shouldn't affect your ability to get a second conventional mortgage in this timeframe. I would consult your lender and make sure you don't run into any issues getting your owner occupied loan after doing a non-occupied loan. Otherwise it sounds like you've got a great plan!

Hi @Diana P. 

Yeah I would check with many different lenders to see how you can use that to your advantage. But outside of programs that are out there that doesn't do a whole ton for your terms of your mortgage. Unless you plan on living, or "living" there. :) 

Hi @Aaron Landau biggerpockets would be a great source to find a realtor for this type of thing. But you may also want to look at some real estate meet ups in the area. Many times agents will go there to network. 

I have never done a conversion of this nature myself, but I have to imagine that using the basement of these homes would be the cheapest way to go about it and creating a unit in them. 

I would also potentially consider just doing the BRRR method on single family homes. If you're going to be doing rehab anyways it might make sense to do it this way rather than trying to retrofit an existing building. Good luck!

I think you've already got the main idea down. Househack. At your age if you start this way and save a majority of your income, you will set yourself up to continue to invest and build up a base of properties very quickly. You could either continue to house hack or start looking at non-owner occupied investments if you end up liking where you're living. If the goal is to build long term wealth, 90% of the battle is getting started with that small base of a portfolio and it sounds like you're in prime position to be able to do that through house hacking. 

Along the way as you gain more experience you may be able to find ways in your market to add value through rehab or changing the make up (bedrooms/baths sqft, etc.) of a property. The rest of my advice would be about surrounding yourself with the right people in your new environment. Likeminded people will keep you away from distractions and encourage you to keep pushing even when things seem hard (and you will reach a point where things seem hard). Keep learning and keep taking big swings that others may feel are risky. You're going to do great!