All Forum Posts by: Roc Pilon

I just purchased a single family home in the downtown area of where I live. I purchased it because when I drove by and spoke with the realtor the cost for what was being sold seemed so crazily low I had my offer in that day and accepted the following day. Here's where it gets interesting...

The property is a .16 acre

5 bedroom/2 bathroom 2000sqft SFH + a vacant lot next to it (included)

It is zoned for office/commercial building.

Purchased: $235,000 

Appraised: $235,000

I didn't think anything of this at the time. I was like, sweet, right on the money... Then i started looking around the area of what else was for sale.. There is a small house thats a 3/1 around the corner for sale for $245k and all the comps on my appraisal were old or reflecting that of a 2/1 or a 3/1.

Things weren't adding up and when I went back to my appraisal it showed 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom for my property. The assessors office showed this on the city records as well... And the taxes reflect that of a 2/1.

Im wondering if my assessor, appraiser, etc are just looking at this property as a 2/1 because thats what the city is showing meanwhile its quite clearly a 5/2 (there is 2 bedrooms upstairs, 1 on the main, and 2 in the basement - the appraiser showed all these rooms in their sketch on the appraisal but still omitted 2 rooms for the numbers.)

A 5/2 in that area when its accurately reported would be worth between 300-350k by my calculations which is why I ask. Seems like poor recording/reporting may have just created 50-150k worth of equity in this property. Any thoughts?

The Boise market would not be ideal for buying small multi family now like it was 2-4 years ago. With the rise of housing prices and interest rates you wouldn’t be able to successfully househack unless you found an off market deal that you worked out with the owner. 

Like someone else said above the other option is to build but you’d need to find the land which again is out of whack in terms of investor friendly pricing. 

You’re next best bet would be looking to nampa and Caldwell however those cities are obviously not as nice as the Boise and Meridian areas. 

- I have two househacked duplex’s in Boise. No acquisitions in the past year due to this issue.

House hacking is generally easier to fund when looking at multifamily properties considering you can count the cash flow from the other units towards your income and thus have an easier time getting the financing required.

Im not from your area but if you're not attending your local REIA meetings you should definitely start going and connect with the older more experienced investors who can not only mentor you but show you the dos and don'ts of your area. I saved myself alot of money, time, and pain by connecting with these types of people and they led me down the right direction.

Depends on what a small amount is. I've house hacked two duplexs and both of them allow me rent to be completely free. When it comes to bills like power, gas, and trash I may spend somewhere between $50-200/mo but generally no more than that. 

You want to make sure that with your other unit and other rooms you can cover the mortgage especially if you're income is not very high because having a vacancy from a roommate or tenant leaving can start to put a dent in your wallet pretty quickly. 

But as far as getting into a rental property affordably and reaping the benefits there is no better way than house hacking. My first one has provided a 500% return on my initial up front investment and now cashflows $600/mo and has appreciated 100k in the past 2 years since I bought it. 

The key to continuous house hacking is refiing your FHA loan to conventional ASAP to free up the ability to provide a low down payment and capture fast equity in your property setting you up for the next opportunity.

Welcome! Biggerpockets is definitely an amazing resource.

I am in the northwest and specifically work with multi family properties. However, I can relate to self storage as I am an operations supervisor for Keylock Storage!

Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you out!

Hello Victor,

Just wanted to reach out to you in regards to anything that I can possibly help you out with when it comes to self storage. If you can send a private message with more information I would be happy to help you out!

Awesome Andy! 

I am interested in how you acquired the property, can you go a bit more into detail about receiving the portfolio loan from the bank and what some of the banks requirements were when you went in to speak with them about getting the loan?

Thanks and once again great job!

haha thats how I know I'm overthinking things... 

Thanks Ben!

Hey guys!

If you have listened to bigger pockets 135 or heard Brandon/Josh talk about it you know what I mean when I ask what are those documents you MUST have when going to a bank/lender?

I would like to use my duplex as proof that I can use to expand my real estate business. My thought is that by getting someone to loan me funds to expand my real estate business I will need documents that can display my knowledge/competence. I am just wondering what would be some of the key documents to show a lender/bank? I assume:

• Profit and Loss
• Before and After Picture
• Maybe a personal balance sheet?

What else should I have in order before going to speak with someone?

Thank you!

@Brandon Foken What is your criteria when you are running PPC ads? Are you doing it on FB and what demographics are appearing most commonly?