All Forum Posts by: Ryan Latella

Hi Mark -

I agree 100% with what Mike is saying. I purchased my first 3-family home about a year ago using an FHA loan and I am very glad I did. This was the easiest way to get into real estate investing and the most logical. I did not have to put a lot of money down, I have a free place to live and make a few hundred a month, and I have learned A LOT about being a landlord and doing basic home maintenance. This is the best way to learn! Now I am working with some partners to find our first flip/BRRR property, and @Michael Noto has been a great help in that so far.

Feel free to reach out with questions.  I was in your shoes only a year ago.

-Ryan

have you considered a 3 our 4 family home? I purchased my first 3-family about a year ago, and having the third unit is the reason my numbers work. I had the same trouble originally that you are having now when I was considering duplex's, pending you are occupying one unit.  Managing one unit vs. Two has not been an issue for me because either way you are being a landlord.  Just make sure you do a good job on the front end on vetting new tenants and it will save you headaches later.

I have just started using Cozy, and it has been working great so far.  It is free to use, and it is easy for tenants to set up auto pay and track their rent payments.  On my side, I get email updates when the rent is processing and when it has been deposited.  There is not a mobile app, at least for android; however, I have saved the link to my home screen so I essentially have a Cozy app now.

Hi Grey, @Jason A. Had a great post. Focus on the math. I bought my first property 6 months ago. It is a 3 family home in CT, and I purchased it using an FHA loan. If you are just graduating with the goal of buying a place soon, definitely look into FHA loans. Also look into getting a 203k loan (construction loan) with your FHA, if needed.

As I mentioned, I bought my property using FHA. I put 3.5% down and am currently living in the second floor with my former college roommate. He is paying fair market rent for the area, and it is also less than he was paying at our old place, so it's a win win.

I definitely recommend going for a 3 or 4 family home if you're looking at multi's.  Mathematically, it makes more sense.  All of the tenants cover my mortgage and expenses, so I am living for free. Also, I have found that living here helps while being a first time landlord.  Its easier if you need to fix anything, deal with tenants, collect rent, etc.  Of you're wary of 3 or 4 family homes, I can say that having 3 or 4 units isn't any more stressful than having just one to deal with in my opinion.  I actually prefer it, because you don't lose all of your cash flow when one unit becomes vacant.

I have a 3 family home in Hartford, Connecticut and am looking to install a heating system for the third floor unit.  Currently, heat is included in the rent because the systems are not separated.  It is a gas furnace that heats the house, so there are ducts in place that currently bring heat to the third floor.  I am looking for some advice on the best, and most cost effective, solutions for giving the 3rd floor their own heating system (ie gas furnace, ductless mini splits, electric baseboard etc.).  Any information would be great!  Thanks.

To give some more information on my plan, I am in the beginning stages of contacting lawyers, agents, contractors, mortgage brokers, and hard money lender to build out my contact list.

Simultaneously, I am beginning to develop systems for generating leads.

I have been listening to the BP Podcast for the past year and it has been a tremendous help in driving my interest in REI. Thank you to all who make bigger pockets possible!

I am currently living and working in the Hartford area and am starting to build out my team/network in this area of the state to start.  I currently own a 3 family home property in the West End of Hartford.  My goal is to do my first flip within the next year, and I plan to continue flipping and buying multifamilies going forward from there.  I believe bigger pockets will be a great medium to help me grow my network.