All Forum Posts by: Sarah Szuhay

Fantastic, inspiring story. Thank you for posting.

I have the same question as someone above regarding the impressive decorating and furnishing. Do you and your wife just happen to have a knack for this or do you hire a professional? Where do you buy trendy furniture at a reasonable price?

I’m considering the Crafton/Carnegie/Ingram area for an investment later this year.

Thanks all for the fantastic feedback! It gives me a lot to think about. My biggest takeaway is- how will I fund my 2nd, 3rd, and beyond properties? I need to do some more research on that and make sure I have a plan before I buy my first property.

I may reach out to some of you directly with follow up questions. Thank you again!!

Hello BP community! I've been casually learning about real estate over the last year or two but am ready to take it more seriously and make my first deal. My struggle right now is determining the right strategy for me. If anyone is willing to offer input/advice for my situation, it would be greatly appreciated!

Here is my situation: I have about $30k in cash to invest and a good credit score. In the coming months I'll be moving from Portland, Oregon to the Bay Area, so investing locally (Bay Area) is out of the question for my budget. I currently own my home in Portland and will be renting it when I move- CF will be slightly negative but I believe the property will appreciate significantly so I want to hold onto it.

I've decided I want to invest in Pittsburgh- it's my hometown so I know the area, visit regularly, and the numbers look good for both cashflow and appreciation. I have a demanding job so will not be able to put a ton of time/effort into my investment and I will definitely need to hire a PM.

My ultimate goal is CF...the dream is to generate enough CF to "retire" early. For me, that would be ~$10k/month. So I need to get started :)

I've narrowed down to four strategies for my first investment:

1. Buy and hold SFH in B-ish area- I think this would ease me into REI- there would be high likelihood for good tenants and having less doors starting out feels less intimidating. I'm willing to pay for cosmetic rehab as part of my total investment, but not significant reno (seems difficult to manage from across the country).

2. Buy and hold MFH (2-4 units) in C-ish area- This is appealing because more doors= more CF opportunity, but as mentioned above, starting out in MFH feels intimidating.

3. Lease option SFH- Lease options are very appealing to me, since once you get the tenant in, they take care of all maintenance. Plus it can really benefit the tenants by giving them a chance to own a home when they might have trouble otherwise. However, I'm not sure how I would find rent-to-own tenants remotely or if there are businesses that offer this service for OOS investors.

4. Turnkey- Appealing but probably would generate the least CF and the least learning for future deals.

If you were in my shoes, what would you do? Thanks in advance!

@Jeremy Taggart That is extremely helpful information. Seems like there are trade-offs between down payment, rate, and fees. I am hoping I can find a lender that will be able to help break down all these options for me. Great idea to ask for a cost sheet for a sample property. I am hoping to buy a multi-unit if I can find the right deal. 

Thanks all for the wonderful insight and advice! 

@Kenneth Garrett Thanks for the info. I am starting to think turnkey isn't the best place to start, but appreciate your recommendations. I'll need to do more research.

@Jim K. Great points on Pittsburgh, I know what you mean about the city being unusual. I actually grew up there and all my family lives there, so I won't be going in totally cold.  However, I haven't lived in Pgh in 10 years so will still have a lot to learn.

@Marco Santarelli Appreciate the advice, I have been weighing what type of neighborhood to invest in and it sounds like I should stay away from the rough ones for now.

@Michael Tyler Thanks for your insight. This makes total sense that I should rehab the property a bit so I have the option to refi and repeat. Even if it means I need to pay a property manager to project manage it like you mentioned, since I'll be remote. I just hope I can find deals that still cash flow well despite that extra cost!

Hi all. I am new to this community and REI, so please be patient with my very beginner question :)

I am just starting to learn about analyzing deals and am not sure how to estimate my financing details when doing so, mainly length of loan and interest rate. How am I supposed to know what terms a lender will offer me? Do I need to secure a lender before analyzing deals? I'm also wondering if I should be looking at portfolio loans now or stick with conventional until I max out. 

Context: I am looking to do my first deal in Pittsburgh in the coming months. I'll have about $40k cash to put into it. I would prefer a turnkey vs a rehab since I'll be investing remotely. My credit score is just over the "excellent" threshold and I currently own one property which is the house I live in.

Thanks all, I would really appreciate any insight!

@Mike Nuss  My lot is ~5000 sq ft and is in an R2 zone. I have talked to the city and understand that my lot can have up two units on it, unless I pursue affordable housing, then I could have three units. I really appreciate your insights and would love to take you up on your offer to help brainstorm the best solution for my property. Let me know the best way to get in touch. Thank you!

@Jeff S. By the way- I actually toured one of those pre-fab ADUs on the Portland ADU tour a couple weeks ago, assuming it was the same company. They're pretty cool! I thought they were a bit pricey though. I have family in both architecture and construction so I am optimistic (or maybe naive) that we can cut costs by doing some of the project ourselves!

@Mathew Wray @Jeff S.

Thank you both for the wonderful insights. It's really great to hear from folks in the Portland area. I still need to do more research on my financing options, but it seems like the main (conventional at least) options are a construction loan or a HELOC. I have heard great things about working with Umpqua, so I will definitely be checking out what they offer. I do not have a ton of liquid cash or equity in my house, so I will need to get creative with financing :)

Another option I'm considering, instead of a detached ADU, is converting my house to a duplex by adding a second story. I'm not sure yet how much this would cost or if I could afford it, but I'm curious if you have any thoughts. I have an assumption that a duplex would be more appealing to an eventual buyer than having someone in the backyard in an ADU, but I'm not sure. I also need to see if a second story could qualify as an "ADU", which get many fee exemptions, or if it would be considered a standard multi-family by the city (read: more expensive).