All Forum Posts by: Scott Bridgehouse

@Bruce Woodruff good advice. I will have to double check but I believe they are licensed.

Hi All,

I just got my first-ever tenant moved in this past Saturday and all was going smoothly until she called to set up her electric. She was told by our local power company, PPL, that our meter base needed to be upgraded, THEN they could put her meter in (there was no meter in her unit because the previous tenant moved and it has been unoccupied for a few months). I, the owner, living in one unit of this two-unit building, was never told this. Now I am in a situation where my tenant is already moved in yet she can't get her power turned on until we get the meter base upgraded.

Thankfully our electrician already ordered the base and is hoping he can get it installed by the end of the week at the latest. He said that we can just move the meter from our common area electric (which I pay) over to the socket for her electric in the meantime when he upgrades the base, this way she gets power and we will just go without lights in the basement and common area. The reason he suggested we do this is so we can give her power (and just pay it ourselves for her in the meantime) while we wait for the inspector to come out and approve the base meter upgrade, and then to send that to PPL, and then to have them come put her meter in, a process which could apparently take several weeks.

Has anyone else done something like this? Anything I should be aware of when it comes to my utility company after having done so? My electrician may be able to answer too, but I'm also wondering if I should have him come back and move the meter back to the common socket before they come put her meter in? Or could we just have them switch the accounts on the back-end once all three meters are back in place (I say three because my unit also has a meter). Any help would be VERY MUCH appreciated.

Sincerely,

A stressed out newbie!

Great advice all around. Thank you both! It's really a solid point about how they'd be going through more trouble than its worth for it all.

Hello BP community!

I'm in PA and I closed on a duplex this past December (my first ever!) and am house-hacking with my wife. The tenants were originally planning to stay, but right before closing, they gave the seller their notice that they were leaving at then end of the month (12/31/23). I closed on 12/15, so at closing, I received prorated rent for the month, as well as their security deposit. They technically broke their lease because they didn't give 30 days notice. In their note to the seller they also acknowledged they paid rent late.

The previous owner had two strokes and wasn't in a position to provide me with much information with regards to whether he kept the deposit in an interest-bearing account. My realtor was insistent that we get that in writing from the seller, but they pushed back because the deposit was only $200 and they didn't expect the tenants to make a fuss. I still want to do things by the book if I can, but I'm wondering if it's worth the hassle.

My question is, how should I go about notifying them I am keeping the funds? My related question is, because they broke the lease, should I even bother? Or perhaps that makes it easier for me to keep the deposit? They lived in the unit for 5 years so there is significant cleaning to be done, painting, repairing holes in walls, replaced a broken microwave they'd taped together, fixed the shower, and many other things. The attorney I'd been working with is MIA (great sign I know.. will be looking for someone new), but I don't want to delay sending them a letter.

Do the more seasoned folks out there think I should just rack up $200 in standard supplies and send the note to them? Think it's not necessary to send a letter at all? 

Would love to hear your thoughts and ideas!

 Super helpful thank you again!

 That's great! Quick follow-up: Is this only for owner-occupied? If so, how long do you have to live in the property before you can move out and repeat?

Hi Patricia!

Glad to see someone bringing this to light here. My realtor sent me this same article yesterday and I was ~thrilled~ that I might be able to put low money down without going the FHA route.

I'm still waiting to pull the trigger on my first property, which will be a 2-4plex where I live in one unit and rent out the others, but my question is (for you or anyone else that may be in the know) is whether this is just for first-time homebuyers or in general? I know it has to be owner-occupied, but could I rinse and repeat the strategy over and over so long as I live in each property for at least a year?

Would love to get this all straight so I can start adjusting my strategy confidently!

@Pablo Pereyra 

Completely following you. Thanks for calling out those risks (got any other nuggets like that?) and talking through some of those mindset shifts that one can expect, where the before and after can certainly have some changes. Thankfully, I'm fully committed to the move. It will likely even be an upgrade from my tiny apartment here in Arlington, VA.

@Maribel Manibo Thank you for sharing your actual experience as well. I'm starting to see the patterns here where its either do some shopping with local banks to explore whether there are unique packages that offer lower down payments or FHA, based on my financial situation and location (I am above the median income in Lancaster - I have a full remote job that started in office in DC so I'm taking that with me to a lower-cost area as a strategy to make my money run longer).

@David Dachtera super helpful to hear how you think through it. You know, I have found myself more or less wanting to run my analyses by similar means. I know that with the 2-4plexs the comps would still be based on other like properties as opposed to comparing NOI, but I feel from a business perspective, it makes to still look at the property from that angle, so thanks for sharing.

I wonder then, with all these options and knowing that there's usually an inflection point in an investor's journey where they've used of many of the more "standard" means of financing, would it make sense for me to simply go FHA on this first one and save the exploration of other options for further down the road when I will no longer fit into the first-time homebuyer bucket?

As always, would love any and all feedback, thoughts, and experiences anyone is willing to share.

@Bud Gaffney - I think I'm with you. I spoke with my realtor last night and talked through some of the awesome feedback from this thread and he said in more or less words "If the numbers work while you live there and once you move, it's worth taking the plunge. Especially to get out of being a renter yourself." Based on where I plan to buy (A or B+ neighborhood in Lancaster City, PA), the property should not only be expected to appreciate but I will be able to command rents that keep me cash flowing during and after the house-hack. I think part of my issue too is that I've have the Ramsey Show in my ear screaming about debt-free life, but I think it's better keep more of my cash freed up rather than sink in 25% on my first one (likely at a purchase price from $300k-$400k). I won't go down the good debt/bad debt rabbit hole, but like @Brett Merrill and @Paul De Luca are saying too: trust the numbers.

@Harjeet Bhatti I appreciate you and @Jay Hurst keeping me in check with real numbers and programs too. I'm realizing that there is a big jump from the theoretical planning stages to the real world of hard facts and figures.