All Forum Posts by: Sean Lauber

@Christian Nachtrieb It's $160 per unit for the year. So for me with the duplex it's $320 for the year total. For water it's billed quarterly, I paid $192 the first quarter and $160 the second, so in total for the year probably somewhere in around $700-800. For sure you can contact me with any questions. I'll help anyway I can.

@Michael Gansberg I'm not sure if you remember me but we spoke last year around this time and the biggest piece of advice I took from you was to get something in good shape, especially in the beginning. I took that advice and we found a great property that was well maintained by an older couple for the past 45 years. I remember during our walk through we noticed a small leak on a section of plumbing in the house. It really was a *very slow* leak, barely dripping. Upon discovery, the owner had a melt down and wrapped it tightly  with his handkerchief. I think this was the first time I ever saw a handkerchief. He called the plumber right away. With that kind of attention we knew the property was in excellent shape. The inspector verified this. Now that we own it, the only things that have needed work was reversing the polarity on some outlets and putting in GFCIs. We lucked out for sure. 

Hi @Joshua Lupo! Looks like you're where I was about a year ago exactly. I scoured the capital region for a small multi to house hack. I had my trusty rental calculator handy and analyzed deals everyday from hits my realtor sent and on realtor.com. My criteria were not too stringent. I wanted $200 cash flow for a duplex (after PITI and 25% for vacancy, capex, repairs, and management collectively). I found that the numbers in Albany/Schenectady were almost always killed because of the taxes. I found that Saratoga was priced too high. Glens Falls and Queensbury did look nice but I am working in Latham and that commute doesn't interest me. I found Troy and the surrounding area (Cohoes/Watervliet) to be right to make the numbers work.

I was checking listings everyday and found a nice turnkey property in Troy that I jumped on immediately. Because of a mishap in the timing of the appointment, I got to meet the owners who I sold myself to (we're a young couple, with a baby, trying to find an affordable place to live). They loved our story. I wrote them a nice letter too and included a picture of us with the baby. It was a thing of beauty. So when I made an offer (the next day - all offers needed to be in within 24 hours), and they had a bunch of other conventional 20% or cash offers, they didn't care that I only had 3.5% to put down with an FHA - they wanted to sell to me!

House hacking has saved a ton of money and now we're ready for another one just a year later. Keep in mind you'll only likely be able to house hack twice. Once with an FHA and another time with 15% down conventional. After that, the underwriters apparently become suspicious and will require 25% down on a duplex.

Troy has some bad parts. Be vigilant where the property is located. You are charged for water 4x a year (about $150 for me), waste is 2x a year (I think it's $160). In my area homes often include heat so that's another charge to consider (I'm paying ~$1200/year for the two units).  Your numbers start to drop when these things are considered.

The homes are old so be sure to get one that's in great condition, unless you're handy (which I am not).

PM me if you have any questions!!

Thanks @Drew MacDermott. I think you're right! Truth is I don't think anyone exactly knows when this is all going down. The big boss can be erratic so I don't even think he has a clear idea of when this will happen. I'm also considering getting a conventional loan without the owner occupancy clause. I think we really need to get out of the apartment situation as rent is very high here compared to mortgage payments, and it would be nice to save some money, especially if I'll be staying here longer!

Hello! I have recently accepted a promotion with my company to relocate from to Buffalo, NY in a time frame of 6-12 months. This is a loose timeline that was agreed to in writing (which could "lengthen dependent on market conditions and company operations"), and I feel will likely take more time to happen (2 years) based on the attitudes of those involved and the way previous projects have moved in the past. 

I want to get an FHA loan for a property for September of this year (when my current lease expires). I understand that I need to intend to owner occupy the property for at least a year, which I fully do. However I do know that at some point in the future I'll be relocating. Once I relocate I'd like to continue owning this property and rent it out and when I arrive in Buffalo I'd like to take out another FHA loan (since Buffalo is ~300 miles away).

My concern is mortgage fraud! However, as I mentioned, I do *intend* on living there for at least a year, or until my jobs forces me to relocate.  I would like to get a duplex to start so I can work on my buy/hold plan for my future, and I don't want to be held back because of this vague timeline for relocation.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

Thank you for the advice @Chris Mason

I think at this point my best bet would be to talk with a broker who might have a better idea of which lenders to work with. Our 2015 tax returns look great but the 2014 doesn't look so good since we were between jobs. Hmm, I suppose we'll have to present what we have and see where that gets us. Thanks again.

My wife and I have spent the last year or so getting myself a green card and have moved from Canada to upstate NY. We are brand new to this country and have very little credit history but very much want to get started investing in real estate! We hope to purchase a duplex and house hack. Shouldn't be more than about $100k but I'm worried about us being approved for a mortgage given that we're "fresh off the boat". I'd like some opinion on our situation and how we should proceed.

I've been working for about 5 months, my wife for about 3 months in the US. Based on CreditKarma, our scores are 1 year with 720 (my wife) and myself with 2 months at 690. We've recently taken out a loan on a car, and have opened new credit card and bank accounts (both about 2 months ago when I was first able to open an account in the US). We would have to both apply since I believe my income is what will get us the loan (about $75k household income).

Prior this, we have great credit and employment history in Canada, but I'm unsure if any of this matters to a US bank. I plan on calling some Canadian banks that have branches in the US (RBC, TD) and speaking with them but I'm seeing that they may require a higher down payment (75% LTV) and we're only really prepared to put down 5-10%.

What do you think? Should we just focus on aging our credit a bit more? How long would you recommend? Are we more likely to be approved if applying for an FHA loan?

Welcome @Nadine Delille! Check out the podcasts - that's what got me hooked!

I second house hacking! Get someone else to pay your mortgage and then some! Put together a plan for your future and what you hope to get out of this investment. I really recommend reading the Ultimate Beginner's Guide (https://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing) to give yourself some perspective. good luck!!

It's my understanding that FHA loans require at least 3.5% and these come with mortgage insurance (0.85%?) that lasts the life of the loan, in addition to an upfront premium (1.75%?). Depends on how much you have available for the down payment. Conventional is 5% and comes with mortgage insurance but this goes away after 20% equity. For me this makes more sense since I can afford to put more down and it helps that houses aren't terribly expensive in my neck of the woods. If you have less than great credit and not very much money to put down, FHA might make better sense. Analyze your numbers and see what works best for you!

Sounds great Jacob! I'm not too far from you and am in the process of identifying an area to invest in. I'm leaning more for properties in the Saratoga region since it's a bit closer to my work and a bit closer to Montreal, where I'm originally from. One thing I would add is watch for the property taxes. That was a major choice for me looking into the Saratoga county as the taxes can be lower. Paying up to $5k a year for a $100k property can really chew into your cash flow. Good luck!