All Forum Posts by: Sophie Grizzle

1. Interview multiple agents. Find out who they served and interview them.

2. Find a lender that is an investor as well! Do your due diligence on their team: the lender may be great but if their team is a problem, you could lose a deal because of it.

3. Surround yourself with investors that have done what you’re doing. Tell everyone what you’re doing and hear their stories. And if people are giving you advice, pay attention to who they are. Uncle Joe that’s never owned a home probably isn’t the best person to get your advice from.

4. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Give yourself grace. There’s an ignorance debt that has to be paid, be thankful that it’s now while it’s cheap and more forgivable than later down the road. Pay down that debt and take them as opportunities to learn.

5. Be okay with pivoting strategies and plans. That’s real estate: it’s always changing and the ones that can pivot and be creative are the ones that perform well.

6. If you need something from someone, give give five first and then ask. It’s a win win for you since you’ll learn more from giving first than from asking immediately.

7. Enjoy the process! If you’re doing some rehab projects yourself, it’s going to take longer than you had originally planned. And that’s okay. No excuse to be lazy, just be okay with it and grow.

@Sophie Grizzle

Exciting!  

Sometimes people try to complicate things or overthink them.  Investing in real estate is actually very simple if we look at it from a high level.. 

Good House: How's the foundation, roof, HVAC?  What can you expect for repairs over 10 year?

Good Location: Is it located well for its purpose?  I.e. If you're buying a small family home you want schools and grocery stores close by, if its an urban condo you want walking amenities and transit, etc.  

Good Price: Does the deal meet YOUR investment goals?  Is this price fair for this particular property/neighborhood? No special skills needed. Just market knowledge and good math.  Both of which you can learn, hire and/or find pretty easily.  

It's a patient persons game right now.  There is deals coming.  

Good luck :)

@Sophie Grizzle 

House Hacking is amazing. Here are some resources I found really helpful on my journey.

1. For podcasts I really like the Huse Hacking episodes on Bigger Pockets Podcast and other channels. Here is a playlist with the best House Hacking Podcasts I’ve found: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4A6uLsPfdWEMmJhG4TSjyb?si=743bb403548f47fb

2. Great beginners guide: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Ultimate_Beginners_Guide_BiggerPockets.pdf

3. The Book on House Hacking Strategies by Craig Curelop is also a fantastic book

First deal is the hardest! I don't think I would do my first deal again if it was presented to me but it got my foot in the door and gave me the confidence to do the next one. If you are doing the work yourself, make sure to have a clean space so you can still live your life without interruption. Know your limits. I think it's interesting how home owners believe they can do every task in a house but professional contractors 20+ years in the business will be very strict in sticking to their specific craft. I am a big fan of owner occupant for multifamily to get started. You could do FHA loan almost every year to get to 10 units pretty quickly.

Congrats on taking the leap, Sophie! A common thing we see on the forums is first time house hackers think they've bought a bad deal if their mortgage isn't completely covered by the rent. This is not necessarily the case. If you are only coming out of pocket $700 per month, whereas rent for the unit you occupy would otherwise cost $1400, that's a pretty solid deal!

It is also worth mentioning that you should be doing analysis on both while you're living in the property and while you're not living in it. If the property does not cashflow while you are not living in it, it may be a bad deal.