All Forum Posts by: Stephanie N.

@Ravi Sivarathri I agree with the comment on umbrella insurance, it's a great first step to help protect you in the event someone sues you. But more importantly, read Brandon Turner's Book on Managing Rental Properties. I read this as a first time landlord and it helped me gain a ton of confidence and also taught me what I can and cannot do. Lots of great advice like knowing what criteria you can base tenancy on and what you cannot. There are also website links in the book to free rental management forms like leases, renewal request forms, etc. Also, consider the laws in the state you plan to invest in - are the laws more favorable to landlords or tenants? I invest in a state that is more landlord friendly where there are more laws on my side in the event anything were to happen. But ultimately, best advice I have gotten is to be a fair and firm landlord and take good care of your properties.

Hi Jacob, I agree with the comments above. Best to start small and gain experience before you go big. Great thing is, you have the capital set aside to fund future deals!

If I were in your shoes, I would do the following:

- set 6 months worth of income aside in a HYSA to save it for a rainy day (this will help shield you if you lose your job, or if something goes horribly awry with your investment properties)

- open a Bank on Yourself life insurance policy (this is a specific type of high dividend paying whole life insurance where you can borrow against the cash value in your policy at any time and the money will continue growing as if you never took out a loan. It's a great way to BE the bank yourself, although you do pay simple interest to the life insurance company until you pay back the loan. This also allows you to buy life insurance at your early age in better health than you will likely be in the future. If you think you'll want a policy once you're married with kids to protect your family in the event something happens to you, then I would recommend thinking ahead and getting it now. Once you buy this policy, set it aside and this can be a financing source you use in the future for more deals.)

-the fun part: buy a property to house hack. You could buy a 2 family and with the new Fannie Mae guidelines, put 5% down on a conventional loan. Buy an existing property and if you find one that needs some love, it allows you to fix it up and force appreciation so that it's worth more in the future but you're getting it for a better price now.

- Start with that one property. Live in it for a year and set the remainder of your reserves aside, ideally in a HYSA so that it is there in a years time when you need it. After a year, buy the next place...maybe a 3 family and house hack again. Putting 5% down and buying a property a year will allow you to acquire properties quickly while still scaling wisely.

Take all of this with a grain of salt, it's solely what I would do in your position. I would also recommend seeking out some mentors to help guide you. I personally use and recommend Tardus - a financial coaching program where you are assigned a coach that works one on one with you to help guide you through your financial decisions. I've found this immensely valuable as it gives you someone to bounce ideas off of while still making all of your own decisions and having control over your own investments.

Phew, that was a lot. Feel free to message me if you'd like to talk further about any of this. Best of luck on your investment journey, you're certainly starting on strong footing!

I have a property on the Seacoast in NH that I'm hoping to MTR in the future. Curious what others have experienced lately for bookings in NH. I've heard that hospitals are starting to cut back on traveling nurse programs so there may start to be less demand for MTRs. I'm considering also listing my units on AirBNB to flex as a STR when vacant, especially since there's demand for STRs in the summer months. Curious what others have experienced!

While I build my way to wealth through real estate, I find myself desiring a W2 job that better aligns with my long term goals and could be a more enjoyable W2 along my journey. As such, I'm considering switching from my product management career path into one that is more closely tied to real estate. Becoming a mortgage lender is appealing to me and seems like it could be a good fit for my skill set (i.e. detail oriented, wanting to help people, enjoying working with numbers).

For the mortgage lenders out there, what do you love most about your job and what maybe isn't so great about the role? Have you seen others successfully move into this career path from a different profession? I have a high paying job now and am hoping to transfer my skills rather than start at the bottom.

Happy New Year! My boyfriend and I recently completed our annual list of goals for the year and have a fun one we're hoping you can help us with.

Our goal is to meet with at least one individual or couple each month who is passionate about their real estate journey. We're generally looking to network more and surround ourselves with more people that are on a similar path.

We're currently traveling in the SLC area and would love to meet some fellow investors while we're here. Reach out if you'd like to meet us for a coffee or perhaps take some runs on the slopes!

PS Know anyone in New England? We'll be back there in a few months and will be continuing with our goal there as well.

Happy New Year! My boyfriend and I recently completed our annual list of goals for the year and have a fun one we're hoping you can help us with. 

Our goal is to meet with at least one individual or couple each month who is passionate about their real estate journey. We're generally looking to network more and surround ourselves with more people that are on a similar path.

We're currently traveling in the SLC area and would love to meet some fellow investors while we're here. Reach out if you'd like to meet us for a coffee or perhaps take some runs on the slopes!

PS Know anyone in New England? We'll be back there in a few months and will be continuing with our goal there as well.

This is super helpful, thank you @Nathan Gesner!

I'm purchasing a property with tenants already in place. The leases expired a few years ago and the tenants have been on a month to month lease ever since. I'd like to have them sign a lease estoppel to verify that all initial lease requirements are still in place. Does anyone have a template they could pass along as an example?

I'm considering purchasing a 2 unit in Stratham and renting one as a LTR and the other as a MTR after using it as a house hack. In running my numbers, the deal is definitely tight. 

Has anyone owned a rental in Stratham or the surrounding areas (Exeter, Newfields, Greenland)? What are your thoughts on Stratham specifically for rentals?

I can't do the Home Ready/Home Possible programs because my income is higher than the average in the area. I'll look around for GSE standard loans, maybe that's a better fit. All the banks I've spoken to so far only offer Home Ready/Home Possible or FHA.

@Caroline Gerardo I didn't realize 3-4 unit required more money down. What is the typical requirement if I went that route?