All Forum Posts by: Tatum Littleton

According to your numbers, I would say to keep it as a STR but as a few others have said, look at different vacancy rates as well management fees. I would be as conservative as possible in judging for cash flow. $38,000 would be amazing to get that, but of course, those are estimates and if it works out well.

Others noted that the appreciation play could make it worth keeping, I tend to look more heavily on appreciation since real estate investing is more of a long term game. Appreciation takes time and from everything I have seen and read, the Northeast is a good place to be for appreciation if you have the capital to start there. 

Of course, there is no absolute right or wrong answer, you really should evaluate what is right for you and your family at this time and in the future. There are a million different opinions so take them and formulate what will work for you! Good luck!

All great advice so far and would agree with the other comments. I would reinforce making sure you know the leg work it takes for a STR and the potential hurdles that may slow you down (gov./city regulations, set up costs, doing things to stand out) and leave you with less cash in case of an emergency. Do plenty of research and find out what other mistakes have been made in your are and learn from them.

Both are great options but maybe doing a simple pros/cons list for both STR and LTR. Ask yourself how much work you want to do (real estate is not a passive income endeavor) and how does it or does not fit into your life right now. The good thing about your property and area is that it seems that you could potentially transition between the two if you had to. Maybe setting up for STR and looking into MTR since you have it furnished already, there is plenty you can do with your situation.

And someone said it before but make sure it aligns with your "why", don't just do it willy nilly and think you can just make a quick buck, what is your ultimate goal and which strategy will help facilitate that? 

Good luck and keep at it!

The point has been made but I'll say it again, where to house hack? Where do you want to be? It seems you would be most comfortable in Florida but if you're willing to move to other states, I would get out there if possible and talk to as many different people as you can with as many different opinions to get different takes. Take that information and see what might work best for you right now in this position in life.

House hacking is an awesome way to get started and even doing that can still be a bit difficult to cash flow today so run your numbers multiple times and do them well. Even if you are not cash flowing on day one, that's okay (in my opinion), you're not paying the full mortgage on your own, which in of itself is a huge win and you learn other tangible real estate investing skills along the way by simply owning. 

I think if you can juggle managing the property on your own and taking care of your business this seems like a no brainer but I hope you don't get caught in a rut because it doesn't seem like it's working or something else... it's a marathon, not a sprint! It looks like you've taken more steps than some, so, keep learning and planning your next moves!

I'm in Texas and would be happy to talk with you about different markets! Good luck, keep it up!

Take a look at this BP beginners guide. It helped me with kind of a 30,000 foot overview of investing. It may help you get some ideas on what to add to your own thing or send them that. I think it does a good job of introducing different strategies and lingo of investing in a  digestible way and allows someone to find what they may find interesting and then learn more about that. It's lengthy and of course, they can pick and choose what to read or jump around to what they want to learn. 

Good on you for helping your friend, good luck!

I agree with @Taylor Dasch and @Travis Timmons! It has great potential and the ability to cash flow nicely. Knowing the three cities mentioned is important for grading the neighborhoods and can vary street by street. I believe Travis' ranking is spot on and how I would rank them. Growth is awesome in this area as well as up and down I35 to San Antonio even. I would encourage you to look outside of Austin since going there shouldn't be too difficult if you need to do something in person, you can even drive some of the areas yourself and do your own evaluation of it. 

Good luck!

I agree, with Joe, it does come down to you and how comfortable you are with house hacking and if it makes sense for you financially and for your family. So you would need to look into is losing about $700 a month is worth it and can you deal with that for a period of time. If it retains value and you plan to hold on to it for a while, it could be a possibility. 

If your goal for house hacking is not to cashflow immediately it may make sense if you're paying a significantly less amount in mortgage and expenses on your house hack because the other side is effectively helping pay that amount. For instance, it may look like paying the $700 difference of renting your current property plus whatever your portion of the house hack would be (hopefully a significant amount less) and being similar to what you pay now or maybe a bit less depending on what you get for the house hack. That's just one scenario.

But again it depends on what you can handle and what makes sense financially, I couldn't give you a perfect answer on what to do. 

Hi Krysten, good for you for finding a niche and what you're interested in! It's great you are enthusiastic and ready to invest, don't let analysis paralysis stop you! As River already mentioned, I would also suggest looking into meetups as well to continue to learn and grow your network. 

Mid-term rentals could be a sweet spot between short and long term depending on where you are and what your market looks like. I have been considering getting into mid-term rentals as well. Just make sure you run your numbers well and that it make sense, not just because it "looks nice", be smart, investing is a marathon, not a sprint! Keep it up!

Hey Matthew, that is a great question that we all ask when we are where you are. But it isn't so easy to answer. It seems like you enjoy being active and using your hands so maybe the BRRRR method (buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat) is your best bet as you could save some money and do plenty on your own, you could also do a live in flip potentially and sell it or rent it out later. Of course, you may have heard about those two already but great options for someone like you.

I would recommend making a good list of what your goals are and what may interest you in real estate. Is it managing a property maybe short, mid or long term on your own? Maybe you just want to fix up places and do flips.

I would consider reading this beginner's guide, it is a lot of information but will help you get a good over view of different niches, financing and education. 

Good for yall Aubrey! What to buy? Thats pretty personal to each investor. I would suggest having a conversation first about what interests you the most, being excited about investing goes a long way, I would not just do it just to do it, what will motivate both of you? It could be doing a live in flip if you are handy and/or want to learn new skills. Maybe you like the service industry and want to run a short term rental on your own. There are plenty of possibilities. 

I would also evaluate where you are at in life in regards to kids? Wanting kids in the future? No kids at all? Or if you want to move maybe? Moving to the most favorable market possible? Where can you save more and be more frugal? How can you set yourself up now for when you are ready to purchase, you will be ready to go ASAP.

To answer your question, when to buy? I don't know, timing the market is impossible so when is the right time is when you are willing and able. If you have the money and can purchase it, go for it as soon as you can, don't wait for the perfect time, you may lose out on something that could be a great deal.

As it has been said, mistakes are made by everyone so don't lose hope after reading about others mistakes... learn from them and your own experiences. Its a marathon, not a sprint, we're all learning as we go! Good luck!

As Gabe asked, I would ask the same thing, if you have an agent? If so, have them hold the builder to the fire, that is not acceptable for a brand new home and that should be on them to fix that and anything else. I had a similar issue as a buyer's agent and I had to go back and forth with the builder multiple times and even back up the closing date because there were a few items to take care of, have your agent represent you on that. There are usually, plenty of issues with new homes, I would strongly recommend still having a home inspection before closing (if you haven't had a formal home inspector come out) and making the builder address any AND all issues, it's a new home, it should be near perfect. Do another walk through with your agent after the inspection and double checking it all. 

If you don't have an agent, for lack of a better term, be a pest and make sure they get those issues taken care of and show them the full formal inspection done, its a NEW house for crying out loud!!

Also to answer your question, I would not back out of the deal because of this or some other minor issue that can be easily fixed, it seems like you have all the financials thought and planned out, continue with it if possible and don't lose it because of that.