All Forum Posts by: Tom Harkins

@Meghan Freckleton-Hopkins If you're concerned, one option may be to require a co-signer on the lease. Best of luck!

@Brian Sisco It sounds like the rent from both units would cover the mortgage, but does that include taxes and insurance? What about reserves for capex, vacancy, and regular maintenance? Having low equity in the property by putting less than 20% down, it will probably be difficult to cashflow. Now if this purchase is an appreciation play, that may be different. Ultimately the answer is "it depends" - it depends on your goals in buying the property and the larger strategy.

Congrats @Steven Michael Borin. I did something similar with my family's first house.

@Rebecca Dupuis In that case, I would  focus on networking and building transferable skills. Attend virtual meetups and seek out people who are doing what you want to do. It’s a small world so you may even make some connections near your target market. For transferable skills, walk through what you would need to do to get that first property under contract- have a lender lined up? contractors? property manager? If not, how will you find them? Interview them? Know which ones to hire? Time spent answering these questions will not be wasted. 

@Tomas Satas Another Cozy user. I also offered my tenants a small incentive (rent discount) to set up auto-pay. So far so good. 

@Steven Hornstein Flooring and (I assume you meant) moulding/trim are both straightforward DIY jobs.

@Andrew Freed I've done 2 full SFH's in SW7029 Agreeable Gray recently. Can't go wrong with this color.

@Paul Sandhu My rental is a SFH and per the lease, the tenants clear all ice and snow

@Bryan M. What I did is offer a small rent discount to incentivize my tenants to use ACH. Ultimately it is easier for both parties. Best of luck

@Dorian Young Thanks for posting this. I am planning to request a comp analysis from an agent in my market (and offer payment) to supplement a refinance appraisal.