All Forum Posts by: Thomas Hartman

Hey guys! Me, my wife and 3 year old son are looking for areas just outside of NYC (or perhaps Brooklyn/Queens) that have multifamily properties that we could possibly live in and that would eventually cash flow after 12-18 months of living there, moving out, and repeating in a new multifamily, all the while taking advantage of lower money down on FHA loan. I know this makes the mortgage higher due to less money down upfront, but that is the only way we could afford to get in a multi family home in our area it seems.

Oh and the kicker! The area must have decent schools. Maybe NJ, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, Yonkers, what else am I missing? I know this will likely drive the property taxes way up, hurting potential cash flow. We need to be able to commute into the city without a car, and live in a district with a good school. 

This is the ultimate conundrum for us, and we’re often led to believe that investing in multi family units remotely in cheaper but growing areas of the Midwest while continuing to rent in Brooklyn makes more sense for our goal of achieving financial independence within the next decade.

Any thoughts, tips on areas I may be missing or opinions on the numbers in areas I mentioned would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Hi guys, would love some feedback here!

Me, my wife and my 3 year old son live in Brooklyn, NY. It is way too expensive to buy anything worth living in here (at least for us, right now), but just outside the city in places like New Rochelle and Yonkers, we could possibly find a somewhat affordable multi family to house hack in. Probably around 600-700k and would need work, but with an FHA loan we could afford it, although the mortgages look scary. Would this make sense to invest in, as opposed to continuing to rent in our Brooklyn apt while investing remotely in a cheaper market? Trying to weigh the options as to which one would enable us to get on a faster trajectory towards accumulating cash flowing properties and eventually financial independence within the next decade or so.

What are your thoughts? 

My wife and I live in NYC with our 3 year old son and have about $150k to start investing in rentals. Out of state makes most sense (looking at a few midwestern cities as well as TX and FL), but we know nobody out there. Any advice?

Also, I’m a freelance musician and she is a waitress and make-up artist Somehow for the last 4 years we’ve covered costs and been able to save $200-$1,000 a month. We’re not struggling by any means, despite our “titles”. That said, does the nature of our careers complicate the potential of being approved by lenders for financing? And if we were to move to one of the locations we decide to invest in and possibly house hack for awhile, would starting from scratch without job histories in the new location hurt us even worse for potential lenders? 

Thanks in advance, we are so thrilled to have discovered the potential of a career in real estate investing and cannot believe it took this long to come across it. We can’t wait to connect with other newbies and more experienced investors. If you’re in NYC, let’s meet up! 

Tommy & Mariko