All Forum Posts by: Victor So

@Vivien Martin go for it! I’ve househacked a handful of properties and it’s truly the best way to get started! It’s like becoming a landlord and real estate broker investor on training wheels. 

@Sebastian Nadal for background checks, I use stessa/rent prep that’s available to us through biggerpockets tools. So far I’ve had no issues. 

Hey @Sebastian Nadal ! You’ve got the right idea! For now, it Looks like your roommate/tenant can cover half of your mortgage (plus hoa fees). Definitely screen properly and don’t cut corners! Are you planning to rent the entire unit at the 2nd year mark? My only concern would be whether or not, you’d be able to cash flow. If you’re not able to, then it may be better to sell the condo, take the profit (if you have some equity in the condo) and put it into a multi-unit to househack again. Note - if you live in your property for 2 years out of the last 5, then you don’t pay taxes on the profit. 

Welcome to the forums @Emmanuel Rugamba ! I’ve house hacked for the last 7 years and acquired a handful of properties this way. DM me if you want to discuss house hacking! 

Hello @Celine Rechyy ! It’s awesome to see that you’re already interested in real estate as a high school student! I wish I had started earlier but better late than never.

 House hacking is a great way to start off. I’ve been doing it for the last 6-7 years and acquired a handful of properties this way. 

Make sure to read as much as you can on the topic. There are a few good ones - I personally like Craig Curelop and Ben Leybovich’s books. Stay engaged on the BP forums and listen to podcasts regarding house hacking. 

In college, work on the basics - get good grades, don’t get into debt, build your credit, etc. Having a stable income and good credit will be foundational in qualifying for a loan. And having good habits and being disciplined will help you be a good investor, property manager, landlord, etc. 

DM if you want to hear how I got started. Hope this helps! 

 Did you find someone yet? I may have someone for you. DM me!

 Short answer - if you’re looking to rent rooms in the house or unit you live in, go for it. It can be fairly profitable in that it could help you live for free, etc. If you’re looking to scale, then it can be very difficult. I have friends who own properties with 5+ units who Airbnb 1-2 units in those buildings but again there are limits to the scalability thing. There’s other creative ways to make it work. For example, I have a partner who lives in a single family home we own together. He applied for the license under his name since he lives there and I basically run the Airbnb operations. We make it work because we an agreement but could I do similar things with other properties I have and scale? Not sure. 

My very first househack was a condo. And it was a nightmare mainly because of HOA politics, rules/regulations, etc especially if you want to make certain renovations to the unit. Also, I know those who've gotten hit with special assessments that wiped away cash flow and some.

 Not sure what loan you’ll be using to acquire your first deal but make sure you have a great loan officer who can give you the ins and outs of each owner occupied loan. I bought one of my first house hacks with an fha 203K loan since all I had to put was 3.5% down and rehab costs were included. However, since this was the first time I used a rehab loan, I had no clue how to navigate it. If you are going to go with a rehab loan, make sure to speak to people who’ve gone through it.