All Forum Posts by: Wes Barrier

 Jon,

Thanks for the advice. I plan on it!

Nothing better than a beautiful VBA module.

 Hey Jesse,

When looking for my first place, a duplex was at the forefront. There are some great duplexes in Richmond around Church Hill and in the Fan/Museum District, and I'm always on the prowl for a good deal for one. My current residence isn't as ideal as "house hacking" (never heard that term, but as a computer engineering student it's got a lovely ring to it!) but it has what I want. 

To rent my current place out would take a special person (1,600 sq ft house, 1,000 sq ft garage set up for a car repair hobbyist). I feel that I could command a premium in rent if I market it to the right person, but the pool of applicable tenants is pretty small. I guess I "specialized" that place. 

Anyone have any advice or experiences in renting very specific properties?

By the time a down payment is a reality for the price a Fan/Museum District/Church Hill duplex/Triplex/Quad commands, house hacking sounds like the ideal way to go. 

Is there a time limit on the owner-occupant clause? I suspect you'd have a provision on living there for X amount of years.

Hey guys, Wes here from Richmond.

First of all, a collective thanks for the massive brain dump on this site. After running through the beginners guide and picking around a bit, BiggerPockets seems to be a treasure trove of information.

I'm a 27 year old mechanical engineer who bought his first house in June (who am I kidding... I bought a garage that happens to come with a house). Interests include car repair, lifelong learning, home repair (just getting into this one), teaching, wakeboarding, Netflix, and sleep.

After finding a great lodger to pay 2/3rds of my base mortgage, I decided to look into more real-estate. This led me to you fine folks!

Current five-year plan is to finish building my 6-month emergency fund, and then split the next pot 50/50 between money-market accounts and a down payment on an investment property.

Spreadsheets legitimately excite me (I know...) and I've made a couple to compare cash flows and Cap rates on properties. Hopefully you bunch will be able to help refine them, and together we can all profit from the experience!

Great to meet everyone, and I hope that we can learn a lot from each-other!