All Forum Posts by: Andrew L.

Primary residence. However, I will be house hacking while living there and turn it into a rental property after 2 years of residency. 

Have not been shopping for rates. Just a hypothetical question. 

Thanks for the recommendation. My main activities are around McLean, Arlington area, so moving north requires more commute time. Just curious why Ashburn and not other area? 

Along with Russell, you have convinced me to look deeper into a multifamily. There are a few available but all in area I am unfamiliar with. It's probably a bit handful for me to handle a multifamily...

So back to square one, single family house?

Very busy with the current job so as little elbow grease as possible. 

I need to move out of the current place so whatever I purchase will be for myself too.

$500k - $600k in savings (not touching retirement funds). 

So condos are probably out of the question. Part of me wants a single-family house but that also means I will exhaust all my savings and take out a mortgage. 

 How much farther out from the city do I need to go? Are we talking Reston/Chantilly, or much further out?

Given the current high rate, I'd prefer not to take out a mortgage, or very little of it. Hence why a multifamily is pretty much out of question for me. I assume the reason the properties turned from a breakeven to a cash cow is due to loan payoff?

Location: Washington, DC (Nearby Tyson's Corner due to work location)

Status: Single. No debt. Sitting on a pile of savings. 

Goals: 1) Move out of the, 2) generate steady rental income even if I move out of the place a few years later.

With the savings that I have, strategy-wise, I can think of purchasing a 2bd, 2ba condos or a townhouse (Albeit further from my preferred location) and rent out one of the rooms. Alternatively, I could buy two small condos (1bd, 1ba) and rent out one units. 

The thing that gets me is the condo HOA fee. After HOA and taxes, there is very little in return, certainly not enough to cover my personal expenses let along replacing job income (Ultimate goal). I wonder how the experts on this board get around this problem? Or a better approach that I am not aware of?

Thanks for all the feedbacks thus far. 

I am not looking to invest (Not my mindset yet) but rather a first-time homebuyer purchasing a residential. 

 Hey I am in Northern Virginia.

Just very recently starting touring open houses on weekend. So far I've met agents showing profile listed on a popular magazine, agents boosting $millions of sales last year, agents referred by friends...etc. That's all good and well but I am sure there are bad apples in every industry. The bottom line is I need someone who 1) is experienced with the process, 2) can help get the best possible deal, and 3) offer his/her 2 cents on the property. 

Bonus and lower commission are nice (Who doesn't like a bit of saving?) but the overall experience and final out-of-pocket price is what I am most concerned with.

Are there sources/websites I can look into to see this type of information?