All Forum Posts by: Amily Yi-Chieh Tseng

@Mitch Messer thank you so much for confirming my calculations! :). Super helpful!

Thank you @Mitch Messer.  I knew I missed something in my post.  Thanks for pointing all those out!

My goal is for investment while having a comfortable home for at least 1-3 years.  That's why I calculate it like an investment property now and want to make sure it'll cash flow later.

1.) Yes, they can move out and are currently month-to-month.  I thought about potentially offering them to downsize and continue living there with a higher rent if they would accept the terms.

2.) I'll find out about potentially taking over the loan.  Is the info on Remine dependable ($508K, 4.5%, originated in 6/2019)?  With the $500K loan, it's going to be hard to cash flow, that's my main concern.  (Tax is close to $10K)

3.) Investment property.

Thank you!

Good morning BP!

I've been looking for a good property for my family (we have 2 toddlers) to house hack.  We're located in the northern Chicago/ Jefferson Park area.  There's this one near us that we like but it's been on the market for close to a year, the price never drops and I find that really weird.   Normally a property like this in this neighborhood would be gone within a week with multiple offers.  

After some research, it turns out they're still underwater.  Based on the loan history, I'm guessing the owner overspend years ago and rebuilt the whole house (around 2011), their loan is still at around $500K-ish, the current asking price is $525K, but the market value is most likely under $500K.

This is a two, 3-bedroom 1-bath, units building, finished basement but a bit short so I'm not sure if it can ben turned into a 3rd unit, 2 car garage, close to a decent school and shopping, very nice neighborhood.  Open space, high ceiling on both units, double sinks in the washroom, all bedrooms are pretty spacious, definitely move-in ready.  Rental for this kind of unit nearby can be around $1600-1800.  Currently, both units are rented to one family with just $1300 per unit.

Any creative way to acquire this property?  Or should I just move on?  Thanks in advance!

@Tony Robinson thank you for the very detailed sharing. Great story!

May I ask how long did you study/ research before you decided to do RE investment and the area? Thank you!

@Jaysen Medhurst awesome suggestions.  Thank you!  You pointed out some of the info I have not yet learned.  The funding part is probably the most confusing and nerve-racking part for me (and probably for most beginners).  This is super helpful!

Thanks for the recommendation @Gloria Wiekert.  I'm near Jefferson Park and looking for the surrounding suburb.

Talked to Chase a couple of weeks ago, the officer said I can use the rental property for Cash out but not a line of credit.  Obviously the rate would be higher.  Between the cash-out and 401K, which one would you suggest going with?  I'm clueless when it comes to these two options.

BTW, hubby's credit has gotten a lot better now compared to a year ago.  But after a while, the growth just slows down.  Would you suggest to wait even though the interest rate is so good now?

Thanks for the great advice @Jonathan Greene.  The comfort of my family is definitely on top of my list!  After all, I believe we are all investing because we want a better life for our families, not the other way around!  Will definitely keep your suggestions in mind!

Thank you @Jaysen Medhurst for the advice.  As you said, it's hard to find 2% property in Chicago especially if you don't do some degree of repair.  That's why I'm debating about the renovation.  So far all the move-in ready properties that we have our eyes on are most likely not even close to the 1% (although the market IS currently dropping...).  After searching for a while, I'm slowly accepting the fact I might need to do some cosmetics repair at least.  But finding the right handyman/contractor is another headache.

Thanks for the heads up on FHA. We're looking at the price point around $500K if without repair, assuming we can get a low DP loan with at least one existing tenant. That being said, we really have limited inventory in the northern Chicago area. We also don't want to go into Chicago too far as it's a very competitive rental market. We have about $30K cash, if necessary I can take out some 401K and stock (right now is just not the best time to do so though). Hubby has a full-time + part-time job, credit is around 680. Mine is above 800 but I'm currently self-employed (within two years) without stable income track of record. I also have a paid off rental property, not sure if this would help much with our situation.

Once again, highly appreciate the input!  

Hi everyone. Rookie to RE investment here. My family really needs a bigger space to live, my husband is a first time home buyer so we are planning to Take the low interest rate opportunity to get a multi family house.  And maybe after a year or two we will move on to our next single house or something else.  My kids are still both under 5 so we still have time before settle down on a certain school zone but we do want to stick to certain area close to hubby’s work. We plan to continue the buy and hold process down the road.

So my questions are: Would you still follow the 1 or 2% rule when selecting the property even though we plan to live in one of the unit for a while?  I’m debating should we go though the renovation, and not sure what loan should we get?  should we go to private lender in this case?  Thank you!