All Forum Posts by: Yu Liu

@Hai Loc Oh! Thanks for the catch, I recently added vacancy and forgot to account it in the "Total expenses" section which messed up cash flow. Thanks again!

@Hai Loc I see, thank you for the tip. Where did you see me not put mortgage as an expense? For NOI I didn't because that excludes it.

@David Heisler So essentially net margin is how much of that rental income you are actually making? That's a good idea! Thank you! 

Just starting to get into RE and started analyzing property. I created a calculator using excel and was wondering if there were any other metrics I should include or things that I did wrong or didn't account for or just any feedback in general to improve it. I use very conservative values (10% Capex, repairs, vacancy rates, etc)

I compared it with a couple of other online calculators and it gave me similar results. 

This is the link: 

My formulas for the "Key Metrics" are shown in the "Notes" section. 

The mortgage is calculated using the 

For a screenshot:

Feel free to use it and improve it for your own endeavors

@Account Closed Thank you for that perspective. I guess my question in investing in California then becomes, what is the worst case scenario and how do I prepare for that? Let's say I buy a house on a FHA loan (with market prices of $1M) and house hack it for example, how long would I have to hold it (with current market trends) for it to become remotely profitable. If I suddenly can't live in it after two years, how do I make sure it doesn't become a money pit? I guess that is the fear that we all have at the end of the day that stops us from taking action so I would like to hear more perspectives on that.

@Cameron Lam this was a very inspiring post. Thank you for sharing your journey. Glad to see your successes and the possibilities that it affords those of use that are just starting out (like me). I apologize in advance if you answered this in your comments already, how did you go about finding your contractors, BP? word of mouth? trial and error? and what issues did you have house hacking or any advice you wish you knew when you started house hacking? Thanks again!

@Matt Banahan I am in the same situation as you. Debating whether to househack here in the bay area or invest in out of state. If I were to do a househack, I would considering Airbnb-ing or something more creative like adding a wall to split the units or adding an ADU/converting garage to a unit as that will most likely allow it to more easily cash flow.
These are just some of the tips that I have heard and am happy to share.
I do have a question for the more experienced RE investors, how did you find your best team? Asking on BP? Referrals from friends? And what interview questions did you ask them?

I have a property (duplex) in the Bronx area and I am looking for a reputable property management team and a reliable contractor that does quality work. Does anyone have any recommendations of either of these? Have you used them before and if so how's the speed of communication and quality of work? 

Thanks in advance!

Personally, I think you should go to college, maybe not in the particular major of real estate as I'm not sure how practical that major is in terms of being hired in that field vs just getting your real estate license. 

The way I see it is to not put all your eggs in one basket. In the world we live in today, if you have a college education (hopefully in something practical) you can have something to fall back on and still make a sizable living in your absolute worst case scenario. Lastly, college is a lot of fun, the friends and amount of growing you do is truly unbelievable. I don't think getting $100k in debt is worth that but if you can find a college that won't break the bank, that might be something to look into. I am not sure where your college is and how much the ones in your area cost but in Florida it's about $6K a semester or $48K for 4 years, something that can be paid back in 1-2 years of working, for expanding your network, finding yourself, just enjoying your time and youth and knowing you will always have a safety net.

Of course, if you know you're the type to work hard, live with 10 roommates, not complain, have a great mindset, mental toughness and can handle all the bumps in the road and obstacles that come your way, then go all out and crush it in the real estate world. For the majority of people, that's not the case and therefore I recommend the safer slower route.

just my 2 cents

Was wondering if anyone had experience with renting out a bedroom on Airbnb and was wondering how often it was booked up (3 times a week, 18 nights out of a month? etc) and how seasonal it is. Particularly wondering about the Berryessa and Milpitas, East, North areas.