Starting Strategy Into investing

New to Real Estate · Rochester, MN · Member since 2026 · 3 posts · 1 vote

From my profile, you can see that I’m an aspiring investor currently saving funds for my first investment property in Kansas City, MO. I’ve chosen “house hacking” as my initial investment strategy and have been looking at duplexes and quadplexes in the area. My goal is to be ready to make my first purchase in June or July of 2027, and I’m hoping to connect with investors or real estate agents who are active in the area, know the local market well, and might be able to offer some guidance.

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Jay TolugantiPro Member

Investor · Clearwater, FL · Member since 2025 · 214 posts · 74 votes

Welcome. I would recommend below books for your education: Strategy: Rich man in Babylon Robert Kiosaki - Rich Dad Poor Dad - Cashflow Quadrant - Guide to investing - Real book of Real Estate Real Estate Journey: Ken McKelroy - ABCs of Real Estate Investing - Advanced book of Real Estate Investing - ABC of Property management

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Jay TolugantiPro Member
Investor · Clearwater, FL · Member since 2025 · 214 posts · 74 votes
5d
Welcome. I would recommend below books for your education: Strategy: Rich man in Babylon Robert Kiosaki - Rich Dad Poor Dad - Cashflow Quadrant - Guide to investing - Real book of Real Estate Real Estate Journey: Ken McKelroy - ABCs of Real Estate Investing - Advanced book of Real Estate Investing - ABC of Property management
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- Kuoviy Omot
  OP
  New to Real Estate · Rochester, MN · Member since 2026 · 3 posts · 1 vote
  19h
  Thank you for the recommendations I have a few of these books already and have read them a few times over but with every reading I'm catching things in a new light
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Caleb Brown
Real Estate Agent · Kansas City · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
5d
Welcome to BP! Happy to connect and help
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Kuoviy Omot
OP
New to Real Estate · Rochester, MN · Member since 2026 · 3 posts · 1 vote
4d
Yes, please I'm very interested and look forward to seeing what we can come up with.
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Ashish AcharyaBusiness Member
CPA, CFP®, PFS · FL · Member since 2017 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
4d
Kuoviy, you’re in a good spot because you already have a clear target: house hack a duplex or fourplex in Kansas City around June or July 2027.
I’d use the next several months to get really good at underwriting the exact type of property you want to buy. Pick a realistic buy box based on your expected down payment, comfortable monthly payment, and the rent you could collect from the other unit or units. Then start analyzing actual listings every week.
For a house hack, I'd look at the full picture: purchase price, taxes, insurance, vacancy, repairs, CapEx, utilities, and how much of your own housing cost the rental income would actually offset.
I’d also start building your local team now. An investor-friendly lender, agent, inspector, contractor, and property manager can all help you learn the market before you’re under contract.
From the tax side, once you live in one unit and rent the others, the property becomes mixed-use. Certain expenses and depreciation generally need to be allocated between the personal and rental portions, so it helps to set up the bookkeeping correctly from day one.
The best thing you can do between now and summer 2027 is analyze enough real deals that you know what a good one looks like when it shows up.
Feel free to DM me, I’d be happy to send over a few resources that might help you analyze your first house hack.
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Drew SygitBusiness Member
Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 9k+ votes
2d
If I was starting out again with what I know now, I'd look to acquire a 2-4 unit property with an FHA 3.5% low-down payment mortgage.
I'd also look into using an FHA 203k renovation loan, allowing me to buy something ugly, thus unqualified for a standard mortgage, which would weed out a lot of competition and push the price lower.
To maximize my cashflow and gain landlording experience, I'd do STR and MTR in the other units, as well as the other bedrooms in my unit.
Since most cities won’t allow basement rental units, I’d consider finishing the basement, just well enough for me to live down there (cities don’t care if owner chooses to live in basement), so I could rent out ALL the units/rooms.
I'd save all my cash and look to refi the property in 1-2 years out of the FHA mortgage, so I could use it again if necessary. Depending on how close I was to having 20% equity in the property and being able to avoid PMI, I'd consider using some of my cash to pay down the mortgage when I refinanced. Otherwise, I'd save my cash for the next acquisition.
I’d also be posting on every social media platform and telling everyone I knew that I was looking for more real estate deals. I’d aim for low downpayment land contracts and lease options.
After refinancing out of the FHA mortgage, I'd evaluate if I wanted to repeat the 2-4 unit FHA 203(k) process again or if I had the 20% down to target 5+ units.
While still living in the property, AFTER the refi out of the FHA mortgage, I'd also explore securing a HELOC to tap my equity for emergencies.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
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