All Forum Posts by: Alejandro B Yoon

Hello everyone,

I have a successful househack in Houston I acquired in May with 4 tenants. *3 renting rooms + a buddy of mine living with me in the master. I've injected 10k cash into the house to update everything (the prior owner rented it out for a decade and had a lot of deferred maintenance and tenant damage). Now that everything is to my liking and clean; I am looking to build a wall in the downstairs living area to create another room. The downstairs living area is huge and would still easily be able to have a dining area with the additional wall.

I currently am paying $300-$500 a month to live in the home ($100 out of pocket for PITI with the rest being utilities) and want to build this wall to live for free and possibly be slightly cashflow positive. Of my renovations I have heavily DIY'd and hired multiple Home Depot day laborers to install countertops, flooring, doors, etc.

With building a wall I am a bit more hesitant to use a day laborer or do it myself since I want the finished product to be structurally sound. I also have 0 idea what the cost of building a wall is since google doesn't have much information on the topic + it's a more uncommon renovation.

What type of contractor should I try to contact? And what should I be expecting to pay for the job? What was your experience with building a wall?

Thank you in advance!

Always have them interact with you before viewing. Google forms/docusign is popular. I schedule a short call with them to introduce ourselves and gain basic info (life situation, age, personality, likeableness). I then write down the important info on my notepad on my phone and schedule a showing.

Typically people that rent rooms are not the most stable and/or are in-between something (divorce, moving, student, temp job, etc). I have found understanding their situation has been vital in choosing good roommates for a househack.

I bought my house at 21 a few months ago without any relevant tax returns. You can qualify for a FHA and conventional loan with a college diploma and an offer letter, as long as your job is related to your major.

These loan products are typically used for lawyers and doctors who have little work experience but solid starting salaries. I am in Accounting and was able to shimmy myself into a property.

This was the fastest route I saw reasonably possible and I spoke with a lot of lenders when I was a freshman in college. Only other options is to either have private money or already have solid tax returns.

I have a HYSA with Ally bank where I let security deposits sit. It allows me to get a 4-5% return with no risk of losing their deposit. 

You want to keep their deposits in a separate account from your own to avoid commingling funds.

Hey Zac, I'm also a younger person who just got out of college and has been investing in Real Estate for a few years. Feel free to message and we can connect.

Facebook groups by far will be the easiest place to find wholesale deals in Houston if you are out of state. You will need to respond quickly, as the juicy ones get taken off fast. Search "Houston Real Estate Group" and join the ones that have 5k+ people. There is like 5 main ones. Wholesalers post quite often.

Outside of that I highly recommend coming to a Real Estate meetup in Houston next time you visit. You will make a better first impression to network with wholesalers in person.

Best of luck!

Not a bad idea, I imagine this would only really work if these houses are in nicer areas. It also may look a little gimmicky to have essentially a small billboard on your properties. Plus, your signs may get stolen and you have to replace them.

I would think maybe wrapping your car with an advert or hosting some sort of event may yield a better ROI in advertising.

As others have mentioned, Houston homes don't have basements and few 2-4 unit inventory. I wouldn't recommend converting a SFH into a duplex as you may face code issues in the future unless you are willing to tear down the walls you build. The only other option is to find SFH's with ADU's or Garage conversions, but those are few and far between.

Renting by the room is a very doable strategy and I currently am house hacking doing so even with higher rates. I live in the large master bedroom with my own closet and bathroom and really only see my tenants when I cook food. Since I get to write the leases, I chose more quiet tenants that are on the same page about privacy. I barely am out of pocket for my rent expenses. Click on my profile for more info.

Send me a message and I'll be more than happy to connect, help, and look at options to find a buy-box for you if you are interested. I have house hacked multiple times in the past few years.

@Jake Andronico, those grout lines were nasty! What a difference. Thank you for the photos, I will for sure be resurfacing as my restrooms are also too yellow haha.

Hello all, 

Accounting lay-offs have impacted me and I was laid off a week ago. I am in search of work. I am a recent Accounting degree graduate with years of experience as a Real Estate agent (currently inactive), property manager for 190 SFH and apartment units, writing leases, and deal analysis. I am a good speaker, energetic, and reliable. PM me so I can send you a resume and phone number.

I am 21 years old and am House-hacking in Houston, I moved here from Austin a month ago. Preferably looking to work in commercial RE, as I would like to network with successful CRE investors. I also have experience cold-calling, wholesaling, filing evictions, etc.

Due to uncertainty, I am looking for an hourly job, not a straight commission. I have a reliable vehicle and am available to work now.