All Forum Posts by: Alejandro Garcia

@Alecia Williams Haha yes please private message me for her information.

@Alecia Williams  Yea, well I started seriously looking for a property Jan 2020 and by that I mean that is when I finally decided to talk to a bank to get preapproved for a loan. Prior to that I had months looking at property all around the Los Angeles area. I knew I wanted to house hack, preferably a multi family, and something not to far from my work.

Once I got my preapproval from BoA for an amount of $450k I found an agent who suggested I look at single families since $450k would not be enough for a decent multi in LA. He didn't seem to have much experience and once I brought up the idea of using the proforma rental income to increase the loan amount he gave off the impression that he didn't want to go through that trouble and preferred dealing with single families.

At the moment I was convinced but I knew I wanted to do a multi family, at least a duplex, so I went to see a duplex during a open house I randomly found (at this point I was going to open houses in areas I was looking at to get an idea of prices, common renovations, and just to meat agents). Luckily there I met the agent who would help me find a duplex.

I explained to her what I was looking for and overtime that became more specific as I learned more on BiggerPockets. Eventually she found me a great VACANT duplex in early April. During this time the pandemic scare seemed create hesitation but lucky for me because I was able to put it under contract the day after it was listed. It was a bumpy process but because of how great my agent was we were able to get through the process and actually just closed on it for 570k. 

More details about the house: Front Unit is 3 beds 2 baths, back unit is 1 bed 1 bath with an extra room that needs a closet to be considered a bedroom so I will be adding that in to make it a 2 bed 2 bath. 

Hope this helps and if you would like to reach out to the agent I use please feel free to send me a PM.

@ Alecia Williams

400k might be too low for los angeles area. Just about to close on a duplex in South LA and getting it for 570k and it will still need a lot of work.

With a duplex you can potentially raise that limit if your bank allows you to use potential rents from the duplex. 

@Jeremy Pelle

Is the $500k including the possible rents you can get from a duplex? You can talk to your lender about this so you can get your limit increased. This was the only way I was able to afford the duplex I am currently in contract in. My lender estimated $2k in rents to about $100k increase to my limit.

Thanks for the tips! Seems like I should be able to keep myself busy after all.

Hi!

I just recently got an offer accepted for a duplex in Los Angeles using an FHA loan and this would be my first property if I get it! My plan is to renovate, get some tenants in the extra unit and house hack it!

I am extremely excited but find myself asking myself "What now?". We are in a 60 day escrow period as that sale is contingent that the owner's find a new home and the residents of the back unit vacate. 

So what is there for me to do during the escrow period? What should I look out for? And what would be a good thing to start planning and/or working on?

Any help would be much appreciated! 

Thanks! 

Is this common practice or are there other things I need to know to do this? 

The property I am looking at has been recently renovated so I don't think repairs will be a huge cost but I am aware that something always breaks when you least expect it. I am also pretty handy so I am confident I could do most repairs that don't require a licensed contractor. But in your opinion what is a good buffer to have for extra repair costs?

Hi!

I have been looking into purchasing a multi-family for a HOUSE HACK in the Los Angeles area but currently do not have enough to cover the closing costs. I have saved for the down payment, and some for repairs, furniture, etc but did not expect closing costs to be so much,+10K. I can use what I allotted for repairs for closing costs but I do not want to be left with no money after purchasing the property.

Anyways! I have heard that you can negotiate the seller covering the closing costs. How is this typically done and are there other options? 

Currently looking at either using a 3.5% FHA loan or a conventional 5% down loan.

Thank you in advance!

Alejandro