All Forum Posts by: Amy Foley

@Sebastian Marroquin I so appreciate the detailed response. Really helped me to take a better look at my expectations. I chose to stick with the MLS this time around because I wanted to get familiar with the process and have some additional support from our agent. The learning curve is certainly steep starting out, but I'll definitely check out some of the strategies you listed in the future.

I absolutely agree with calculating the numbers as if we weren't living there.  It doesn't have to be the best deal in the world, but it does have to work after we've moved out.  Thanks so much for your insight!

@Stefan Crabtree Thank you for the encouragement!  It's so helpful when you're just starting. 

Great to hear that you're going to make the same move with your family. We're planning to continue this as our family grows in the future as well. Do you know what type of property you'll be targeting?

Aside from this past year, our market has not historically been a strong candidate for appreciation. It's about an hour outside the city and somewhat rural. However, there are many new homes being built and the population seems to be increasing at this time, so we'll see. Definitely something to keep in mind!

@Erik Nick Such good points all around and great mindset. I think it makes sense to focus on the primary goal (reducing expenses in this case), but not be afraid to change course if needed. Thanks for your help!

Hi all, I'm new to the community and looking at purchasing my first duplex property. I'm questioning my numbers as some of the actual costs are coming back higher than my estimates. Closing costs and Insurance, for example. I'm also seeing slightly higher interest rates than expected. All of this has reduced my estimated cashflow to just over $100 per unit and about 5% CoC Return. This is down from original estimates of $200 per unit and 8% return which seemed reasonable for the first attempt at this.

I'm planning on house-hacking with this property and then eventually renting out both units and repeating the process. My overall expenses would decrease from my current SFH, but I want to make sure this is something that will be worthwhile to hold and rent out in the future.

Any feedback on whether or not to move forward?  Anything else I should be considering here?

Thanks in advance for the help - this forum has already been an incredible resource!