All Forum Posts by: Aristone Louxz

@Wesley Whitehead I would personally go with option A. Getting a smaller multifamily you would have your own separate unit. More expensive doesnt always mean better in my opinion. If option be would mean shared rooms within a single family home I would definitely shoot for option A. 

 Thanks so much!!

Hello Everyone,

2.5 years ago when I had just turned 21 years old I bought my first multifamily property in West New York NJ. A Duplex, 3 bedroom 1 bathroom over 3 Bedroom 1 bathroom with an added bonus of a Finished basement with 2 Bathrooms. The property cost me $382,000.00 and I purchased it with an FHA mortgage after 3 years of saving. I knew nothing about real estate or being a Home owner or how powerful this purchase would impact my life. All I knew was one thing, rent in NYC is way too expensive!! So what do I have to lose? A few years before this purchase my former boss would always talk about how I can move to NJ, (what was a 30 min drive from my Upper west side NYC Job) buy a house there and rent a portion of the house out and practically live rent free. Something that would be later known to me as "House Hacking". It was an obvious no brainer…

In 2016 when I purchased the house I moved into the basement and rented both 3 bedroom apartments above me for $1,400 each. I was collecting $2,800 each month … not too bad for a 21 year old haha.. But I still wasn't fully covering the full amount of my mortgage. I still had to pay about $250 out of pocket each month to cover my mortgage, (My mortgage included everything taxes, Insurance, PMI Total of $3,050). So I started looking online at similar apartments in my area and noticed that the cheapest 3 Bedroom in my area was going for $1,900.00. As soon as first floor tenants lease expired they moved out and I placed the first floor 3 bedroom apartment back on the market and managed to rent it for $1,900.00!! With no repairs I literally raised the rent an extra $400 on one unit!! It was a nice small victory that left me hungry for more….

2 months later I ended up moving to the 3 bedroom apartment on the second floor since it needed a few repairs (Paint, Floors, New appliances, and other cosmetic repairs). I had done a lot of renovations in the basement within the year that I lived there so I wanted to try to see if I can rent out the basement and fix up the second floor apt while I live in it. That same month I was able to rent out the basement for $1,400.00!!!!!. So by then I was collecting $3,300 a month in rent from the two floors below me, my mortgage was $3,120 so I am cash flowing $180 and living rent Free. 😊 Talk about moving on up!!

It gets even better, fast forward to today 3/11/19 here are the final numbers…

Basement Unit: $1,400.00

1st Floor 3/1 Unit: $1,900.00

2nd Floor 3/1 unit: $800 (I live here with one roommate)

Total rent collected: $4,100.00

Mortgage: $3,120.00

Total Cash Flow $980.00 a month!! & I still live rent free!!

So this is my small success story I wanted to share with you guys. Currently I am living rent free and cash flowing $980.00 a month, It’s an amazing feeling. My investment has been going very well but the best thing to come out of this investment was my career. This first investment made it possible for me to get into real estate. It motivated me to get my NJ real estate license and enter the field of commercial property management. I currently work for Colliers international as an assistant property manager and I also work part time for Keller Williams as a real estate agent. All this has happened because of a this purchase I made back in 2016. I think that’s the true real estate success story!

Thanks so much for reading! If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me or comment on this thread!

 Hello one year later a lot has happened. Replying to your comment I have rented the original 3 bedroom apartment that was at $1,400 for $1,900. I moved up to one of the 3 bedroom apartments and rented the basement for $1,400 (which was what I use to rent the 3 bedroom for).

What are the benefits ? i have a 3 unit Rental ptoperty i was told to make an LLC?

Hello i recently bought a rental property last year that i am living in while renting out the two other apartments. I was told to file an LLC For my property. What are the benefits of an LLC? (The property is in NJ)

 Thank you !

 Wow so i should definitely raise the rent to $1,500 at least .

 what would you say is the usual price for a 3 bedroom in that are?