All Forum Posts by: Barbara G.

The plumbing Repair work was extensive.  Pipes were leaking from every where.  We did 9 pipe repairs and still have a few more to attend to.   The pipes in the ceilings were leaking here and there,  the pipes i the  walls were leaking here and there, the washer dryer hook ups were leaking.  The last straw was the water meter is leaking.  Tomorow, Monday we will call the town and  see whether the town is responisble for the water meter so we can proceed there.

We have decieded instead of replacing the 2 wood decks in the back we will make 2 concrete Patios for the renters.  We also have a picket fence on one side of the property, in the back,  so we are going  to fence the rest of the back and make 2 doors in the fence for the renters.

Nicole I have found the perfect place that you should start with to get your first house

http://www.phila.gov/ohcd/homeownershipprograms.ht... Please call them and start from here and let us know

Nicole this could be a  Deal breaker.  You have to concentrate on where and how you can get a down payment.  The first thing you have to do is  see if your family or friends  can help you and lend you some money.  Maybe they can each lend you some money.    See if that is possible.  Then research on the internet "No down payment how can I buy a house"

First you have to figure this part out.  Where do you get  a down payment?  Speak to your family and friends and see if they will lend you something toward your first hacking house.Maybe a few hundred  here a thousand there.  Research on the internet  "how do I buy a house with low or NO down payment."    Start here:

 http://www.homeloanlearningcenter.com/consumerhelp...

Speak to all Neighborhood Advocates in your neighborhood.  Ask everyone on Bigger Pockets.  Your neigborhood might have housing clinics  or First Time Buyers help or clinics.

Think about getting a partner for your first hacking house. Partners can be the way to buy something that you can't swing by yourself

There might be a friend who needs housing just like you need it and perhaps you can share one apartment with her and rent out the rest in order to pay the expenses,   

Call FHA. You have to solve this before you go one step further.

 Let me know what you think

 Nicole what is fsbo?

This is CASH.  This doesn't go beyond that word.

We can't do this one

We got some good news yesterday.  We discovered that the water damage that we thought came from the clogged gutters and the drainage from the back of the house actually came from a leak in one of the water pipes that was in the ceiling of the garage.  This means getting the drainage man and building the retaining wall in the back is no longer actually necessary.  That saves us Time and Time is Money and also saves us approx $2.500 at mininimun for thr RR Ties and the Drainage man's  labor.

The cat deoderant that we painted the bathroom floor twice with also seems to be working.  The cat oder smelled a little better when we got to the house so time improved it some what, now we painted the floor 2 times and it was much better so perhaps in a few days it will be gone. We will check it again.  Maybe it will be OK or perhps we shall have to apply it again.  We also deceided to replace the 2 boilers because we figured they are pretty much at the end of their life.  The cost -$344.00 eaxh totally $688.00 and will have to be installed.

What kind of renovations do you have to do on this house?  Where and How did you get this $20,000 estimate for repairs?

I guess you have to do the numbers again on the $105,000 price for the house and see how that shakes out.

We are just doing a BRRRR now. We bought it for $72,000 and we estimate $30,000 in Renovation. 2 Kitchens, with 2 Dishwashers, 2 Refrigerators and 2 Stoves , 2 ceilings, 2 toilets, 2 bathroom Vanities, 2 vanity tops, regrouting tile floors and painting entire house ($2,000?) plus 2 heaters ($344 each) , fix and repair plumbing (we do this ourselves) and electrical add ons, 2 new wood decks in the back. We figure $30,000 for renovation. Hope for an ARV of $130,000 and bank offers 70% so that means we get 97,000 back and it will cost us $102,000 ($72,000 + $30,000 renovation plus closing costs.

Yes Joshua that's exactly what we did and if it works out just the way you said and we planned we will be perfectly happy.  Our cash in will be only $4,500 on a $102,000 plus costs.  That would be good and we can go on to the next buy.  the trick is to keep the renovation cost to the $30,000 and to hope it appraises for $130,000 because the comps are low in this area that we purched this duplex.

 No sorry for the confusion.  I was speaking about my circumstances.  We Purchased a Duplex for $72,000 an we are renovating it for $30,000 and the ARV will be $130,000? and we would get 70% of $130,000 or $91,000.

Che says re Houe Hacking:

 Thanks Barbara. Now got it. This strategy is great at the beginning (so long as you are comfortable living at where you are buying). For 1) you are always your best tenant, and 2) you get to save up by doing your small little fixes yourself and 3) quickest to learn how to deal with tenants.

Well Che not only gets it but he has figured out what is good/better about House Hacking.   Yes you get all kinds of managment experience by living in your own investment.  You also develop Tenant knowledge, you also sharpen your handi man skills.  It's the perfect all around Landlord experience.

In addition you ar eligible for an FHA 3 1/2% loan if you House hack so you can start with very little money down.