All Forum Posts by: Ben Einspahr

@Ryan Briggs Welcome to BP! You started looking in the right direction. Tons of knowledge buried in the forums.  Curious why why you are choosing to invest in N or S Carolina vs. your own backyard. Very hard to make numbers work in todays current market conditions. Self managing is a solid way to avoid additional costs and get your numbers in the black.

Cheers!

@Zarrin M.. Good rule of thumb. 6 months in savings for you personal expenses and 6 months PITI for each rental property. Have I gone below this threshold? Yes. All depends on your risk tolerance.

@Alnazir Blackman great job on this! A couple things I see. Insurance seems low. Also, will not pass the FHA self sufficiency test. Will need to put more down in order to qualify for the loan.

@Alyssa McDonald, yes it is definitely worth the effort. I will be doing it for my properties in JeffCo. Just be selective when picking comps to support your reasoning (sqft, beds, baths, finishes, garage size, etc). 

If you are able to pull comps from recent sales in the last few months, you should be able to bring that property assessment down. You must submit your appeal by June 8th. Each county is different.

 when it comes to financing, if this will be your primary residence/ house hack, the most common loans that get deals under contract are boring 30 year fix conventional.  No need to get fancy or creative

@Maylin Cuello there is only so much you will get out of self education. They rest you will have to learn by doing. Kind of like riding a bike :)  I understand how you feel. We have all been there.

My 2 cents:

1. as others have mentioned, you do not need to pay for mentorship

2. Dont do STR arbitrage. It is just something shiny + plus you do not get the full benefits of REI (debt paydown, appreciation, depreciation, and cashflow)

3. Stick with HH'ing in your back yard. Keep it simple

Next steps:

1. connect with agent that is familiar with HH'ing and has a solid track record.

2. connect with a lender to see how much you can get pre-approved for. This will help you identify how much you can afford. (if you find a good agent, they will bring you the rest of the team you need. If not, find a new one)

3. start analyzing. Ill DM you the spreadsheet I use. I invest in Denver but spreadsheet works in all markets.

Baby action steps. 

Best of luck.

@In Cho, YES! VA loans are the one exception for multifamily house hacking with low money down.
There are a couple downsides to multifamily house hacking though :

1. they typically can take some money to get rent ready b/c they are typically sold by investors as previous rentals

2. Much more competition. You are competing not only with HH'ers but investors as well.

Now this is for Denver so may not be the same for Chicago.

Here is what I would do:

1. connect with agent that is familiar with HH'ing and has a solid track record. 

2. connect with a lender to see how much you can get pre-approved for. (if you find a good agent, they will bring you the rest of the team you need. If not, find a new one)

3. start analyzing. Ill DM you the spreadsheet I use. Will work in all markets, not just Denver.

Best of luck and thank you for you service!

@Steven DeMarco if you can buy a house and break even at 5% down after moving out, that is a huge win in my book. Where else can you park $30k and get a +100% ROI plus decrease your living expenses? (happy to send spreadsheet i use to come up with those numbers)
The comps you are pulling are for entire homes, not homes with ADU on property that is being rented as well. Would not anticipate renting in top 75th percentile. Having a little lower rent will give you a larger tenant pool to choose from.

Why don't you self manage? High level, numbers look good. Pull the trigger

@Manny Oviedo Excellent work as such a young age man! Agree with @Paul De Luca. I would keep it simple and buy a primary, rent out part of it to offset your living expenses. 12 months after that move out. Now you have another rental for 5% down. Amazing ROI.

Here is a rule of thumb I use for savings/rainy day fund:

-6 months reserves for each rental

-6 months reserves for personal living expenses.

 link did not go through. ill DM it to you