All Forum Posts by: Brandon Chung

I suggest you start with a book or two and go from there. Can't be covered here. Managing Rental Properties by Heather and Brandon Turner is as good as any. Top left on this page or on Amazon. Maybe google and see where that takes you. Much will depend on your location etc. There are legal guides and considerations to follow. All the best!

Brandon - love to hear it. I started with a house hack after college with some of my college buddies and it helped jump-start my real estate investing journey. Feel free to drop me a text or a call if you want to connect and chat about it sometime. My number is 330-701-0037. 

That's great Brandon!  Congratulations and I can already tell you will have tons of success.  And Cleveland is one of the best cash flow rental areas in the country, so you have everything you need right in your backyard. 

Like everyone is saying, the best way to get started is to build a solid team of proven experts who can help cut your learning curve dramatically, as well as let you know the best areas to invest in, as well giving you recommendations to great contractors and management in the area.

Here's a resource that really helps me stay knowledegable about a wide range of topics!  The Cuyahoga County Public Library system is connected to an app called Libby.  If you connect those two, you can rent tons of great books on tape about rental properties and real estate investing.  

I like to listen to them in my car when I'm driving to properties and I can get through about 1-2 large size books a week if I'm really focused. This can help you to really dive deep into concepts like BRRRR and before you know it, you'll have a vast library of knowledge before you even invest your first dollar.

@Brandon Chung that's more than enough to start a house hack. I would recommend also looking into a 203k loan like @Michael Smythe mentioned. $40k is a great starting point, but a 203k will allow you to stretch it far further and even create substantial forced appreciation. 

To answer your question, I would recommend just reaching out. Compare rates, compare specialization (you don't want to go with any bank if you choose a 203k - go with one that has experience handling them). Credit unions and local or regional, smaller banks often are the best partners for real estate investors (although that is not a guarantee). Talk to a few and choose the one that makes the most sense financially and for your business.

Hope that helps!

Hey Brandon, house-hacking is a great way to start real estate investing! Like some have mentioned how much are you willing to spend? I would get pre-approved with a great mortgage lender and then connect with a realtor who will help you look for those properties that have more than 1 unit. 

 You will need money for a down payment and money for closing costs.

It is also a good idea to have some cash reserves.

You also will need money for any fix ups that need to be done when you buy it.

You will also need to qualify for a loan, which means you will need a credit rating that qualifies for the loan, and a work history like qualifies for the loan.

I am swinging the baseball bat in the real world here not in the longshot fantasy world of zero down deals for a newbie.

Cash is king...

Location, location, location.

Good Luck!

@Brandon Chung

Welcome to BiggerPockets!

Your interest in real estate investing is admirable, especially considering how young you are. One of the best ways to begin accumulating riches and getting priceless real estate expertise is through house hacking.

It's key to ke­ep studying real estate­ through resources like Bigge­rPockets if you want to house hack in Cleve­land. Do thorough market research. Look for are­as with strong rental demand, affordable prope­rties, and potential for property appre­ciation. Build credit history and savings for down payment and closing costs. Explore financing options like­ FHA loans, VA loans, or conventional loans with low down payment require­ments. Define your house­ hacking strategy based on goals and prefe­rences. For example­, rent out rooms to roommates, occupy one unit and re­nt out others in a multi-unit property, or use Airbnb re­ntals.

Join local real e­state communities, connecting with inve­stors, agents, and lenders. Atte­nd meetings and groups to expand your ne­twork. Collaborate with an agent understanding your house­ hacking goals when assessing potential Cle­veland properties fitting your budge­t. Thoroughly analyze prospective inve­stments through inspections, financial revie­ws and familiarity with local landlord-tenant regulations. Remain adaptable­, continuously educating yourself on evolving strate­gies to navigate market shifts.


Good luck!

Brandon- Welcome to the BP community! This is the best place for all things real estate related. This is what I recommend for you:

1. Start saving as much as you can. Depending how much you earn you can step up those savings by getting a side-hustle in any part of real estate....working for a top Real Estate office on weeknights and weekends, working for an RE Investor, working for a General Contractor and learning a few skills, etc. This way you can ramp up your savings AND learn some RE skills.

2. Read as many RE books as you can get your hands on. Here are a few I recommend: "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Roberto Kiyosaki; "Set for Life" by Scott Trench; "The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing" by Spencer; "The BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide" found here on BP; "The Book on Rental Property Investing" by Brandon Tuner. This will give you a good starting point.

3. Buy a property as soon as you can. The earlier you start in your RE journey, the better off you will be in the future. Almost everyone here on BP will tell you that they wish they had started earlier, myself included.

4. House-hack, house-hack, house-hack. This will give you several benefits. The most obvious is that you will be able to offset your mortgage with renting out a few rooms. You will then have a few options with that rent money....you can put it into principal or you can start saving it to purchase yet another property. House hacking will also give you some personal "property management" experience. This will come in handy as you begin to scale.

5. Decide which game you want to play. Do you want to be a house flipper? BRRRR? Real Estate Agent? General Contractor? Buy and Hold? Do you want to LTR, MTR, or STR? Or maybe you want to do a combination of the above?

6. Attend meetups and meet as many people in RE as you can. Since you are just graduating college you may already realize that it's not what you know, but who you know (as a personal note, I had college friends that were barely passing their classes however they ended up with really good paying jobs due to "who they knew"). As they say, your network will be your net-worth.

7. Timing the market does not work. However, time in the market makes all the difference in the world!

I hope this helps and good luck on your real estate journey!