All Forum Posts by: Benjamin Sulka

@Benjamin Sulka Is a house hack a goal of yours in the future? Study the requirements for an FHA loan like a book and make sure to set yourself up for success. Examples would be building up your credit, getting the most recent tax returns for the last 2 years in the same field, building up capital for the down payment, closing costs and 6 months in reserves so you can use as much of the rental income from the other units as your own income when you getting qualified. These are some barriers I had to make sure to be able to climb over.

I drove for Uber during college for roughly 18 months to get 2 years of the same 1099 income on my tax returns. Theoretically you could do it in just 13 months but you want to make sure you have enough income shown to qualify. I wrote off too many items and miles the first year and didn't realize the consequences of that. In terms of cash, I have conservatively allocated 20k for my house hack. 6125 (3.5% of down payment) + 4000 (closing costs) + 7000 (6 months of cash reserves to maximize the rental income I can pull from the other units to help me qualify) = 17.125k. The extra 3k is for any cosmetic upgrades or repairs that I make to add some value although that isn't the main goal with this house hack. It is to live for free and build equity!

Do both. Invest and use the cash flow to pay off debt. Yeah, technically you should look at the interest rate of your debt and the interest rate of your asset and do a bunch of math, but the bottom line is that it's hard to do anything, investing or otherwise, when you're shoveling out $500; $1,000; $1,500+ a month and you start out your life with your DTI in the hole.

I second @Joshua Janus. Get a house hack. Get your foot in the door by getting a SF or MF and get some rent coming in. Then start focusing on getting rid of the debt. It'll make it easier to continue investing, not to mention let you actually start enjoying your life. 

@Benjamin Sulka besides the great advice from the previous posters I would add that Scott Trench addresses this topic often in the BP Money podcast.

Another reason for not paying off the loan sooner is that there is also the looming possibility that student loan debt is forgiven. Imagine how frustrated you would be if you started making significant payments on your loan for a year or two and then all the sudden it was just erased. As long as the interest rate isn’t too high then just make the minimum payments with the cash flow from the investments you make.

 You do not technically need an attorney. You could drop a contract in crayon on toilet paper or operate on a handshake agreement. The problem is that you do not understand the law, so it's advisable to seek an attorney for a professionally written lease agreement.

However, most lease agreements written by attorneys are full of legal jargon that nobody understands and therefore struggles to abide by or enforce. It would be more effective to have a lease agreement written in understandable language, developed by investors, and within the confines of your state law.

that is exactly what the bigger pockets lease agreement package includes. Written by actual investors, four investors, and approved by an attorney for your specific state. It is available for $99 under the tools menu, which is 1/2 or 1/3 what you would pay an attorney. Buy it, learn it, use it, enforce it.

and if you have any questions, I am not an attorney and can't give legal advice, but I am happy to help you better understand it.

Hey @Benjamin Sulka! Welcome aboard! It’s so exciting that you’re getting started so young! You have a very bright future. I wish you the best! 

@Benjamin Sulka you are definitely in the right place. Lots of support and connections in the BP community. Cheers