All Forum Posts by: Joaquin Camarasa

At 85k salary, a townhome Northern Virginia is out of reach at the moment. You could attempt to househack a townhome around Fort Washington MD. You can find townhomes around 350-400k range and you would not be too far from Northern Virginia. Generally speaking its better to be a landlord in Virginia as the laws are more pro landlord. 

You would have to analyze if it's better for you to purchase a condo in NoVa, a townhome in Fort Washington MD or if its better for you to rent. I think those are your options at the moment. 

There are mortgage programs in VA, DC, MD that could get you in a property with a very low downpayment. Some of them no money down, some of them 1%. As others said, start saving.
You could also try to aim to get all closing costs paid by seller. Now, the market is competitive so you would have to aim for the properties that are less attractive. Happy to talk more about all options. 

 Hey Daniel, 

After this post I started to read the Bp books about taxes and realized that the person I was recommending at the time needed to improve in some of the aspects to maximize the benefits. I started to do our own taxes. I would recommend for you to take the time and read the books it truly pays off. 

The situation you describe is exactly how I got started in real estate 7 years ago. A friend and I bought a single family we each had our room and we rented the other three rooms.

 I moved out of the property after a year and we pretty much were adapting to the situation without a clear plan. It all went well because we had a really close friendship but definitely is better to have a plan beforehand for any future scenario.

I would say start looking which areas would make sense for the both of you within your budget. Since you are planning to househack I would see who would be responsible for screening tenants, collect rent, handling property maintenance etc.

Depending how much you are paying in rent, it might make sense to buy with 3%.

Hi Al, 

Half the battle is getting on the same page with wife and it looks you both have already accomplished that. 

Do you both work remotely? If you decide to buy in the DC suburbs, traffic is extremely painful. This could impact your lifestyle greatly. 

I pretty much did what you mentioned in Springfield VA, also with wife. I bought a fixer upper, did a live in renovation and I have been renting the basement since 2020. I purchased another property also in Springfield in 2022 and did the same process. The single family with basement rental is definitely a great way to mitigate risk.

The main thought I would like to share with you is to determine who your tenants are going to be. It varies a lot depending on the different neighborhoods within 30 minutes of DC. 

I think it would be also good for you to determine if you'd like to purchase something turnkey or something you can upgrade. If you decide you'd like to purchase something you can upgrade make sure to familiarize yourself with contractor costs in the area. 

Hey Isaiah, 

Go check sites like furnished finder (furnished properties) and also check let's say zillow (unfurnished properties) around the area you'd like to buy. 

Analyze the rent charge different between both.

Once you have the numbers, add up the furniture costs and it should be pretty clear wether if its worth it or not. 

In the situation you describe in a househack I would calculate the approximate total costs of utilities and include it in the rent. It will be a headache to split costs each month.

If you are ok with a little more work you might also try furnished finder for mid term rentals, depending on specific location, it can work very well. It has been working well for me. 

I just represented a seller that had a VA assumable loan at a 2.8% interest rate in a condo in Washington DC. We closed two days ago.

It can be a win-win for both buyers and sellers. 

The seller made more money by marketing the rate, we listed at a higher price point due to the assumable loan. The property was still attractive to buyers as they were saving one third of the mortgage payment. The whole process took about 90 days. It was a great experience. Definitely a good strategy to have in your tool box.

Hi Bobbi, 

I househack in Springfield and many of my clients do the same in many areas of NoVa, happy to share my experiences and the numbers you can expect. Feel free to reach out. 

Best,

Joaquin 

Hey Arvind, 

As mentioned above househacking is the best play you have in your current situation.
I have been househacking since 2017 and specifically in the Northern VA area since 2020. Specifically in Springfield VA. I can share accurate numbers for each of the areas and potential challenges you might face depending where you buy.