All Forum Posts by: Conner Olsen

I have a close family member who wants to move out of their home and offered to sell it to me for a major discount. I am wondering the best route to take on a situation like this. As far as paying the least fees since this is a person I know I 100% trust and home I know about (grew up in).

Hey there, I'm looking for some help in figuring out what I should be looking for in a realtor. 

What specific questions should I be asking? 

I've been overwhelmed with the amount of agents available and indecisive on who I should work with long term. 

How much of a difference does the agent make? 

Any feedback will be helpful !
Thanks for reading 

Hey guys,

Looking to get into MTRs in my backyard and I was wondering if you guys usually do it yourself or get a property manager. It seems like groups with good corporate contracts that may be able to get better returns and less vacancy would probably offset the property manager costs wouldn't it? 

What are the general costs associated with property managers in this space? Do they do pretty much take care of everything excluding replacing broken big ticket items like furniture? 

Thanks 

TL/DR - I bought a 3.5 down FHA Duplex, I'll be living in one side and renting out the other. I still need to pay towards the mortgage, but I'm saving money compared to renting.

Do folks recommend: 

1. Just deposit rent and pay mortgage from existing account, use existing personal finance info and keep organized receipts for tax season. 

Pro - Less transfers and transactions

Con - Harder during tax season

2. Separate rental to a different bank account right away and separately direct deposit my portion of mortgage + reserves each month. Run all maintenance + rehab costs through this account. 

Pro - Completely separate for tax season/monitoring finances

Con - Lots of personal transfers and transactions since I'm still paying towards mortgage/costs/rehab from my personal income

I'm looking into getting my first house hack and determining how much I should buy down my rate (and when the break-even time period is). I know I will need to live in the property for at least a year and I don't see interest rates going down significantly in that time period - after that is unknown. Is it better to refinance while you still live there to keep an owner-occupied loan with a lower interest rate, or would most people move after a year (for a better living situation/job/property) and refinance later with an investor loan once they've hit 20% equity and rates are lower? Also, do most people try to take out a HELOC before moving so that they have it for future projects?

Hey BP,

I'm seeking any advice on house hacking and personal experience from people on BiggerPockets. 

Any advice for dos and don'ts to make this strategy more successful? 

I have my plan almost completely mapped out for this year but I'm looking to fill in any gaps. 

Grateful for any responses.

-Ben, aspiring real estate investor 

I'm trying to gather more information about how a HELOC works. My wife and I are about to move back to Louisville, and are looking to purchase more investment properties once we have our primary residence secured and I've heard that a HELOC is a good way to avoid using our own money to purchase an investment property. Can anyone provide more insight on this strategy? Thanks in advance!!

For those who MTR, what revenue multiplier makes sense to you for the additional work and cost of an MTR over an LTR?

My condo is crossing the finish line for renovations and will be ready to rent out soon.  We are less than a mile from a hospital and less than 10 minutes from a military installation, so I'm going to MTR the condo and see how it goes.  It's a 2BR, 2.5BA with 2 covered parking spots and access to a community pool.

Thank you!