All Forum Posts by: Corey Hawkinson

@Yazan Ayyash $49k purchase, rented at $700 at that time. Wish I bought way more back then. But now I’m smarter (hopefully - my wife might debate that) and ready to make better decisions.

@Steve Vaughan I love your post and specifically the last paragraph about you being ok to zag. I have a picture at my desk with “duck, duck, grey duck”. My coworkers just think it’s a joke, and people outside Minnesota wouldn’t understand, but to me it goes deeper. I’m sure no one wants my grey duck rant, but it’s important to remember that even if 98% of people do/say/think one thing, that doesn’t make them correct. Never follow the lead just because others are doing that.

@Maxine Kunimura That sounds very frustrating! With that said, switching lenders at this point might only make it worse. Hopefully you have a strong real estate agent who will get through this situation and you’ll be able to close very soon. As you said, this is certainly a lesson learned and you won’t use that lender on any further purchases.

@Julian Hendrix Nothing wrong with that strategy as long as it isn’t causing too much stress. I just meant my comment on a cautionary tale.

@Lukas Zupan I was working for a Fortune 500 company. A few years out of college. Life was great pre-crash. I owned a condo that I was living in and had almost no thoughts on being a landlord.

Then was laid off and sort of became an accidental landlord. I got into banking / real estate as my W2 job and loved it. As prices continued to fall I bought my first investment property. It’s been a very slow climb since then but that property remains my best purchase. Wish I bought more back then.

Life is now even better post-2008.

@John Collins From that description it doesn’t even sound like you’re that low. You’re above the amount they were originally looking to obtain.

@Julian Hendrix I’ll let you know after I purchase 43 more units. Ha! I’m with Mark on this. What’s your motivation for 50 doors? Is that from some seminar? 50 doors at $200 per month equals $10,000 per month cash flow at which point you have “financial freedom”. Be careful that you aren’t trading in your W2 to become a full time property manager. That’s what I’m actively trying to avoid right now. I want to grow further, but I have a strong preference for that growth to truly be passive.

@John Collins You can offer whatever you want to offer. If you plan on consistently making very low offers you might want to consider getting your own real estate license. Many agents will not want their name connected to offers that they might consider insulting. Other agents won’t care, but you’d solve this by being your own agent. (See other posts about being your own agent but I’ll stop here for multiple reasons, one of which is that I’m not an expert in that area.)

If the property is newly listed you likely will have no luck with really low offers. If the property has been on the market for a long time your odds are a little better. Include some reasoning for why you’re making the offer. Try not to say the offer is low because the updates you made were junk.

@David Beasley As Bryan and Greg said you sort of can, but a big part of house hacking involves using a loan meant for owner occupied properties to put a low amount down and get the best interest rate. When you go to 5 or more units you no longer qualify for those loan programs. You can still somewhat save money by living in one of the units, but as Caleb said you’re not really house hacking. Basically, you’re just taking away the rent from one unit at that point. If that unit would rent for less than you’d pay elsewhere then you’re saving money, but not house hacking.

Basically, you’re missing the main benefit of using a low down payment and low interest rate loan.

@Julia Rao I have lots of thoughts here, as a husband of a Chemical Engineer who did not like her job right out of college. And as a real estate investor. Feel free to reach out. I don’t fully know your situation so this message is partly about my situation. If it doesn’t apply, that’s fine.

1. First of all, a quarter life crisis is a real thing! I wish you the best in dealing with the emotions and critical thinking involved.

2. You worked very hard on your degree to get into chemical engineering! Congrats! With that said, it is one field where companies can certainly overwork employees right out of college. The pay is great but it is not worth it if you hate your life. With that said, my first thought is not to give up on the field. Consider trying to find a company where employee morale is strong. My wife switched companies and likes her position/company a lot more! 75% pay for 40 hours a week is a lot better than 100% at 70 hours a week.

3. I’m all for real estate investing. If I had to start all over again I would house hack a multi family property to start out. You can buy a property like that with a low down payment and low interest rate if it is owner occupied. Up to 4 units.

If you’re a chemical engineer you’re obviously a very smart person so that will help you out with whatever path you decide. Also, spouses of chemical engineers are even smarter so that’s a bonus!