All Forum Posts by: Dave Spooner

Hey Nick,

Sorry to hear about the layoffs - I'm sure once this tech crunch is over you will be back in no time. As for the properties - maybe you can try airbnbing them out or short term rentaling them to bring in some cash flow. This will all depend on the condition of each and which ones you plan on living in. If you need cash right now have selling as your last resort. Depending on how long you have had them it could make sense to sell one off to be able to live at your current means while waiting 2 - 3 months for another gig. 

Questions to ask yourself:

- what are your current living expenses and how much could you cut down before heading down the last resort of selling a property?

- are you in a position to rent out the current properties? Are any of them investment homes? 

- is there any way that you can make income while waiting for a gig? Freelancing, uber, etc.

Hope this helps!

This is a loaded question... a novel could be written about the steps you take before buying a property. But I'll give you a rough summary:

1. Get pre-approved from a lender to determine how much you can afford (sounds like you already have done this)

2. Pick a neighborhood that you want to live in or invest in (a TON goes into this decision). As they say location, location, location.

3. Hire a real estate agent. Ideally somebody you know, or a referral. Give them all of your criteria (what you must have, what you don't want)

4. Start shopping. Realtor will send you listings, you will browse Zillow a ton, you should drive around and go to open houses

5. Start making offers. You might need to make a few before one gets accepted. Lots of nuances to this phase as well.

Once you get your offer accepted you enter your inspection period where you have ~10 days to do your inspections and make 100% sure that the property meets your expectations. 

In its simplest form, house hacking was coined by Brandon Turner here at Bigger Pockets to teach new investors how to start out while keeping their largest expense other than taxes, living expense, low. House hacking is when the rental property you purchase is the same rental property you live in. That way your living expense (the mortgage) is paid by your tenant's rent. You can buy a SFH (single family home) and build an ADU (additional dwelling unit) and do it that way. Or buy a residential multifamily and live in one of the units. Either way house hacking is a great strategy and I encourage all new investors to go that route. Cheers. Hope that helps. By the way, I am also in the Hampton Roads area would love to connect. -Jarred