All Forum Posts by: George Wines

@Mike Wood and @Theresa W., I really appreciate the responses. It definitely sounds like that subdividing and selling as condos would not be a viable option for an exit strategy with this place since it is an over/under duplex. Also, zoning/regulation sound like no fun and I dont want anything to do with them. Great explanations guys

For a multi-family, lets use a duplex in this example, is it possible to sell off one side and keep the other? Or sell off both sides to separate parties? What if the duplex isnt side by side, but main level and basement level?

Im looking at a duplex in Denver, CO if there are differences with the legality of this.

I think you will be interested in the idea of house hacking the most. You could implement this during college. Good luck

@JT Spangler yes you are right with what I am seeing out there.

@Dan Mackin I was hoping to see it mainly because I am new to REI and not very familiar with the market haha.

@Bill S., you are right that most of the properties I am seeing out there are dogs in regards to cash flow. Without severely underbidding them it isnt even cheaper than the current dual rent total. Thanks for responding and what you said made sense.

I am sold on the idea of house hacking. Duplex, Triplex, or 4-plex all sound good to me. It makes sense to me to cut your living expenses even if it lowers the cash-flow from the property. I have looked through many of the house hacking related articles, but I havent seen anybody mention if they make a calculation adjustment for if you are house hacking.

What I was looking for would be something in the rental property calculator that also takes into account the rent you are currently paying before you move into the multi-family you are about to purchase.

For a little background on my situation, I am looking to buy in the Denver area near a light rail station. I work in the tech center, but could change jobs to work downtown in the next year or so fairly easily. A light rail location works for me. 

Currently I am paying $650/month all included to rent a room from a guy who owns the apartment. But, I will be moving into the multi-family unit with my significant other who pays a whopping $1360/month because she lives in her own 1br/1ba. Assuming that utilities will cost about the same for her in the new place and since I dont pay utilities, I would count that as a wash. Overall though, this is ~$2K/month.

In the multi-families in the light rail neighborhoods I am looking in (A class in general), rent is between $1-1.5K/month. So if I were to buy a 4plex with 4-1br/1ba units renting at $1200/month each and I lived in one, I would only collect $3600/month but there is also that $2K/month saved in expenses. Can you add that $2K/month in expenses saved to your total return? (If I didnt explain my idea correctly, let me know and I will try to elaborate or rephrase)

Does this sort of calculation make sense to do if you are house hacking? Or should you always look at a deal as if you were not going to live there?

@Cal C. where would you go to find historical housing prices for specific areas or the US in general. With stocks, you can use google finance to zoom in on a time period and at least see the relative pricing. Where would something like this exist for real estate?

@Anson Young Thanks for the invite to the meet up. I would be there, but I am going on vacation this week and will get back on the 8th. I would love to hear when the next one is though.

@Rico S. For my first one, I am looking to house-hack (cut my expenses to near living for free rather than pure investment/cash-flow). I am thinking about buy-hold of a multi-family home and hopefully fix up the side I am living in as time passes. Once that side is fixed up, switch what side I am living on if the other renter moves on then fix up that side.

@Luke Miller Yeah lets grab a coffee. Always fun to talk with another mustachian. And $12/month is pretty good in this area from what I have been seeing