All Forum Posts by: Grace Wang

Hey @Kyle McGeough! I have been house hacking for the past year and am going onto my second property soon. This is such a great way to get into the real estate game. You learn how to screen tenants, how to manage your property, the purchasing process, etc. As for as the different options you mentioned, I personally love the single family game plan especially when you're able to find a place for $450k or less.  Feel free to connect, as I'd be happy to speak about my experience or answer any questions!

Totally agree! When walking through houses with clients, I've had a few point out the rooms that would be perfect for their WFH space. One friend has even rented out half a windowless basement room as an office for a tenant.

I started out by reading a handful of the BP books. The books "Set for Life" and the "House Hacking Strategy" are great beginner books. I would also listen to their Podcast series...there are a few shows so there's endless information to consume! And the most cliche book ever, "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" is just a classic must-read!

@Thornton Drury 

For my first house hack I got the standard homeowner's insurance and had each of my tenants provide renter's insurance too. Once the conventional loan is refi'd into an investment loan, I'll update my insurance. I'm no insurance expert, so I plan on consulting with my guy.  

To piggyback off of @James Carlson, I would also recommend aligning the lease to fit the "rent-by-room" living situation. You could also have a separate agreement outlining house rules...I havent done this but it's something i'm considering.

Here are a few issues that have come up while I've house hacked:

• - Tenants disagreeing about how clean the common areas should be, WHO is cleaning, and whether it's worth having a cleaning service (monthly)
• - the house's temperature
• - Some tenants leaving things out in the common areas and other tenants getting annoyed at it.

Every situation is going to be different, but if you've ever lived with roommates...it's similar to that, except you're not paying rent! 

@Suzanne Lewis Something that is quite popular in the greater Denver area is finding (or reno-ing into) a quasi-duplex and renting out each unit. If you get yourself a SFH w/ a finished basement (with a separate entrance), you can block of the connection point and you've got yourself a noncomplying duplex.

For example: SFH with 2 bed 1 bath on the main level has full kitchen and laundry. Rent that out by bedroom, or as one unit. Basement with separate entrance has 2 bed 1 bath with a full kitchen and laundry. Rent that out by bedroom, or as one unit. There you've got two units that can likely cashflow you more than a full 4 bed 2 bath can.

I'm oversimplifying, but that is the general gist of a type of investment property to look for!

Heck yeah!! Congrats on your first deal!

I’m 15 min outside of downtown denver and i house hack. Would highly recommend that for a low barrier-to-entry strategy, especially for a you’re young and single individual. Youll learn how to screen tenants, manage leases, manage contractors, and get a good basic sense of real estate investing. 

What strategies are you currently considering?

@Kevn Wolf welcome to BP! I got started with RE investing early 2020, so I'm pretty new too. Would love to chat sometime about what I've learned through house hacking over the course of one short year!

@Joseph Hartley If I were in your position, I'd look for salaried jobs that are not extremely intensive and involved (perhaps admin related, support role, etc) with day-to-day tasks. I say this because once you get in a groove with the job, you'll be able to get tasks done quickly and have more downtime. Now with that downtime, you'll be able to read up on blogs, personal finance articles, listen to podcasts/audio books, browse the BP forums and set up phone calls with others through BP. After work hours, you can chat with those you set up phone calls with. And as for being salaried...my guess is you'd be able to qualify for a loan more easily, which would in turn would get you into you first house hack much faster.

The best way to learn about personal finance and real estate is just getting started. House hacking, specifically, is great because you get to live and breathe landlord life by living amongst your tenants; you learn so much over the course of a year. The longer you wait, the sooner you'll wish you started! No job will teach you as much about these things as self education will. Hope that helps!

@Devun O'Hara

Congrats on getting started so young -- I'm sure most people would agree that they started at your age! If your living situation involves just you and no dependents I would suggest house hacking.

Regarding your first question: This can be simplified and you do not necessarily NEED a form or Excel sheet to figure out basic numbers. The most important thing to keep in mind is to not OVER analyze and get stuck in what people in the BP community call "analysis paralysis". Do a little market research once you've figured out what you want (first, educate, educate, educate yourself). For me, I knew I wanted to be in a SFH northwest of denver. I also knew i did not want to pay a single dime in rent or utilities. From there, it was figuring out how much $$ I would need to put down; if the house needed rehab; what the monthly reserves would be; how much i could charge for rent and utilities. Then I asked myself, does the rent and utilities cover my monthly PITI with room for reserves? Ultimately, the first investment is for experience, and not for the best deal (but hey! you might get lucky). Just think of your first deal as a great teacher. 

This might not have been the answer you were looking for, but before i got my first place i was certainly feeling the same way, of wanting to have all the numbers for each analysis. Numbers aren't always so perfect in practice. Plus... as you grow as an investor, your criteria for CoC will also change.

And the second question: Depending on where you decide to invest in Colorado, this answer could change...although I believe single family homes make wonderful first deals....oh, and to house hack that single family deal. Not only would you be able to wear a landlord hat, but you'd also learn to be a handyman. That's a win-win in my book. 

Something else to consider is this: Many times the people looking to rent out a single bedroom are young adults, and so it makes more sense because you are also young. Chances of you getting along with the other 3-5 roommates your house are MUCH higher than a family with 3 kids'. I could preach about this all day, so I'll stop here --> Single family home, rent by the room, house hack.

Hope that helps, and feel free to connect with any other questions!