All Forum Posts by: Griffin Malcolm

 That's definitely something I'm planning on doing should I move out of the upstate NY market

Purchased my current SFH with a 5% owner-occupant loan held privately by my local bank. No PMI and I can refinance for $500 whenever I want. I plan on doing the same deal again with the next owner-occupant loan. Don't need to pull any equity (I can't anyways, since I already used the equity to pay for 30k worth of repairs when I first bought the home), since I've saved enough from not paying any rent the last 8 months, so the $650 in profit would remain thankfully.

Currently my agent will send me deals both on and off market for BRRRRs. I might shift to more properties that don't need as much work though if I switch my focus to another househack

Agreed. I've realized the scope of work truly begins after owning; my house now it was revealed that my secondary water line was collapsed, but my inspector only scoped the main line, so he missed it. Was gonna be 5 grand to excavate and fix, but luckily we were able to put in a laundry pump and bypass the underground piping for a lot less money. But yeah, this after-the-fact part of the process concerns me, especially with such a large undertaking like BRRRRs can be

Nice man. I've read some things here about sub-to but I'm still a little hazy on the process. Will look more into it. Ultimately I'd like to at least do a house hack per year and supplement it with some other properties along the way

Hey All,

I'm approaching my year of owner-occupancy on my first house hack this May. It currently covers all my living expenses, and when I move out would flow roughly $650 for me. Pretty stoked about that. 

I've been doing a lot of research into BRRRRs in the meantime. I've got an agent who sends me deals, some of which are off-market, contractors who can do the work, a hard-money lender who seems to offer good terms, and a property management team I trust. That's the core four I've built over the last 5 months. Not finding any great deals yet though and the payment and holding fees wouldn't leave me with much cash leftover. I feel good about doing it if I can pull all my money out at refinance but that seems almost like a gamble.

This leads me to thinking about a house hack again, although there's no way to recover those funds. My question is whether I need to trust my analysis and agent to find a deal and wait for a BRRRR so I can scale quicker, or play it safe and crank out another house hack in May. I appreciate the community here and any advice. Thanks!

 I've got a GC now who has done plumbing at my house and I've been satisfied with the work he's done. He's walked a property with me for free and I've made it known I want a good relationship with him and that it can be mutualistic. However, he did say he could start anytime. Hoping that's not a red flag. 

Seems like a catch-22. The really good GCs are all busy doing work, but you need someone who can start right away to avoid paying unnecessary holding costs, so that leads to people who are available but maybe not the best. 

I can understand feeling frustrated after months of searching. I started looking for my first home last October/November and closed in May of this year (so 8 months or so). Probably 30 tours, one offer falling apart at inspection. I would say have your pre-approval letter lined up and check the MLS everyday so you can tour a property the same day or next day it's listed. The early bird really does get the worm.

The interest rates are definitely *** right now, but they'll come down eventually. If you can get your foot in the door and only be paying a couple hundred bucks after you move out then it might be worth it if the area will improve. The home inspection gives you great leverage too. If things are found wrong you can take that off the purchase price and then some for the inconvenience, and potentially get a home equity loan off the bat for ay renovations. That's what I did and it helped me walk into the deal with some equity. 

use Spark Lending. they don't have any seasoning periods. when you rehab the property and rent it out you can refinance with them

I rent 3 rooms out to my friends now in my house hack. We've got nothing in writing, but that's because I've known these guys for years and I'm not concerned. Rents are set on autopay through apartments.com and everyone venmos me for utilities each month. Of course, if I didn't know everyone well then I would've gone through the trouble of getting a written lease and having everyone sign it, but for now it's been going well.

In your case, I'd ask yourself how well you know the potential roommates. If they're homies then forget about it but if you don't know them well then I'd craft a lease

Generally I would second the above advice; many lenders wouldn't give me a hard money loan below 30% down payment. However, all would fund 100% of the rehab, and I eventually managed to find one that would do 10% down, 100% of the rehab. Even still, I'm not sure I can afford a BRRRR quite yet, as I'm still recovering from my down payment in May on my house hack, I've done some out-of-pocket improvements to the house, and my student loans have unpaused this month.

All this is to say the BRRRR would be a viable option for you as your first property. However I would still recommend a house hack as your first property since it's a nice way to get your foot in the door. You'll learn about repairs, finding contractors, collecting rent, etc., without the stress of a 10% hard money loan over your head, and with more money in your pocket up front.

To that last point, use seller concessions in your first deal. Jack up your purchase price by 5 grand and have the sellers pay the closing costs. You'll keep even more money in your pocket and be able to get your next property faster when the opportunity presents itself.