All Forum Posts by: Henry Hogeterp

I am so grateful as I look back on the last year for the advice I gleaned from the BiggerPockets community! I bought my first investment property a duplex I'm house hacking in Grand Rapids Michigan. It's only been 4 months but I'm already noticing a difference this investment is making in my life! Between renting out the upstairs unit and renting out a room in my unit I am more than covering the cost of my FHA mortgage. BTW my tenant is section 8 and things are working out really well with them. Having a property management company taking care of things like rent payments has really helped as well.

I'm not going to stop here though! As I look at this year I plan to purchase a four plex and I'm working to get ready for that. I'm using my income from the property to pay off debt to improve my credit score currently approaching 700. I'm gradually improving the property to force some more equity into the property. I'm hoping to get a HELOC for the next property but I've found my current lender a little skittish about making that move so soon. I realize I should probably shop around more broadly for a HELOC. I formed an LLC and opened a business account with a local credit union and they want my account to build up before they talk about lending to me (totally understandable!) If I can I'd like to avoid going with a hard money lender but if it's necessary I'm willing to go that route. I'm also seeing that multi family units are in high demand and so one has to have everything in place to be ready to make an attractive offer quickly.

Any thoughts/advice as I get ready to purchase my next property? Are there any avenues I’m not currently looking at that you might suggest? Thanks for listening and wishing you a healthy and prosperous new year!

@Steve K. Thanks for this excellent conversation! Learning so much! It goes without saying but the importance of being comfortable at home will grow as more and more people work from home. So adding those extras to rentals could make a huge difference in increased cash flow.

@Joanne Tsai Still very hot here in West Michigan. I know people who are trying to buy a house and offers are going way over lust price, dropping all contingencies, including inspections and they still can’t get a place! I think I was lucky to get the duplex I’m just closing on for just 5K over the list price.

@Stephen Spradley Good question! I hope you get the answers you're looking for. I'm definitely following this discussion because I'm thinking of using a HELOC to take my next step in acquiring an investment property.

@Mallikarjun Reddy Pateel I am in the process of looking for a property management company as well. If they are a good company they can save you time and money. For example I have to get a lease or evict the current tenants who are month and I understand the management company will take care of all of this for me. Fees if 8% of rent are reasonable. I think one month full rent for a transfer is a bit steep at least in my area.

@Creighton Biddick I am learning on the fly. If you’d like to get together for coffee sometime and talk I am game. It would be great if we could get some other people together to learn together. My realtor flips between 20 and 30 houses a year and he has a lot of information on the market and on what and what not to do.

@Creighton Biddick I’m just getting started in GR by house hacking. The situation for investing, if you can get a place is quite promising. Rents are high because of high demand. I just got a place that kind a went under the radar. There’s a lot of sweat equity to put into it but the cash flow should cover most if not all of the mortgage. Like you I’m looking to learn and find mentors for the journey.

@Nathan G.Great stuff! I really appreciate it!

@Stan Holmes Thanks Stan!

I’m just beginning my real estate investing journey and about to close on a duplex where I’ll live in the smaller unit and rent the other unit out, gradually upgrading both units to build equity. Excited and worried all at once! Can anyone recommend a solid app for landlords for collecting rent etc?