All Forum Posts by: Jacorion Williams

 Congrats on the closing!

When it comes to the 203k, just make sure you have a contractor start date scheduled, and be sure to contact your consultant (if you have one and its not a 203k limited) to get the first draw scheduled. 

Usually the first draw happens after demolition/rough installs for electrical and plumbing. 

Stay on top of the schedule. If you haven't yet. Sit down with your contractor and write up a quick timeline. 

Frame it like this: "in order to make sure you get paid on time I want to have a schedule of when the draw inspections should happen with the bank"

Then, you have a schedule to keep an eye on and if they're slipping, you can ask them why and see how you can help them get back on track. 

Also, if you have any materials you need (tile, flooring, cabinets, bathroom fixtures, etc) start picking those ASAP. Make sure they stay under what was budgeted by the contractor for the job. 

@Jacorion Williams Long story short, bought first real estate SFH, rented rooms, lived there mostly for free,Then long term rental, bought new place, rinse and repeat 1,000 times(no joke). Longer version told in Bigger Pockets Podcast #82

David Krulac

Bigger Pockets Podcast #82

Did a duplex, bought with FHA 203(k) - which allows repair costs to be included in purchase mortgage.

Wasn't easy, as had to get bids from licensed contractors, even though I planned to do most everything myself.

Worked out well, refinanced out of the FHA into NOO loan and then bought another duplex with FHA and hacked that one.

I just turned 28 I bought my duplex 4 years ago. I was able to save up a lot of money to buy it. I didn’t have a great income. I thought it would be easy.  I thought just hiring a property manager would make it really easy.  A tenant and the property management company walked all over me and costed me thousands and thousands of dollars. Since then I got into the trades actually learned how to manage a property/tenants. I found out if you need to pay someone every time something breaks you’re not going to make money.  I now am earning pretty good money and know how to do a lot of repairs myself. I have a lot more confidence when I screen for tenants. 

Things I wish I knew Are take your time getting the right tenant. It’s a lot better to have it vacant a little longer than get a bad tenant that causes headaches. I would also look into the trades if you’re not already in them. If you learn to fix houses you will never run out of work or money. I would also say if you don’t make a great income work on that before making any moves on real estate. Information online makes it seem like it’s no big deal if something breaks because you have paying tenants. It’s not always that simple.

 Still going haha. Still have a bathroom to gut, walls and stairway to be sanded/painted, exterior trim to be replaced and the whole exterior painted.

Wonderful question to stimulate conversation @Jacorion Williams!

My first house hack was when I was 27 years old in Louisville, KY.  I was actually TOO CHEAP to pay rent so just figured I should buy a place. Ended up that I did a House hack, rent by the room, and BRRRR all in one swoop before I even knew what they meant.

I lived in that property for 3 years, so I did NOT PAY ANY CAPITAL GAINS when I sold and bought a 2 unit and a vacant lot in Bucktown (Chicago neighborhood).  Did a gut renovation on the 2 unit, refinanced to clear the lot of lien, and then used the equity in the lot to BUILD A GROUND UP SINGLE FAMILY house that sold for $1.1M.

Then did a 1031 EXCHANGE for a 19 unit building in Cicero...

Now building a Chicago General Contracting business because I love renovating and helping other real estate investors reach financial independence!

Pretty much accidently followed Brandon Turns stack method!

@Jacorion Williams I always tell folks in your situation about the opportunity I missed by being too conservative and hesitant. I didn't know what I didn't know, and I missed out. Most folks struggle to get over the hump and never invest because every property comes with an element of risk. 

Since that time, I have been involved in a few transactions and am a principle on 173 apartments in the Chicago area. I have done 5 deals on my own as well and am currently selling my first (and only) residential property to do a 1031 exchange for a larger building in Berwyn where it all started for me. 

I never got to house hack, but I have done two live in flips in the Riverside area once my kids got into school. That has helped tremendously over the years as I built up the seed capital to get rolling. 

Did my first one last May. Paid 180k. Appraised for 230k. Did a home equity loan to pay for the water & sewer lines, removing knob and tube, some new flooring and some plumbing fixes. 

I rent 3 of the bedrooms to my college boys and I break even on the mortgage. Works well for now, but I'm getting a little sick of playing jenga with the fridge between the four of us, so my next one will be a duplex. 

Biggest lesson learned is don't be afraid of rehab work. It's how you force equity and make connections. My plumber at my primary residence is now my GC on my first BRRRR that's being finished this week. I also learned that my forte is not doing handyman stuff myself. Takes me so much longer and it doesn't look great. I'm better off buying more of a P.O.S. and hiring professionals to rehab it for me in a BRRRR style