All Forum Posts by: Jake Baker

Welcome to the community @Brendan Dekora. I agree with @Kam Olsen regarding the conversion. BP is great way to connect with "investor-minded" agents and other team members that think on the same wavelength as you. I live in the expensive LA market as well and have found house hacking to be the best way to create cashflow on properties here. 

@Carlos Ramirez something I did when I got started was form a small group of friends that were interested in real estate investing. No experience required. Once they discovered BP for themselves and read a couple BP books the fire was lit. This allowed me to have "accountability partners" to learn at the same pace with me. We network separately but continue to meet on Zoom every other week. This allows us to share connections too. A rising tide raises all ships. 

@Thor Eakes has a ton of experience. Highly recommend!

I agree with @Andy Eakes. Great suggestions Andy. BRRRRing the properties will bring in better (more long-term) renters. Run the numbers to see if it will actually cash flow.(BP rental property calculator) You don't want a headache on your hands if it doesn't.

Hi Bruce, I'm a SFR house hacker in Long Beach. I rent rooms to 3 of my friends. Everyone has different beliefs about the virus of course. Communication is key for me and keeping an open dialogue with my roomates/friends. A warning and a reason about someone visiting is expected between us. I voiced my concern about bringing people over for no reason. We try keeping visitors outside (if you have a big backyard) as well.

Welcome to the commituty Joy. I'm also from SD as well. BP is the best resource for all your investing needs!

Jake Baker

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Long Beach.

3 bd 2 ba SFR in Long Beach Ca.
I bought this out of college and partnered with a friend my age.
It has an extra "loft" room and we house hacked. (rent out 2 of the 4 rooms)
We made this investment before we stumbled upon BiggerPockets. While it is not a home run, it is a base his, but most importantly, it was pivotal learning experience.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Paying myself rent instead of someone else.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Zillow

How did you finance this deal?

Personal Cash savings, partnership, and conventional bank loan.

How did you add value to the deal?

We put on offer down within a day or two of being on the marketing. The sellers were a divorced couple so they were looking to sell quick.

What was the outcome?

A base hit.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

This being my first investment I learned a ton about the real estate game and now I caught the bug. Don't get analysis paralysis. Start analyzing deals and just go get a base hit. It doesn't necessarily need to be a home run deal. I learn so much in the process of getting my first house that now I easily find better deals with way less stress because I've gone through the motions before.