All Forum Posts by: Jenete Okeke

I have been interested in househacking for a while but haven't quite gotten myself to a point to buy anything. life keeps lifeing making it very difficult to raise the funds for a down payment to buy anything, But I want to get serious about doing it this year. Recently I came across the idea of pocket neighborhoods or developments with multiple separate units and saw some kit homes that would be cost effective to build for this. The idea would be to buy a piece of land (5+ acres ideally 10+ but I am in CT and finding reasonably priced buildable large plots of land is difficult) build a few of the kit homes, live in one and rent out the rest (probably a combination of mid and long term rentals. I thought about short term as well but I know that can be frowned upon certain areas). Like many people in my generation I would love to have a garden and maybe a few animals (chickens, ducks most likely) on the property but finding the right zoning, acreage, permits, costs, realistic timeline, mortgage etc is where I am lost. I would be a first time home owner so understanding what I can actually get versus what I would love to get is something I am trying to get a better understanding of. I thought of using either the FHA 203K loan or the USDA construction loan if possible to reduce the down payment cost. Seeing as I would be renting the other units out hopefully I can find a market in the areas I would like to build that also has rents that can cover or be cash positive. That way, having a big down payment hopefully should not be as dire. If you have any advice or if you are an agent or lender in the CT area that has any info on this/potential properties feel free to reach out to me as my goal is to accomplish at least getting the land portion by the end of the year even if the construction is not able to be finished before then (not sure if this is realistic). For now, I am looking to understand:

-What zoning I need to be looking for

-Areas in CT that may be good to look for this/would allow this

-What I should be calling something like this (development, Multifamily, Farm with multiple ADUs, Multiuse? I am not sure)  

-Should something like this be subdivided?

-Understand the math needed to calculate how much home I can buy especially since there would be rental units (I am hoping around $400,000 to do the build I want to do but whether I would be approved is still something I have to look into. I am not completely sure how that part works) 

-Costs to keep in mind/budget I need to have prepared to get started

-how much of a down payment I should have: I know at least 3.5% for FHA, USDA offers 0% but I don't know what kind of credit you have to have for this

        -closing costs

        -other costs to keep in mind or other creative funding options/grants/assistance

        -Will I have to fund the money first for the build then mortgage pays out? I feel like someone told me this and I am not sure if that is true or how the construction loans work.

-What is a realistic buy, construct, move in timeline 

Thank you for any advice you can offer. 

Hi everyone! First off thank you to anyone who takes the time to read and responds. I know I wrote a lot and I am still trying to narrow it down some. I have been bouncing around between a couple of ideas on how I would like to eventually move forward in getting into real estate. 

Just for some background I had originally thought I would start with house hacking a long time ago but with life throwing a series of curveballs I am finding myself taking a brand new look on life and trying to decide which way I want to go at this point. I been looking into either property abroad, homesteading/self sustainable home for myself, building a community living with a self sustainability situation with others, buying property abroad with a group of people I decide I trust enough to do so with (my inspiration for this last one: https://tynan.com/empire/), just go back to my original idea to house hack first, or a combination of the above. I really do like the idea of buying/potentially moving abroad, but I will need to rebuild capital first, so I have some time to plan for now. I wanted to start collecting info I need to eventually move forward on one of them. I am currently leaning towards the community/buying abroad with others options. But figured I would see if anyone had some experience with any of this and could provide some input and advice. 

As a side thing I am trying to create a spreadsheet to look into properties that could work for the communal or buying abroad together option. so I was looking for a list of things I would need to consider when buying a property/land in this manner. I have some ideas (visa requirements, acreage, zoning (what it allows for), a section for expenses/upkeep, the amount that everything put together breaks down to depending on the number of people buying into it) but hoping for more specifics on the actual property analysis/numbers side of it since I don’t really have much experience and would need to be able to explain it to someone to help me create the sheet. 

Any bit of advice would be helpful! 

Thank you again! 

@Michael Seeker and @Jack Butala 

Thank you for the advice it is greatly appreciated. Rentals are where my main interest is and I will take your advice on focusing on one thing at a time. It was the concept of house hacking that got me interested in real estate and I do intend to look further into the different niches to find out what works best for me. I still have much to learn about the nitty gritty of the best ways to go about deals in each niche and strategy and having a grasp on the financing options that exist. So your advice is helpful in starting to focus my research of real estate since there is an immense amount of information out there to be learned. Thank you for taking the time to respond.

Hi I am interested in buying and renting units in multifamilies and apartments and possibly doing house flips here and there. I am in the information finding/learning as much as I can stage of things and looking up the best ways to get started in it. I was wondering if you have any advice on choosing property management companies to accomplish this goal, as well as hearing some of your stories of how you got started with multifamily and/or apartment rentals. 

@Benjamin Morris

New Haven County. I am from Hamden.

@Melissa Gittens 

Thank you and I hope we do too. I will definitely reach out. Thank you for the offer. Maybe we will have to chat about house hacking sometime. I live in Hamden so we are very close. 

Thank you Paul! I intend to look through and find out as much as I can. It seems like a great site for finding information and a great community. 

I graduated from college three years ago and have been working as a nurse's aide during that time. I am planning on hopefully going back to school for occupational therapy soon but I am also interested in real estate. I have been looking into the idea of house hacking and would like to own and rent multi-unit properties/apartments as I grow in the real estate business. I currently in the learning phase where I am looking for any information I can get to better understand what I am getting into and I am starting from scratch. I do not have experience with real estate yet other then helping prepare the condo my parents rent out in between tenants. I have about $5k dollars saved up and was wondering where to start or if I should just wait and save up more after school since my plan is to go back to school hopefully next year. I also have been contemplating getting a mentor or partnering with someone with experience who can show me the ropes since I learn best through hearing and doing. So if you have any advice or time to mentor your knowledge and wisdom will be greatly appreciated.