All Forum Posts by: Josh Bowser

Hey Krystle - I'd be happy to give you some guidance on this one. I'm heavily involved in the co-living side of things in the Atlanta market and work a ton with Padsplit.

Off the top, nice family oriented neighborhoods are typically a no-go for rent by the room and even more of a no-go if it's in an HOA.

Please feel free to shoot me the property address in the DMs and would be happy to provide some feedback!

Keri - I like the idea of house hacking in Gwinnett!

There are a smaller amount of 'multi-generational' family style homes that might work for you. Not sure what pricepoint / school district you're looking for but I have been fairly active on that side of town with one of my clients.

Also, there is typically some small multifamily inventory to look but it gets competitive - I'd ask your loan officer at the credit union if they are able to originate owner occupied loans for two family - four family properties.

Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions - happy to help!

Daniel - finding cashflowing properties with 20-25% down is tough right now. We are seeing co-living investors be able to obtain strong cashflow vs. the traditional long term rental where price points are below $320k or so.

I'd pick a sub-market that you have confidence in holding over the next 5 - 10 years.

Personally, I like the northern parts of the metro (Kennesaw, Acworth, Cartersville) for LTR and Dekalb, Clayton, Fulton) for Co-living.

Feel free to ping me if you'd like to chat - happy to help!

Hey Felicia - I might be able to help with highest and best use between Padsplit vs. Long Term Rental.

Please feel free to reach out in my dms - I'll need property address along with your debt / equity/ monthly payment information!

Yoana - rent could be a little high for that TH. Renovated 3/2 SFHs are renting between 1900-2100 in that area. It's tough to compete with a 3 bed SFR with private outdoor space with the same rent unless the community is highly amenetized/well kept.

It's a great pocket of the metro to try to hold if you can.

Hope this helps!

Toby - getting your license for self representation of you're planning on doing a lot of deals is a good option.

1) You have to hang your license with a broker unless you have a brokers license. In ga, you need to have 3 years with your salespersons license before you can take the test to become a broker. Yes, you will need to work under a broker when your license! Most brokerages do not require you to be a full time Realtor in order for you to hang your license with them. I had a W2 while working as an agent before transitioning to full time - most folks are in this position.

2) You will likely pay your broker a typical commission split even if you are representing yourself. Important note, it takes a lot of reps to be self sufficient as an agent so you will want to join a team of active agents that can help you through the process.

Please feel free to shoot me a PM if you have any qs - happy to hop on a call to chat you through it!

Lake - I'd advise renting for AT LEAST 6-12 months until you get an understanding of where you want to live in the metro unless you're already familiar with it. 

If this is your first job out of college, it could be a great opportunity to stack some cash and get those loans paid down. Most people out of school want to live in the more lively areas of the metro (close to beltline / midtown / west midtown / buckhead) which are pretty dang expensive for a first time home buyer. It's easier to make new friends in those areas as well since most people that live there are young and relocating to Atlanta. Renting in these areas with a roommate or two will likely be less expensive than PITI in the 'less fun' suburbs.

If you do decide buying when you move down here, I'd take a few trips and spend a week or so down here to help narrow the search. I've found its pretty hard for folks to get comfortable with a purchase out of state if they haven't seen the general areas that they think they'd like to buy in.

While I love where your heads at - best thing you can do right now is likely focusing on saving cash, REI education, paying off loans, and enjoying your last year of school!

I'd target to house hack once you have a solid financial and get a lay of the land.

If you have any questions feel free to reach out via PM or contact info in bio - hope this helps!

Austin - just shot you a PM

Tar-U-Way,

House hacking makes a ton of sense (in most cases) if you're already renting. To your point, you're more likely to put yourself in a less favorable short term cashflow situation if you take on debt to acquire property since you are living for free. However, the house hack is more often than not the lowest barrier to entry to get your investing journey started. 

House hacking with a rent by the room model may allow you to be able to be breakeven or slightly cashflow positive. Typically you need this to be 4 bedrooms+ in an area where you can acquire a property for around $250k. Most areas of the metro you can rent to an individual for $800+ month / room and even more than that if you're renting a room and private bathroom. 

Earlier this year, I helped a client who acquire a 5 bed / 2 bath house hack deal just south of the airport that she is netting about $500 / month on after PITI and expenses. She was in a similar situation where she was living rent free with her mom but was eager to get her foot in the door. Side note, she was able to get into this property for just under $13k and we we're able to negotiate the seller putting in a new AC unit as well as paying a $7000 invoice to a contractor to replace the roof.

Moreover, if your credit is solid, I'd opt toward a 5% down conventional loan if you're leaning toward the 3.5% down FHA route. Reason being - conventional financing is way more favorable compare to FHA when it comes to competing offers.

Fannie/Freddie is offering a 5% down conventional loan product on owner occupied small multifamily properties as of Nov 2023. You can find 2x1 duplexes in the metro for under $300k excluding prime intown neighborhoods and expensive areas of Gwinnett & Cobb county. 

Shoot me a DM if you have any questions - happy to help however I can!

Rodney - I have heard a lot of folks using Kiavi for hard more lending and their terms are great for first time investors. On the agent side, I have three deals under contract with them in Atlanta right now and process has been smooth so far.

I looked into them myself and I will likely be using them if I have a need for HML.

https://www.kiavi.com/