All Forum Posts by: Kelsey T.

@Emil Pinlac while we don't have any multifamily properties in the area, we own a rental house in Woodland, about 20 minutes away from Sacramento. We house hacked and rented out the rooms for a couple of years while living there, which covered most of the mortgage, and then rented the house out when we moved. In 5 years we gained $90k in appreciation by conservative estimates. We actually refinanced and paid the property down because we would like to eventually have our rentals paid off and it increases the cash flow, which decreases the risk substantially for us. Even if you just consider the appreciation, it would definitely be justified. Just make sure you don't put your self in a risky negative cash flow situation that may not be sustainable. 

@John Simerson what will your cash flow look like after your PMI is gone? I don't know much about the specific area, but San Diego has the potential for some serious appreciation. I would be tempted to hold onto them if you can. It's also going to depend on your strategy. If you are looking to scale quickly or make money now on your real estate, you should probably sell. If you are doing real estate investing on the side with enough cash coming in to take the hit and enough in reserves, it could make sense for a buy and hold investor. California appreciation is pretty unique!

Agree with @Allen Maris- we need more details regarding her dad's houses. Are you looking to buy them? Is he going to help you by providing money via a cash out refi? Also are you looking for a personal residence or an investment property?

I have found Dave Ramsey's teachings to be really really valuable and he has influenced our conservative approach to RE investing. I have not done financial peace university, but am definitely considering it. My husband and I do use debt to invest, but we are buy and hold investors, with the goal of paying down/off our rental properties over time. We both have careers outside of real estate and we invest on the side. 

Hi @Brian Stroh, I haven’t looked into it any further. We decided to hold off on the deal we were looking at with the coronavirus stuff going on. Please let me know if you find out any info!

Hi @Cari Childers, great post, I'm very interested in seeing everyone's advice. My husband and I have used Chase once and Wells Fargo twice and have not been impressed with either. For our next purchase we are looking into local banks, and even in the preliminary stages, they have been great to work with and it sounds like they can be more flexible than the big banks. 

What is the price range you are interested in? If you are looking into a duplex or triplex, have you run the numbers on house hacking with an FHA loan?

Also, zillow is pretty notorious for being inaccurate with estimating value, I would look at homes recently sold in the area (you can find that info on a website like realtor.com) that are similar in bed/bath, size, and condition to get a better idea. 

Good luck, I'm excited for you!

@Shane Welch You have two people who are looking out for you re: the VA loan requirements. No need to get so offended.

@Greg Dickerson This is great information to have! Is this a pretty common formula lenders use? Do you know how it would differ if the loan was structured as a second home instead of investment property?

@Jonathan Farber I would continue the board and batten siding that is on the upper dark sections, or to be more specific, I would add battens throughout so it was consistent. I like the idea of a light gray color, but I would paint the doors a darker red, or some color that is a little toned down. Pinterest is your best friend. Also you can consider putting larger trim pieces in place and shutters if you want to add some charm. Definitely getting some basic clean (and low maintenance) landscaping is going to help a lot!

@Keith W. I definitely fall on the conservative side, but I am personally holding off on any new projects right now, so my advice would be the same to others. If you have a significant amount of money for holding costs so that you could make it through 6-12 months of just holding the property, and you really want to jump in, that would make me more comfortable. You could also make sure you have multiple exit strategies- if your rental market is strong, you could buy a house that just needs to be updated, but is livable, and if you are unable to flip for some reason, you could rent it out. I would definitely communicate with the county regarding permitting (can you get permits, do they have a time frame of when things will be back to normal) and find out for sure about what is considered essential construction and make sure both of those are active before getting a deal. 

But as I stated before, if I were you I would hold off right now.