All Forum Posts by: Kevin Phu

@Christian Walker you'll find a lot of great free content on Youtube if you search social media marketing. I learned most of what I know about running FB/IG ads and PPC for my eCommerce business. i.e Kevin David, Tanner J Fox. These might be more geared towards eCommerce but the fundamentals of digital marketing and how to use the platforms are relevant. 

That would be great! You messaged me some suggestions about a year ago. I'll message you and see if the recommendations stayed the same! 

I just have the tenant pay rent and I pay all of the utilities. I was renting out 3 bedrooms and now all four. A lot easier to just handle the utilities on your own instead of splitting the bills 4 ways.

I'm pretty sure that as long as you are actually living there as your primary residence you should meet the requirement without committing mortgage fraud. Living in a habitable basement of the house doesn't seem to be much different than house hacking an SFR, which is fine with a VA loan.

When I was house hacking, I rented out 3 of the 4 bedrooms so I split up the expenses using a 75% calculation. I only split expenses like the utilities, wifi, cable, and mortgage. I personally wouldn't try to deduct things like "dinner to maintain relationships".

Have you spoken to a CPA that specializes in real estate? I am looking for one that can help me do some tax strategy planning. Would be open to any suggestions if you've spoken to some! I am located in San Diego but can work with someone remotely. 

 You provided no real reasoning as to why you think house hacking is not investing. I'm curious as to why you think it isn't.

I purchased a 4br SFR with 0% down, 0% loan fees, and $400 for a property inspection. Rented out the 3 extra bedrooms while I lived in the master. Pretty much covered all of the mortgage which significantly decreased my monthly out of pocket costs. I moved out and have the whole house rented out and cash flowing. That cash flow is being saved up to purchase another rental property.

If that's not investing, what would you call this and for what specific reasons?

Anyone planning on visiting Huntsville in the near future to explore the city? My girlfriend and I are looking at possibly investing there and would love to connect with some locals or active investors!

What are some neighborhood recommendations in and around the Huntsville area?

@Jennifer S. agreed! I am in the field of work that goes on there and it is for sure booming and not going away. 

Btw, I spent a lot of time in Medford! My family owned Dragon Fast Food on Salem St!

@Daniel Hyman I currently only have 1 but am looking to grow my portfolio. Ideally I'd get a bookkeeping system down in place before it becomes more of a headache down the road. 

@Basit Siddiqi Thanks for the advice! I am going to continue using Excel while I figure out scalable solution. Most likely gonna be QuickBooks.