All Forum Posts by: Krista Kennedy

@Matthew K Patton when you say “big neighborhood shift” do you mean the area is not as nice, same as it has been for the last 15 years?  Or do you mean there has been a more recent change? I went to LSU 2004-2008 and recall W Chimes was a bit run down, but not unsafe.  Curious if that is still the case.

Hi Alex,

We did exactly what you are describing— house hack in BK on a VA loan. I have an amazing lender I can recommend to you who did ours. I would like to clarify a few key details:

1- VA loans (0% down) max out somewhere around $700k. We bought a large house in Ditmas Park roughly double that price so we had to put 10% down on half of it.

2- VA loans typically do not apply to apartments or condos so you are limited to homes in the NYC area.

3- We are not even close to positive cash flow, even with a fabulous 3.5% interest on our mortgage. However it is still financially a good deal for us because our former rent money is now going towards our mortgage which is a financial asset.  This was my goal for this property. (However if we had an option to live elsewhere for free we could probably break even or make a small profit.)

4- NYC is very sensitive to Airbnb so if that is part of your house hacking strategy, reconsider. We are not using it, but one of our neighbors thought we were and suddenly we had NYPD and DOB at our door asking questions. Not fun.

Good luck! Feel free to direct message with any questions.

Krista

Yes, congrats! What area of Brooklyn? Did you have to do significant renovation work?

Hello!  I’m looking for a solid personal CPA who can help us file 2018 taxes & strategize for the future.  We bought a house hack in Brooklyn in 2017 and need help dividing & assigning expenses to the right categories (I do all the excel legwork - just need your general direction) and plan for next steps as we grow our portfolio. Thanks! 

Krista Kennedy