All Forum Posts by: Kyle Spearin

@Luis Molina This is going to vary greatly from person to person. I personally love having my license because it has allowed me to profit at the front and back end of my live-in flips. Especially in times like these, the commission serves as extra padding!

@Mike Eichler love this! Only thing I'd add in is "know your strategy." It's definitely shiny object syndrome for a lot of new investors.

@Katlynn Teague that's a great question! I think it depends on the person's strategy-- it could be that a lot of house hackers or other people new to real estate use the MLS because it's more straightforward.

I've personally never purchased anything off-market, but see tremendous value in it because of everything you mentioned. I think it's just a matter of learning how to acquire off-market deals through marketing, working with wholesalers, etc. For many people, this adds a level of effort/decreases the amount of comfort. Any recommendations on getting over this hump?

@Brian C Kelleher happy to connect and explain further!

@Vicki X. I used this website and found a great bookkeeper after 3 interviews. If you give them specific tasks in your job outline, you can find people who have better attention to detail. Then from there, compare a few based on their work experience (mine had worked for American companies, knew quickbooks, etc.) and English comprehension so that you know you can explain things to them without misunderstandings.

Most of these people are flexible with work hours, so you'd need to work with them on that. My recommendation is paying slightly higher wages than what they're used to to instill loyalty and build a long term relationship. Good luck!

@Apoorva Paruchuri my guess is that you won't cash flow positivel in a low down pay, higher interest rate house hack while you're living there (if you do it the traditional way). With that said, you have a lot to consider in your decision:

-Is it cheaper than paying rent? Even if you're not cash flowing while you're in one of the units, you might still live cheaper than renting. 

-What's the return when you consider your equity, loan pay down, cashflow, etc.? It's a long term game to build wealth, especially in expensive markets where the barrier to entry is higher. Look at 5, 10 years down the road to really gauge if it's worth it more so than just the short term.  

-Look at a scenario where you move out of the house hack after a year, will you be able to cash flow then? And if not, how much are you willing to lose in the short term and for how long?

-Consider places further outside of the city if you want lower prices and perhaps higher cash flow (or break even) on day 1

@Lin Yin I'm in the process of renting my condo out in Dorchester (Savin Hill) and would highly recommend comparing apples to apples in terms of neighborhoods within this part of Boston. Like Lien said, it's super street dependent. There are still areas with high crime and they might even be one street over from very expensive neighborhoods, so I highly recommend driving the areas you're interested in to ensure that it meets your buy box in that respect.

General rules of thumb that I've found:
-Areas that are closer to red line or highways tend to improve faster (I'd imagine this is true in most places). Ashmont is a great example of this based on the changes in the past 10 years or so.
-Main streets (like Dorchester Ave for example) are slower to improve, but the side streets might have gems. Always drive the area!

@Tayeisha C.definitely ask around.

Have you considered an umbrella policy? Check out the podcast "All the Hacks by Chris Hutchins," there's an episode titled: Optimizing Your Insurance Policies (Auto, Home/Renters, Umbrella, Life, Disability, Pet, and Travel). This could get the ball rolling or the ideas flowing. Good luck!

@Nick Li have you considered a 5% conventional or ARM? This could be another option for exploring the metro area. Some lenders I've spoken to can do this with no PMI.

I'm in the process of testing this out myself by house hacking in the Boston metro area. I will report back on what happens :)

@Benjamin Middleton Canva and Fiverr are awesome. Upwork is another good one. Would love to hear more about your business. Is it for contracting or something else?