All Forum Posts by: Matthew DeMichele

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $440,000
Cash invested: $30,000

Currently househacking. The property is a 4 bed/3 bath main house, with a studio/1 bath ADU in the backyard. My current rents completely cover PITI and leave about $400 left over for CapEx, Repairs & Maintenance, and Vacancies. I'm currently paying about $700 out of pocket to cover the rest of the budgeted expenses, which is essentially the equivalent of an equity payment to myself.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

It's the easiest way to get started! I'm learning how to be an effective landlord and how to get my systems in place, all while turning my rent payments into equity payments.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found this deal through a real estate agent I met on BiggerPockets. His name's Jeremy Holden, and he's the man! He helped me negotiate the purchase price down from $465k to $440k. We used the inspection report and the current state of the market to help us negotiate this.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional loan with 3% down. The loan officer on this one was Grant Schroeder, who's also on BiggerPockets. Again, highly recommend working with him!

How did you add value to the deal?

I've replaced the roof, fixed sewer issues, and plan on continuing to update the property as I live in it.

What was the outcome?

So far, I've rented out all three extra bedrooms in the main house and the studio unit in the back. By doing this, I've essentially been able to turn the $700/month that I would have been spending on rent into $700/month of equity, all while having my renters cover all other expenses.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I'm learning that if something is difficult, it's usually because I need a better system for approaching it. For instance, the thought of landlording seemed impossible to me, but I've discovered that having good systems in place makes it way easier.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Jeremy Holden (real estate agent) and Grant Schroeder (loan officer)

@Eric Hendrix I'm just starting out as well and have been really interested in buying in Phoenix, as well as a few other markets. Happy to connect as well!

Hey everyone!

I've been really interested in buying a house hack property in North Carolina. I'm interested in a few different markets in the state. Any great investor-friendly real estate agents that you'd recommend?

Hey everyone,

I've been targeting properties in various Midwest markets, specifically properties that are 2-4 units in the $100k-$300k range. I'm looking for properties that can cash flow a little bit even at an interest rate of around 6.75%. They don't have to cash flow a lot, maybe just around $50-$100/door. I'd even be satisfied with just around break even, knowing I could hopefully refinance down the road at a lower rate. I've been doing some deal analysis, but am not sure if my numbers are entirely accurate or realistic. Would love it if anyone is willing to share the details of a recent investment they've made and how they analyzed it. Thanks! 

Thanks for the insight Scott! I'm definitely very interested in markets around the $250k or less range, so I'll be sure to check out the ones you listed. 

Also, yeah sorry, my wording was confusing lol. I should say I have $20k of my own money set aside for a real estate investment, although not all of it is in cash (i.e. I have about $10k in cash and another $10k or so in a retirement account, which I believe I can use being a first-time home buyer). I have another $20k apart from that as emergency savings that I don't plan on digging into. 

 Thanks Eric! Would love to connect. I'll send you a message now.

 Thanks for the connect Nicholas! I'm also looking in markets outside of WA as well. Would love to chat about Southern California areas as well if you're interested.

Hey everyone!

I'm finally in a great position to get that first property under my belt. I have access to around 20k for a down payment. I work remotely, so I can move literally anywhere in the US where there's a great deal.  I'm looking to househack either a single family home with multiple bedrooms or a duplex. I have a number of markets in mind, but I'm open to anywhere where I can cash flow a bit or at least break even. I'm looking to close on something within the next 2-4 months. 

Would love to know if you have any lenders and/or real estate agents that you'd recommend in areas where you've personally invested? Would appreciate any recommendations! Thanks! 

Hey dude! I'm in the same exact boat as you just starting out. Would definitely be down for a weekly/monthly zoom call. Maybe we can get everyone who responded to this thread into a newbie accountability group! Definitely free to reach out for my contact info.

@Erik Estrada @Luther Wilson III @Obed Calixte @Jon Kelly Thanks for the advice! I think all of that is solid wisdom. I do agree with your points that $5000 is too small an amount to be focused on at the moment. 

I should mention, though, that my situation is a little different than most college students. I'm actually a returning adult student, so I'm already working a full-time job with a base pay of around 80k. The big thing for me is lack of time. With full-time work and full-time school, I'm not able to devote enough time to buying and managing a rental at the moment. I really only have 5k set aside for real estate because, up to this point, I've put everything into retirement savings. But now that my goals have shifted to real estate, I'm planning to save at a rate that will give me around 75k in the savings account in that 1-2 year timeframe. 

I guess I'm really wondering a bit preemptively about what to do with the savings account when it reaches 75k. At that level, I don't know if I should let the money sit in the savings account for another year until I'm ready to take a more active investment role. Maybe, at that point, should I consider more passive investments until I'm ready to take a more active role? Or, like you all mention, should I just stay the course and focus on continuing to increase the income, reduce expense, etc.?