All Forum Posts by: Megan Broom

@Barbara Chaney

I used to live in Miami (Brickell) and have been curious about Natiivo for a while. Checking to see if you ended up buying or if now there might be a building you would recommend most? They all look fabulous!

@Owen Thornton

Hi Owen! I came across this property and just saw it mentioned in your post when I was doing some research on Maggie Valley. I noticed the property had been under contract recently and came back on the market. Did you ever end up putting an offer in?

I am in Buckhead as well!

I am interested!

I would start with getting quotes from a loan officer for a cash out refi so you have a real expectation. I was looking into this as well (still am!) and the terms were not nearly what I had anticipated. PM me if you want more details! I am now leaning towards selling my condo as I am not going to be able to rent it anytime soon (also not confident it will cash flow well due to high HOA and taxes) and I would get much more from selling it than I would on a cash out refi.

Like others have mentioned, I would suggest diversifying your capital into as many properties as possible that will cash flow. You can use a small amount for your primary residence with a low downpayment loan and go for the house hacking method. If you keep your spending down, you can easily save quite a bit from your monthly rental income to keep buying more properties and increase your passive income while also increasing your net worth at the same time. This is my goal! :)

I am a big fan of Robert Kiyosaki! Check out his videos on YouTube after you finish the book. I just started Set for Life this afternoon and love it so far! Now back to reading... :) 

Hi everyone!

I am seeing that FHA has been commonly associated with house hacking. Is this simply for the lowest down payment possible? Would you still have to live in the property for a year with a 5% down conventional loan?

I am looking to sell my condo and put the bulk of the money into cash flowing rentals out of state and start house hacking in Atlanta. I will take all the advise anyone has to offer! :)

Thank you in advance!

Megan

I am interested. Please let me know if there is room for one more! :)

@Meghan McCallum Thank you for the feedback!

Hi BP!

I live in Atlanta, GA and purchased a 1 bedroom condo in Dec 2016 for $328,000 with 20% down and spent somewhere around $30k in renovations. I did not have to pay closing costs since I used commission towards it. I am a licensed agent and work in new construction so I was able to get discounted pricing on the renovations - I would estimate it would have been a $40k-$50k project for the average homeowner.

This is a luxury high rise building built in 2008 in Buckhead that has very few 1 bedrooms. The 2 bedrooms have been selling from the high $400’s to low $600’s and the 3 bedrooms from the high $700’s to $2 million.

Shortly after I purchased, the prices for the 1 bedrooms jumped up from selling in the low $300’s to the high $300’s for units that had either not been renovated at all or very minor updates. A corner unit slightly smaller than mine that was not renovated closed for $405,000 in March 2019 and there is a pending 1 bedroom slightly larger (has a small study and larger bathroom) at $439,000 which will be closing 7/31 so I will be able to see the sale price soon.

When I purchased, my mortgage was around $1,650 and the HOA fee was $515/month including cable/internet. My mortgage went up last year due to taxes to a little over $2,000/month and the HOA fee increased to $600/month around the same time so now I am paying over $2,600/monthly from about $2,165 previously.

I owe right around $250,000 on the mortgage with a 4.25% interest rate. I believe I could easily sell it between $400,000-$425,000 with the view and renovations. I have just reached out to get information on a Refi since rates are lower and my credit score is higher than when I purchased.

The 1 bedrooms have been renting for $2,200 to $2,600. I have been on the list for a leasing permit for a while now just incase I ever wanted to rent it out in the future. Since I have been on the list, it has barely moved and there are many other owners ahead of me so I doubt I would be able to lease it anytime soon.

I currently have no need or desire to move but with all the talk about the market being at the peak, I am very conflicted if I should try to sell it for as high as I can and easily walk away with $150k or do a refi to get a lower interest rate and pull out what I can in equity. I would hate to see the cycle turn in the next couple years and have trouble making back what I originally paid + renovations when I have the chance to make at least $40k more than I put into it with renovations. I am happy living there now but would not want to be upside down and stuck for several years if/when the market cycles.

I would put this money in savings to use for real estate investments as I come across them. I could move into a studio or 1 bedroom apartment between $1,300-$1,600 which would be $1k or more less per month than my current mortgage/HOA/taxes. The prices are really high in the desirable areas in Atlanta where I would want to live so I don't think it would be a good idea to jump into purchasing another primary residence right away.

Sorry this is so long but I wanted to give all the details in hopes to receive some feedback that will help me make a decision!