All Forum Posts by: Nicholas L.

@Jay Hinrichs

yep - i think the advice "start with a house hack, and don't borrow the down payment" is pretty sound.  if you do that TWICE before age 30, you are probably ahead of 99% of people.

@Jamil Aboumansour

can you house hack locally instead? OOS BRRRR is a spectacularly difficult way to get started. and before you say it's "too expensive" - so is losing money out of state.

Experience of OOS investing in Cleveland after 1.5 years.

Sell at a loss or rent at a loss

Run Into a Foundation Issue - Please Help

@Nishil Kothary

can you house hack where you live instead

@Khemraj Hamnauth

this wasn't your direct question, but if you're financing a purchase using a HELOC, which it sounds like is what you're saying, you're just going to lose money. are you saying you'd use a HELOC to buy a property in the northeast and then go live there?

@Ethan Tomlinson

just save up / wait until you can house hack yourself - no need to take on all this complexity / mix business with family

if you can house hack at 23-24, you're still way, way ahead - median age of first time home buyers in the US is in upper 30s at this point

while you don't have that mortgage, save up as much as you can

then house hack 2-3 times in a row - you now have a portfolio

good luck

@Bao Vu

to be able to do what you're proposing is a BRRRR - and it sounds like this property is in that awkward spot where it's listed below market, but not enough below market to work as a BRRRR.

so: pass!

@Yulya Marucya

so just some random reactions and comments.  you may have already explored all the below but just throwing them out anyway.

1. are you in touch with any local agents to get their opinions?  i wouldn't sign anything with anyone yet but just talk to them about what they think and whether the market might get better in a few months.

2. are you in touch with any local investors to see what they think?  are you in touch with any MTR experts or consultants?

3. as @Jaycee Greene said, i don't think "bringing in an investor" makes any sense whatsoever.  seems like you'd just be adding risk and complexity to an already tough situation... and you can't just "offer them equity" if you already own the property.

4. you're saying the property is worth 408K "and dropping."  property values don't really work like that... of course the market changes but it's not like a stock whose value changes daily.  are you looking at comparable sales and really seeing them go down every single day or week?

hope this helps

@Johnathon Asman

given what you said about your situation, the only thing i would rule out (at least for now) is investing out of state.  those types properties will be INvestments over the first few years, or even longer - meaning they'll take capital, and you won't net or earn anything.  so, given everything else you said - it would not make sense to do that before your own primary situation is further along.

hope that helps

@Brett Ponters

just house hack separately from your friends - no reason to try to partner or split things.  way too much complexity for when you're starting out.

@James Hamling

agree, i was oversimplifying to make a point.  i think the key difference is whether it's possible (yes) and whether it's likely (no.)  

and, buying a random property thousands of miles away solely because that market has a median lower than yours is not going to get you there.  

the days of Brandon Turner pulling up a random duplex in Alaska on Zillow and finding $400 a month in cash flow are long gone.  new investors continue to buy money pits just to "do a deal" and get crushed.

crushed:

Issues with Mold

also crushed:

Sell at a loss or rent at a loss
crushed over several years:

Experience of OOS investing in Cleveland after 1.5 years.

crushed at turnover:

$12,000 Turnover!! Is this normal for less than 3 year tenant.

crushed from across the entire country:

Baltimore - a path to never-ending pain