All Forum Posts by: Nicholas L.

@Celine Corley you will have to decide what property is right for your family.  I'll say this - from a purely financial perspective, there is nothing wrong with renting in the short term.  No closing costs - no financing costs or points - no commissions - and the flexibility of simply leaving at the end of the lease.

Also... what's your financial situation like?  Are you still looking to buy your 'dream home' and buy a rental?  Do you plan to stay in Colorado?

@Jezelle John great questions, I don't know that area.  I'm just guessing the rents are much lower given what the listing said.

@Jaime Rossini a house hack is really something you want to do yourself.  Is it "more than you can finance" because (1) you don't have the down payment, (2) you can't borrow enough to buy it, or (3)  something else?  You need reserves to invest in RE... so if you don't have the down payment how will you take care of a major repair?

@Angela Lojko max your W2 income, minimize your expenses, and house hack.

@Jezelle John sure, is this something you're interested in purchasing, or are you just practicing running numbers?  Or both?  For this one you'd want to get actual copies of the leases to know what the rents are.

@Jezelle John I looked at this on Zillow, and Zillow says it's a three family with rents "below market."  So, here are my questions:

Is the $3950 in rents you're assuming per month based on the existing leases, or based on raising the rents?  If raising the rents, is it based on actual comps?  Do you know how many BR and BA are in each unit?

Where did you get the tax number?  I think it should be closer to $400 a month based on recent assessments.

Would you live in one of the units or rent out all 3?

@Carolina Servigna cool. Apartments are tough to BRRRR. You get the best bang for your buck on SFHs - because of the potential to add square footage, make major improvements, add a bedroom, etc. It's all about the appraised value after the rehab. If it doesn't appraise significantly higher, it might still be a solid investment - it's just not a BRRRR. =)

@Andrew Bravo no, I meant ongoing maintenance - for example, when you're not living there you can either pass the grounds costs (lawn, snow, etc.) on to the tenants or have them taken care of.  This might be something that is dependent on what is usual for your market and what will get the highest rents.

@Andrew Bravo great job running the numbers and being conservative.  Insurance seems a little low, is that based on an actual quote or is it just an estimate?  And are there any shared utilities, any grounds costs?

If you live there you might not need property management.

@Carolina Servigna yes, you should start analyzing deals.  Do you have enough cash to buy a house in cash?  That's the best way to do it.  Other options are more expensive, and really require you to hit a home run on the appraisal when you refinance.  Run a few scenarios with different purchase types and you will see what I mean.

Can you house hack instead? Or BRRRR a house hack?