All Forum Posts by: Nicholas L.

@James Wise

agree with you, and I think it comes down to new folks thinking they're paying for an OUTCOME, when they're actually paying for a SERVICE.  as you well know, a PM can do a great job, abide by their contract, and still a tenant relationship can go bad and result in a rough turnover or an eviction.  having a bad tenant or a tenante that starts out great and then stops paying doesn't mean the PM did anything wrong.  the question to ask is... did the PM abide by the contract?  not - what was the outcome?

with that said... i do think there is a lot of cheerleading in the forums that makes it seem like new investors will get OUTCOMES rather than SERVICES. 

@Marcos De la Cruz

hello.  i don't have experience with them personally and can't speak to their inventory.

but in general, nothing 'cash flows' right now for the first few years - not in any market.

i would do your own underwriting and estimate conservatively.

hope this helps

@JM Edward

it's a good question and i think... it depends.  flipping is fairly high risk, period.

it's also about setting expectations, which i think is part of what @Mike Dymski is saying.  if you buy in a great area and realize that over the first few years you're going to be INvesting - not generating any cash flow, but still getting other benefits - great.  with rates where they are you might not actually, truly NET anything for YEARS.  

a lot of people buy in bad areas because on paper, using unrealistic assumptions, a property 'cash flows' $300 a month.  they buy it and immediately lose money.  was it because of their funding strategy - cash vs. loan vs. how much down?  no, it was not - it was because they bought the wrong property in the wrong area.

@Yael Maroko

i would contact some lenders - in the past i have qualified for DSCR loans based on estimate rents, but in some cases have been offered worse terms than based on actual rents.

but - just curious, if the ARV for the DSCR loan is the same as the price paid at closing, what you seem to be proposing is going to be expensive - you'll close with some funding source (cash?) pay closing costs, then try to immediately refi and pay closing costs again on the DSCR loan?

@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!