All Forum Posts by: Colin Reid

No problem! I used a conventional loan with 20% down. I already have two VA loans, and while we initially looked at VA for this one, the property would not have passed a VA inspection, and I would have still had to put money down. I have never used an FHA loan.

I just bought my first duplex and moved into the rear unit. I hired a property manager to deal with the front, because my day job has me out of town frequently and for long periods. 

Some things the PM and I discussed:

1. My ownership of the property will not be disclosed, BUT we also won't lie to the tenants. The neighbors know I own the place, so the tenant is going to find out. I'll answer truthfully if they ask, but also direct them to the PM for any problems.

2. Read your contract with the PM carefully. Mine had a clause that the owner was not to contact the tenant. I had that removed before I signed because I can't adhere to that, living on the property. If I didn't live there, I wouldn't want any contact with the tenant.

Other than that, I don't have much experience. This is my first house hack. I left for work so soon after I bought the place that I haven't even met my tenants. They moved in after I left town, and I haven't gotten home yet.

As for the pros/cons, I'm living in an amazing neihborhood in St Petersburg and controlling a property in a very popular and up-and-coming area for about $600/mo out of my pocket. But I'm also living in a lot less space than I'm used to, interior, exterior, kitchen, baths, parking, storage, EVERYTHING. I feel very cramped, so if I buy a SMF with more space, I'll probably move.

Is it weird that my first thought was to try and buy the building?

Following as well.

My agent is a seasoned investor, so she knows how to work with me, what I'm looking for, etc. But her investing business is very different from mine. She and her partners are doing some very advanced stuff that I'm not even sure I fully understand. She's not interested in competing with me for triplexes.



Originally posted by @Mike Cumbie:

Ever gone fishing?

Ever caught them all?

:)

 Only once.

 My mother just had a similar case, though I think it was laziness rather than malice. Mom is a realtor, and she owns some land adjacent to her childhood home. We sold the parcel with the house on it years ago, after my grandmother died, but mom still owns some farmland, and leases it to family. This is a few hours away from where my parents live, but it's on the way to the area they like to vacation. So Mom drives past the house and the land and sees a "for sale" sign on it. She takes a picture of the sign, calls the listing agent, and asks that the sign be removed. The listing agent claimed that she'd never actually seen the property, but the address is several blocks away, on a different road. Our distant family members that lease the land and work it didn't mention anything to my mom about the sign. She only drives that road a few times a year, so someone could have bought it and completed construction on it before she even noticed.

 I just put his book on my Amazon list. There are a few ahead of him, but I can't wait to read it! His interviews with the Koncrete podcast are fantastic!

Whatever makes you happy and sleep well.  I don't own much in the way of luxury items, and the ones I do have would certainly draw the ire of the same folks poo-pooing exotic car ownership. I have a nice truck for a daily, an old Jeep for fun (and that's almost certainly worth more than I've got in it), and a few other 4-figure toys. I've lusted over Porsche's for years (a Targa would be my poison of choice there), but the bigger the dollar figure, the longer it takes me to make a decision. More often than not, I talk myself out of it. So when I do decide to pull the trigger on a high-dollar toy, that money is usually as good as gone, because I'm keeping that thing forever.

My PM's have guarantees in our agreements about discounts or refunds if they can't place a tenant within a certain timeframe, but that's my money I'm getting back. If a PM guaranteed me anything, I'd be very skeptical.

It sounds like you're renting from the owners with a sublease to a residential tenant. You're not managing it for the owner, you're leasing it from the owner to rent it to a tenant.

I think credit age is the least of your concerns on credit score when it comes to multiple mortgages. It's the multiple mortgages.

I have friends who have minimal debt history, maybe a car loan or some student loans, and they're well into the 800's. They're very proud of this, despite rarely needing it to apply for more debt. I on the other hand, haven't had a negative report on my credit in almost 10 years (one late payment on a credit card, stupid on my part), haven't had any debt other than mortgages in 8 years, and 100% on time payments on all of the the loans, and until recently a military paycheck, but the credit bureaus see several times my income in mortgage debt, in my name, and I've been floating around 750ish for years.

The thing is, no lender has ever asked me about my score. They ask about individual items on my credit report. I definitely had to explain that late credit card payment. 

Bottom line, losing a couple points on your credit score because of younger accounts won't matter when you're trying to buy real estate.