All Forum Posts by: Rachael Agruso

Hi All -

Looking for some advice. I recently closed on a 3 family in CT and am house hacking it. I inherited tenants on the 1st, and 3rd floor.

My third floor tenant is great, with no issues. My first floor tenant has 4 people living in a 2BR 1B for 7 years paying $825 which is under market by about $125 and they are month to month.

My original plan was to raise rent on the first floor to $950. However, after living here for a little while, I am wondering if I should just non renew their lease.

Pros of first floor tenant: Pays on time, not needy, clean

Cons of first floor tenant: LOUD, always yelling, kid has tantrums probably 2x a week where it sounds like world war 3, slams doors etc.I have already spoken to my tenant about being mindful of the slamming/yelling but to no avail.

Given the situation, what do you think would be my best option? I plan to live here for the next 2 years or so. My fear is that even by raising her rent if she decides to stay it does not solve the underlying issue. Of course, there will be cost/vacancy to get the unit ready for the next tenant as well.

I went to UConn and noticed that myself along with most students would sign leases that start either in July/August for a year term. Some rentals offered shorter leases (9 months) to go along with the semesters but the cost of the other three months were just spread out over the 9 month lease.

My friends and I always found our off campus housing on craigslist so its worth listing on there if you haven't already. UConn also had an off campus housing search website so its worth looking into if CCSU has something similar.

Also students generally don't rent too far away from campus at CCSU so depending on where the house is could determine if you rent to students vs. non students.

I am closing on an owner occupied house soon in central CT where there will be a section 8 tenant living above me. In my opinion, there are pros and cons. In my situation, the tenant is only responsible for $50 of the total rent, the rest I am guaranteed every month. 

There are inpections yearly that I’ve not had to deal with yet, but you can look at those as an opportunity to make sure your unit is safe and up to date with whatever they require.  Others may look at this as “annoying”. 

I’ve also been advised that generally tenants on section 8 do not want to jeapordize their status to receive the voucher, which gives you something to remind them of in certain situations.

Wow congrats!! Awesome to hear stories like these especially being young like myself. 

@Leo Don I purchased the condo with a 20% down Conventional loan and have lived there for the last year and now it is currently rented. I've spoken to 4 banks and none have mentioned I have to go the investment route. I was already approved for a 5% down on a 2 family Multi. The recent issue arose on this 3 family I looked at. Wondering why it's a problem all of a sudden going from 2 units to 3 from a low down payment standpoint. 

@Eric Veronica Yes i'd owner occupy the multi family

Hi All -

I am looking for a low down, owner occupied conventional loan on a 3 family property. I don't own any other multis, however I do own a condo that I did 80% LTV conventional financing on. I am not interested in FHA financing. I am located in CT. What are some options others have seen/used? PM me with details.

Thanks!

Rachael

Thanks @Ty Frankel All good points. Unfortunately, there is a lot of interest in this property so time is of the essence. My initial offer was ($234,000) and this is their counter. If the property went on the MLS it would go for over $240. I do not think a lower price would be entertained at this point.

Hi All -

I recently started looking for my first multi-family property to house hack in CT. I've come across a deal that I am torn on, so I would appreciate more seasoned investors opinions.

 Here are the details; I have 51k to invest. I found a for sale by owner located in an A class neighborhood. It's a two family house, and we agreed on a 240k purchase price. It needs about $25-35k worth of work. My all in cost to just acquire the house would be ~$20,000k, this would leave me with about $31k to work with.

I plan to fix up one side to get it rented ASAP for around $1600. The other side I would do more slowly as I would be occupying it. Similar houses in the same area have sold for over $300,000 and the house next to it is for sale for $275,000 (this house still needs some work done). My point being, is there is a good opportunity here to build in some sweat equity. This will be a buy and hold.

My goal is to gain enough properties one day that gross enough cash flow so I can be financially free (I am 23 years old). With that said, I am torn between the idea of having all my capital tied up in one property, although I realize it is still a good opportunity to gain sweat equity in a good area. Or, should I use my capital to purchase a cheaper house that will still cash flow positive but, might in a B class neighborhood, and need a lot less work. This would allow me to have enough money to then go buy another property sooner.

Thank you, and appreciate any input!