All Forum Posts by: Sonny Christopher

Hey @Neil Ebanks , Welcome! I am a local agent in Nashville and a big fan of the mid-term strategy. I do it myself with a DADU I have. I would love to connect sometime!

Sonny

Mark,

Not really sure what that process looks like on the lender side or how they pick the ones they audit. But my go to lender had a loan he closed last August get audited and investigated for potential fraud last week. Its probably not something that happens very often but does happen. 

@Austin Pond Love to hear that you want to house hack. Using you VA loan benefits to do so is very smart. I live in Nashville as well and House hack my place. Ill be honest, the budget of 350k is going to be difficult but not impossible. There are a couple different routes you could go.

Find a place with 4+ bedrooms and rent out by the room. If you are in Nashville you can usually get ~800-1000 a room. 

Find a place that can be converted in an apt like the poster above mentioned. With the topography here in Nashville, a lot of homes have walk out basements that can be converted into living spaces and rented out.

Lastly, this is more of the traditional route but you could get a duplex. The duplexes in this price range are typically going to require some updating but there are still some good opportunities out there. One thing to consider with this route is since its a true multi family property, you can use the rent towards your income and help qualify for more if you need it. 

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask or reach out! 

Yes you would have to live in the residence to qualify for the FHA loan. They may not come knock on your door but they do randomly audit loans and if they believe there is potential fraud, they will investigate further. Others have mentioned other loan products that have less restrictions that would allow you to do what you are asking.

One thing I would recommend is asking your employer if the housing stipend could be used for anything else. Could it become a general stipend that you could use for food, gas, bills, etc. Could it still be a housing stipend if the house is not campus housing (if you bought a house, could you use that stipend towards your mortgage payment). It is probably a long shot but you dont get what you dont ask for. 

I'm an agent here in Nashville and house hack myself. If you have any questions, let me know! Id be happy to help anyway I can!

Hey Vince, 

I am a realtor here in Nashville as well. I am former wholesaler and working on building a portfolio. Always happy to connect and meet with other investors! Ill send you a message!

Sonny

Good Morning BP,

Ive got the inside scoop on a great house hack opportunity that is about to hit the market. I know the sellers would be open to selling it before it hits the market.

Asking price will probably be between 600-650k

2800 sqft

3 Beds/2 baths with the opportunity to make it a 4/3 (Plumbing has already been run)

1 of those bed and bathrooms is set up for owner occupied airbnb/mid term rental but doesnt have to be used for that.

House also has a DADU that is a studio apt

2 car garage

At the end of a dead in street and less that 10 minutes from downtown Nashville.

Owners have done a lot of renovations and replaced most of the major systems. They are very motivated!

**Full disclosure- I am not a wholesaler. I interviewed to be the listing agent but the sellers decided to go with another agent. Still believe its a great opportunity.

Feel free to give me a call/text if you have any interest. (205) 478-4930

Sonny Christopher

One of the main advantages of house hacking is the low down payment required to get into the property. There are a lot of factors that go into but are you looking at properties that are turn key vs fixer uppers? Is cash flow the number 1 goal? Are you looking at SFH or MFH/SFH with more than 1 rentable area?

House Hacking can be a great way to get started and acquire properties for little cash out of pocket, but just like any real estate deal, not all properties make sense and the current market makes it tougher than it was a couple years ago when rates were sub 3% and deals were plentiful.

It will depend on your state laws but my questions is why would you want to move it to an LLC? Not sure if there is much of a benefit if doing that while you live there.

Also as mentioned above- the capital gains only comes into play if you are planning on selling. So if you are planning on keeping it, my understanding is that you would only need to live there for 12 months in order to qualify for low down payment loan options if you wanted to purchase another owner occupied property. Of course, talk to your lender as they will know with certainty what that time requirement is.

@Brendan Simpkins I am local to Nashville and happy to refer you to the CPA I use along with a couple others in town! 

My 2 cents would be that since it is your personal property that your CPA is right but im far from a tax professional!

Sonny

Welcome @Laura Winegardner and congrats on making your first step! like the others have said, I think option 1 would be your best bet. Its the strategy I use and the one I have helped clients with. Also it will give you the most hands on experience in managing a STR.