All Forum Posts by: Steven Sullivan

Quote from @Theresa Harris:

Talk to others, but there may be specialized mortgages for teachers.  Do you have someone who can co-sign a loan (ie a parent)?  

Thank you Theresa! I will look into that and ask the current lender I’m talking to right now as well. Yes, I have my parents or my brother. My brother has a greater than 100k income for the last few years but he recently got laid off, so I would likely have to go with my parents if he doesn’t find a job by the time I get pre-qualified. But definitely looking into creative loan programs that are unique to my situation!

Quote from @Jena Vail:

Steven, your goal is worth it! Your willingness to move to the right market that works for your income seems on track. Your questions about findding the right city or town is perfect to guide you. You want to consider regions that you are personally attracted to first. Also think about strong economies with diverse industries. College towns can be solid for rentals. Also look for properties in established & attractive neighborhoods that match your price point & research rental rates. Would you also consider 2 - 4 unit properties? Also, make sure you consult with a trusted lender to give you all the best options based on your goals & current scenario. Hope this is helpful & all the best to you! 

Jena, that is really great advice! I have added how much I’d like to live in the area to the spreadsheet as well. So that will certainly be a major determining factor. A lot of the places that excite me most are also the most expensive, such as SF or Denver. Not realistic on my budget, although I’m considering a very brief move to SF to network more with tech folks with the help of my friend who lives down there working for Adobe. If I’m lucky, I can score a remote role and move to an affordable market elsewhere to jumpstart my FI progress, but if not, I can still buy a house with a lower salary in any of these affordable markets around the country! I relate pretty well to college-age students being in my mid-20’s so college towns certainly are attractive. I would love to consider a 2-4 unit property provided the numbers work. I haven’t seen a lot of them. But if the cashflow is there, that could be a major consideration!
Thank you for all the helpful info really! I’m talking to a lender now just to see the type of options I may have in my area and the loan I can qualify for likely with someone in my family as a co-signer. My credit score and history is great so it’s only my income that’s holding me back, but I should be able mitigate that with a qualified co-signer if I can’t find better work. 

Thank you again! That is all VERY helpful!

Quote from @Alfath Ahmed:

Quote from @Steven Sullivan:

Hi everyone, nice to meet you!

I’m an eager new investor working on getting my first single family househack. I plan to get a 3 bed with a garage which I will live in, and rent out the bedrooms. That being said, I was wondering if anyone knows someone who was able to invest with only a $40,000 salary? (I’m a teacher). Getting a co-signer is very possible. But I am single so there is no second household income.

I would like to be able to afford my whole mortgage at 100% vacancy in a disaster scenario, which puts me at buying houses less than 200k at the current interest rates including expenses and insurance. I also live very frugally. 

With these interest rates, good positive cash flow with less than a 200k property only seems doable outside the city (an hour outside of Austin) or in good cashflow markets like the Midwest or parts of the Southeast USA. Can anyone offer advice on whether it’s worth making the move to a large city in the Midwest or a smaller town in the state you live in? Specifically, do mid-sized to small towns outside of big cities have sufficient rental demand for rent by the room? And would you recommend it? What would you do if you were in my position? A lower income, but willingness to sacrifice comfort in order to set yourself up for an abundant future.

Any advice or insight is appreciated! I really am open to anything. I fully live behind the, “How can I?” not “I can’t.” mindset. Thank you for your time!

I would look into house-hacking with a 5% down CHAMP loan or a 3.5% down FHA loan. This is how I got started in real estate while in engineering school. I now own 9-units here in Columbus and have BRRRR'ed and Flipped multiple properties after.

Thanks Alfath!

By CHAMP, does this refer to the Community Housing Affordable Mortgage Program loan? At first glance, it seems like an attractive option especially to forgo PMI. I've heard there's also assistance programs for 1st generation homebuyers (people who's parents don't own a house) that can be 0 down payment in some states. Regardless, your success story is incredible and I hope to have that many units someday! The Midwest seems like a popular topic in this thread.

Quote from @Preston Dean:

@Steven Sullivan

I was in your shoes some years ago. I had to house hack for 2 years & was able to make it a rental after 2 years now it cash flows about $350.  If you don't want to wait then maybe find a hard money lender

 That’s a great success story, Preston!

Thanks for weighing in! Are you an investor in the Fort Worth area? I was looking into Killeen and Houston today as affordable, but growing markets. I will need to check out DFW if prices are good there as well. 

Quote from @Min Zhang:

Hey Steven! Welcome to BiggerPockets! You’re in the right place to learn about remote investing.

I like starting in the Midwest because it's affordable and offers good cash flow. Following David Green's Core 4 strategy (realtor, contractor, property manager, and lender) gives confidence to invest anywhere. I would say, the Ohio market in general is a very beginner friendly state to get started with your real estate journey. I have seen so much growth in Columbus when it comes to appreciation and job opportunities which I have experienced. On average, 80 people move into Columbus weekly.  It has seen significant growth, especially with tech giants like Intel, Meta, Amazon, and Google setting up operations, driving up property prices and job opportunities. On the other hand, if you have a lower budget, let’s say $100-$150k. Cleveland would be a great market for you. I have experienced cash flow anywhere from 10-18% with so much more to offer. As a real estate agent and an investor, I am on the market daily and explore opportunities for myself and my clients. Let me know if you need assistance!

That’s great info, Min

Thank you! Ohio seems very promising. I ran numbers on those 2 cities after you mentioned them and they both offer great cashflow! I’ve read some not great things about crime in Cleveland, but I imagine knowing an agent in the area would provide knowledge as to safer neighborhoods to invest in. Columbus on the other hand seems disproportionately interesting based on those tech companies! I’ll continue doing research, but Columbus and Cleveland are now on my list in the spreadsheet I have. 

 
Thanks again for the great intel!

Quote from @Caleb Brown:

I would maybe do side hustles to increase your income. The alternative is moving to somewhere cheaper or find a higher paying job. If you are house hacking you just need to focus on saving up the DP which is not bad. TX is competitive so I'd imagine it can be tough there. I am in the Midwest and there is always demand for housing, room by room is very market specific so that depends

 That’s good advice! DP is saved, and I have extra I can pull from in stocks if need be. I’m working on an Amazon-based side hustle at the moment, and have been trying to break into tech for the last year with 10 personal apps set to release on the App Store sometime this year. A full-time position just hasn’t come my way yet.

I recognize that in theory, monthly mortgage payments shouldn't be an issue since I'll be househacking, I would just rather comfortably afford the mortgage if everyone somehow decides to move out at one time. Do people regularly invest in properties they can't afford the mortgage of with full vacancy? I suppose that's what caused so much panic for STR investors during quarantine, which is probably less likely to happen with LTR? I'm very curious, what is normally considered acceptable risk in the real estate community in terms of monthly combined mortgages vs monthly total income?

That’s good to know! I suppose I should talk to investors in the smaller towns I’m considering moving to for their input on rent by the room demand. 

Hi everyone, nice to meet you!

I’m an eager new investor working on getting my first single family househack. I plan to get a 3 bed with a garage which I will live in, and rent out the bedrooms. That being said, I was wondering if anyone knows someone who was able to invest with only a $40,000 salary? (I’m a teacher). Getting a co-signer is very possible. But I am single so there is no second household income.

I would like to be able to afford my whole mortgage at 100% vacancy in a disaster scenario, which puts me at buying houses less than 200k at the current interest rates including expenses and insurance. I also live very frugally. 

With these interest rates, good positive cash flow with less than a 200k property only seems doable outside the city (an hour outside of Austin) or in good cashflow markets like the Midwest or parts of the Southeast USA. Can anyone offer advice on whether it’s worth making the move to a large city in the Midwest or a smaller town in the state you live in? Specifically, do mid-sized to small towns outside of big cities have sufficient rental demand for rent by the room? And would you recommend it? What would you do if you were in my position? A lower income, but willingness to sacrifice comfort in order to set yourself up for an abundant future.

Any advice or insight is appreciated! I really am open to anything. I fully live behind the, “How can I?” not “I can’t.” mindset. Thank you for your time!