All Forum Posts by: Valerie King

Hey there,

I'm looking for a duplex, triplex or quad to house hack and a mortgage lender advised me to make sure that when I find something, or even before I do, to figure out what homeowner's insurance premiums are. As for property inspectors, he said I should get on that now, so that once I do find something, I'm not settling for less by rushing to find someone.

I'm planning to do just that. This week I'm going to start looking up property inspectors in my area and homeowner's insurance providers. That way I'll be able to compare options and at least have providers narrowed down when I find a property. 

Before I do, I wanted to ask you all what questions you think are important to ask, and what I should and shouldn't look for in both (property inspectors and homeowner's insurance providers). Obviously a multifamily property is not the same as a single family; plus it won't be a straight single family residence or investment property ... it'll be a mix with me living in it. I want to make sure that since house hacking is a bit unique in the grand scheme of things, I don't stumble on any unwelcome surprises on the inspection or insurance end.

Thanks in advance,

Valerie

Owen and Christian,

Thanks so much for the helpful insight, really. I have AAA & since I live at home with my mom, I "benefit" from a group/family "discount" too. I do have the full coverage package with the lowest deductible and I'm not 25 yet ... not sure if that matters. But I've never honestly compared options. 

Anywho, I can't say I'd be comfortable with using a different address than my own if I were to move to Detroit. Is it legal to do that?

...whatever the case, time for me to do some car insurance research. 

I'm saving up to house hack and live in the suburbs of Detroit with my mom. With prices going up all around, I recently spread my house hunting reach to include Detroit. 

Then, just last night, my dad pointed out that car insurance is higher there than the suburbs -- and anyone who lives in Michigan knows our state's premiums are much more insane than elsewhere in the country as is. 

I already pay around $260 a month with an address in the suburbs, including a clean driver discount and discount for having a car with premium safety features. 

But that could easily double if my address becomes a Detroit address, and that insane expense could easily make a Detroit investment pointless, depending on cash flow. If I were strictly investing that'd be one thing. But conventional loans generally require at least a year of occupancy. 

Wanted to share this as an example of the many factors to consider when planning to investment in real estate. 

Do you house hack in Detroit? I'd be interested in hearing what that's like for you! 

http://wdet.org/posts/2015/09/21/81534-curiosid-why-is-detroit-auto-insurance-so-expensive/ 

Thank you so much @Hannah Wilkinson. And Keith, yes, I was referring to Detroit proper. I live in the suburbs and prices are rising so I'm opening my reach to include the city. Thanks for sharing the information!

What are the best neighborhoods in Detroit in your opinion, and why?

Say I own a duplex and rent the other half out. How do you prepare for tax time over the course of the year? What documentation and data do you hold onto to share with the accountant? 

You're legally required to report rental income to the gov, right? ... What tax form do landlords use, and is it different when you live in the multi family property yourself?

Thanks @Jeff Brower :)

Here's my plan. My first home will be a multifamily residence (duplex to quad) with a loan in my name. I live there for the two-year minimum. (Doesn't it officially count as an income property after that?) Then my boyfriend and I get married. I move out of that home and we move into a multifamily residence that he buys with a loan in his name. 

At that point, we've taken advantage of the low money down option that owner-occupied residences get. But then what? Whether we stay with the two multifamily properties and just get our own single family home, or we move into another multifamily residence, how will we get a loan if we both still have loans in our names? I guess I'm asking, once I've occupied my multifamily for two years and we've occupied his multifamily for two years, how do we move on from there? Is it even possible to take out more loans in our own names without having the initial loans paid off? 

I don't really want to go too far into investment. I think I'd be fine with us keeping our W2 jobs and having two rental properties on the side. Just wondering how we'll get our actual single family home once we've invested in the first two multi-families.

Thank you Flavio. Never heard of them. Will have to look into that.

Thanks to all of you. Great points you made about it all coming down to renting to responsible adults.