Category: House

Housing Hack To Gain More Income

Posted on 2022 by in House, Real Estate

Did you know that you can generate revenue by renting out a part of your house? By doing this, you can equalize the amount of your mortgage and expenses related to owning or buying a house. This strategy is called house hacking, which can be a good real estate investment. You’ve probably heard the word duplex? How about the triplex? Or even fourplex? These are some of the terms used by other people, but it basically means owner-occupied multifamily property, and they are a great option as a housing hack.

House hacking can also happen in single-family houses by renting out some parts of your home like the basement, garage, or bedroom. There are so many ways to house hack, especially if you’re the investor, you live in the property, make few renovations, and put it on the market after a few years. It can be wise to spend a few bucks buying a small multifamily house to live in one part and put the other part on lease. This is making money, and you can even live for free in that property.

There are other benefits to doing this. Some real estate investors and newbie homebuyers can have experience being a proprietor with a low cost of money and risk. You can get valuable experience doing tenant management, reviewing and making rental contracts, lodger screening, and even advertising the vacancy on your property. 

Dealing with repairs, renovations and unexpected issues within the house will happen eventually. The experience of successfully managing and owning a property can be advantageous for you in the future. If you’re looking for financing and lending opportunities from small to big banks, then being a landlord can increase the possibility of getting larger loans. Besides that, the income you’ll be able to get each month from your tenants will be able to help you pay your mortgage, and you can use it to invest in another property as well if you would want to.

Owning a house and being able to generate income from it can be an exciting job for some. You can do almost whatever you want without hearing complaints from anyone. But purchasing a house is not for everyone. If you don’t have enough money to pay for your mortgage or your main job doesn’t support you well financially, or if you are in a lot of debt, you will want to organize your budget first. Spending your money to buy a house is not just like buying candy. You’ll need to think it through, get it together, research, and finally decide on purchasing.

Before you go into the world of homeownership, you should have the confidence and knowledge to do so. You can even do real estate investing and start making it easier for you to hack your expenses. Most people think that this industry is only for old, rich, and bored people. However, anyone capable enough can enter the real estate industry no matter what age they are. You just have to be smart about it, since house hacking can be a great strategy if you have the proper knowledge.

Big multifamily properties can be an excellent option for house hacking. However, small multifamily land is a perfect choice because your tenants can help you cover all expenses and more when they pay each month. Finding or talking with a real estate agent can help you look for properties, or you can also look through websites like this one. Both ways can be fruitful. It just depends on what you’re looking for and how fast you want to find a place.

It’s best to keep in mind that you’re searching for small multifamily properties, ones that have two, three, or four units. Focus on finding duplex, triplex, and fourplex. As a newbie, you wouldn’t want to mess with big multifamily properties with five or even more units on it. The whole real estate world changes when you choose to play on the bigger side of things. That involves more risk and can cost you in the long run. Taking it slowly is be a great way to begin.

Property hunting is the most exciting part for most homebuyers. It’s like window shopping and previewing what you’re going to buy. The place’s location is also important to consider since it’s easier to find tenants if it’s in an easily accessible location. While checking out some houses, you should also remember, not all are created equal. Still, don’t worry about the smell, dirt, or the not so attractive houses, because those are the cheapest and easiest to get. Just a little work on them, and you’ll be able to see the beauty of that property again. Just don’t overdo it. Don’t buy a house that would waste your money and time.

If you end up buying a house with many things to fix, you’re basically digging your own grave in the real estate world. Both money and time are precious when starting out hacking. You will want to keep your cash flowing in the right direction. Be wise and be observant of what properties are the best ones to get, even though they’re a just bit messed up. Kitchens are often the part of the home that can make or break a home, especially if they have stone countertops (more information here).

Loans can be helpful if you can’t provide the needed hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase them. The main issue is that with any loan, you will need to supply a certain amount of money to get the loan, known as the down payment. This is the primary way to fund your “housing hack” property purchase. 

Many great things can happen and can change your life once you purchase a small multifamily property wisely. Remember, this can be a great real estate investment strategy if you play your cards well, but you need to do the math first to be sure it will be profitable. Calculate all the expenses and subtract them from how much you can get from renting out the property. 


Ways to Save More Money during Quarantine

Posted on 2021 by in House, Save Money

The COVID 19 pandemic has caused a major setback to so many people. Some companies had to let go of some employees. Therefore, so many people lost their jobs. Also, schools got closed. Thus people who got jobs from schools also had limited means of survival.

WHO has made strict measures to control the spread of the virus. Quarantine is one of the measures together with social distancing. The worst part about all these is that no one saw it coming. Thus so many people are suffering as they try to adapt to the new normal.

To keep up with the situation, we need to learn how to save more money. There is no guarantee when the quarantine will be over, so you need to be ready. I will give you some of the ways that you can practice. Let’s help each other during this pandemic.

Start a Savings and Budget Account In the House

We all have to start somewhere. You do not necessarily have to go to the bank. Since you are on quarantine, consider having a piggy bank in the house. Engage members of the family to make use of the budget account.

Start a savings account by calculating how much you have and what you spend. Minimize luxury costs to create more money. Track the expenses every day so you can know where exactly you spend too much. Add the extra amount to the savings account.

Save The Money Sent On Meals

Before the pandemic, most people went out to eat. Most restaurants are longer in operation, and people have to eat from home. Please take it as an advantage by saving that money. You can start a cooking schedule and follow it.

Ensure the food on the schedule is affordable. Get the ingredients from a grocery store and cook a small amount. Encourage the household members to go on a diet. It is both healthy and saving of costs. You will then serve a small amount of food and keep the rest for tomorrow.

Minimize Unnecessary Subscriptions

This method mainly applies to those who have a limited income or none. Before the quarantine season, most people had so many subscriptions. I had up to eight of them. When I accounted for it, I realized how much I spent.

Most subscriptions are not basic needs. We can, therefore, do without them for a while. Alternatively, you can go for the lower package in the list. Save that money until things go back to normal.

Limit the Way You Use Your Resources

Some resources result in high bills. Sometimes they cost a lot of our income. We need these resources in almost everything we do, from house chores to work. However, we can limit their usage.

Minimize the amount of water utilized in the house. Avoid staying up late with the lights on. Encourage your household members to use water sparingly. Electricity and water are some of the resources we use. Therefore, minimize others as well.

Growing of Crops

Buying food is expensive, especially if you have to get the groceries from somewhere else. During this quarantine season, make use of the free time by growing food. By practicing farming, you will also be exercising because of the amount of work it has.

When you grow extra food, you will use it for food in the house and sell the extra. It will be saving you money and generating another source of income. Save on labor by asking for help in the garden from your family members.

In Conclusion

Save more money during quarantine by making use of the extra time. There are so many things you can do that will help you in saving and making money. Since you never know how long it will take, you should start practicing as early as now.


Advantages And Disadvantages Of Housing Loan

Posted on 2021 by in House, Loan, Real Estate

Most of the people who require a loan modification program are having their homes foreclosed on. This leaves them without any source of income, thus the need for a housing loan modification program. However, some disadvantages need to be considered before taking up a lender loan modification program. The fact that the lenders are ready to lend you money despite your financial situation should be enough reason enough for you to think about using this option.

 The first and the most obvious advantage is that you can easily qualify for a loan. You must comply with all the terms and conditions put forth by the lender, which you cannot do if you fail to have a decent credit record. Your credit score will determine the amount of money that you can borrow, the rate at which the loan will be approved, and the duration for which it will be valid. The homeowner must comply with all these conditions or face disqualification.

 Also, there is an allowance provided by the federal government for the homeowners who were unable to pay the original mortgage dues. If this is the case, the lender must give you an extension, which must be applied before you default on the loan. This means that you will be given time to catch up on the outstanding amounts. The extension will be valid for as long as it takes, extending as much as six years. Your lender must inform you about this before approving your loan mod. If the loan mod is not complied with, the Federal Housing Administration will foreclose on your house.

 Homeowners must also abide by specific rules or regulations. The first one is that they must always be living in the house. This implies that they must also occupy the place during the tenure of the loan mod. They must also submit all the necessary paperwork to ensure the success of the process. They must again hire a licensed financial advisor who will help them in every step.

 Installments must repay certain programs under which the homeowners can pay off some percentage of the principal and the remaining amount. This is known as the balloon method. This method has been beneficial in lowering down the financial problems faced by homeowners in the present-day. Besides, they can choose between the traditional and the modified payment scheme. They must carefully evaluate these two options before applying for the program.

 When you apply for the loan mod, you must comply with certain eligibility requirements. For this, you must fulfill the eligibility criteria imposed by the government. You must also keep your credit history in good shape. Apart from that, you must have steady employment, which is not short-term in nature. As a result, if you are self-employed or are working on a part-time basis, you can also apply for the loan mod.

 Those homeowners who have an income lower than the median monthly income can also apply for the loan modification program. They need to ensure that their monthly income does not dip below a fixed minimum level. The same condition is applicable for borrowers who are suffering from mortgage arrears. The condition also applies to those homeowners who have a bad payment history. But in the case of the borrowers who have a history of late payments, they must also prove that they have made the monthly payments.