Buy small personal house to be able to buy an AirBnb or just get one house?

[knight_01]

I've been divorced for about three years now. After the divorce, we sold the house and split the proceeds. I took a job on the other side of town that I wasn't too sure about so I didn't buy a house and watched as Covid blasted the prices through the sky. Turns out the job was a soul killer and I was out of there after two years. Recently, prices have pulled back about 10-15% in Austin now and I'm thinking of buying.

In the time since the divorce, my 14 year old son needed more guidance from me and his mom was at her wit's end, so I took 50/50 custody of him and changed rentals to a place closer to them. I was still unwilling at that point to move back to the same area because I hate running into little old ladies who are judgemental. We also have a 12 year old and 9 year old.

I live just outside of his school district and it is a pain in the ass to drop him off at school.

So I'm considering moving into his school district. I am thinking of buying a house in that area even though I'm not super enthusiastic about it.

There's two homes for sale that have piqued my interest. One is a very nice home in a pretty neighborhood that's about 15 minutes away from his mother. The other one is one street over from my ex wife. It's not as nice. It is on the street with starter homes whereas my ex wife's house is not a mansion but a responsible step up from the starter home strip in the neighborhood even though the outsides of the homes are all comparable.

So if I get the starter home, I was thinking of getting a second home in the center of the city where there's fun things to do but the schools are atrocious. It would be a decent AirBnB opportunity and I would stay in it when I'm kid free and there's not a whole lot of demand. The place is a tiny cottage that has been remodeled and updated on the inside.

Choice 1. Buy the nice gated community home in my kid's district and live in it. When the kid graduates, rent the home as a nice single family home and move into the city where I'd rather live.
Choice 2. Buy the starter home and buy an AirBnB property. Use the AirBnB property when I'm kid free.

Any thoughts or questions would be great. I'm currently single and pay in the 35% tax bracket.

 

[goodknightfl]

I don't think it will be much of a financial choice long term as both home would go up in value rather than the one bigger one. Personal thoughts, if you are going to use the air bnb fairly often and you can work out rental schedules where you keep rental use up, (am assuming you will have some kind of rental service handling it for you. so it won't be a huge personal time burden.) Probably will be a great way to go. you have near by personal time runaway place, that largely pays for itself. Starter home is plenty big for you and sometime your son, and likely cheaper to keep up.

 

[UCFloridaTech]

I've been divorced for about three years now. After the divorce, we sold the house and split the proceeds. I took a job on the other side of town that I wasn't too sure about so I didn't buy a house and watched as Covid blasted the prices through the sky. Turns out the job was a soul killer and I was out of there after two years. Recently, prices have pulled back about 10-15% in Austin now and I'm thinking of buying.

In the time since the divorce, my 14 year old son needed more guidance from me and his mom was at her wit's end, so I took 50/50 custody of him and changed rentals to a place closer to them. I was still unwilling at that point to move back to the same area because I hate running into little old ladies who are judgemental. We also have a 12 year old and 9 year old.

I live just outside of his school district and it is a pain in the ass to drop him off at school.

So I'm considering moving into his school district. I am thinking of buying a house in that area even though I'm not super enthusiastic about it.

There's two homes for sale that have piqued my interest. One is a very nice home in a pretty neighborhood that's about 15 minutes away from his mother. The other one is one street over from my ex wife. It's not as nice. It is on the street with starter homes whereas my ex wife's house is not a mansion but a responsible step up from the starter home strip in the neighborhood even though the outsides of the homes are all comparable.

So if I get the starter home, I was thinking of getting a second home in the center of the city where there's fun things to do but the schools are atrocious. It would be a decent AirBnB opportunity and I would stay in it when I'm kid free and there's not a whole lot of demand. The place is a tiny cottage that has been remodeled and updated on the inside.

Choice 1. Buy the nice gated community home in my kid's district and live in it. When the kid graduates, rent the home as a nice single family home and move into the city where I'd rather live.
Choice 2. Buy the starter home and buy an AirBnB property. Use the AirBnB property when I'm kid free.

Any thoughts or questions would be great. I'm currently single and pay in the 35% tax bracket.

-Verify rental policies (short term / long term), some HOA/COAs have restrictions.

-Check the rental markets for both... Look on Zillow for rent prices vs sale prices. The ratio can differ significantly per market.

-Homestead the property with higher $ valuation change/increase potential... That delta can be ported to your next future homesteaded property in FL.

-If financing is needed, talk to a mortgage broker for available loan products and rates... Rentals typically don't qualify for conventional financing. I've been successful buying homes w' conventional loans, living in them while renovating, then moving/renting without any changes to the loan.

 

[DaShuckster]

-Verify rental policies (short term / long term), some HOA/COAs have restrictions.

This seems like a no-brainer but you'd be surprised how many investors don't check this out in advance. My daughter got a great deal on a condo in downtown Reston VA (near a Washington DC metro line) because the idiot investor who purchased it had to turn right around and sell it again after discovering the HOA did not allow him to make a business out of leasing it out.

 

[UCFloridaTech]

I've been divorced for about three years now. After the divorce, we sold the house and split the proceeds. I took a job on the other side of town that I wasn't too sure about so I didn't buy a house and watched as Covid blasted the prices through the sky. Turns out the job was a soul killer and I was out of there after two years. Recently, prices have pulled back about 10-15% in Austin now and I'm thinking of buying.

In the time since the divorce, my 14 year old son needed more guidance from me and his mom was at her wit's end, so I took 50/50 custody of him and changed rentals to a place closer to them. I was still unwilling at that point to move back to the same area because I hate running into little old ladies who are judgemental. We also have a 12 year old and 9 year old.

I live just outside of his school district and it is a pain in the ass to drop him off at school.

So I'm considering moving into his school district. I am thinking of buying a house in that area even though I'm not super enthusiastic about it.

There's two homes for sale that have piqued my interest. One is a very nice home in a pretty neighborhood that's about 15 minutes away from his mother. The other one is one street over from my ex wife. It's not as nice. It is on the street with starter homes whereas my ex wife's house is not a mansion but a responsible step up from the starter home strip in the neighborhood even though the outsides of the homes are all comparable.

So if I get the starter home, I was thinking of getting a second home in the center of the city where there's fun things to do but the schools are atrocious. It would be a decent AirBnB opportunity and I would stay in it when I'm kid free and there's not a whole lot of demand. The place is a tiny cottage that has been remodeled and updated on the inside.

Choice 1. Buy the nice gated community home in my kid's district and live in it. When the kid graduates, rent the home as a nice single family home and move into the city where I'd rather live.
Choice 2. Buy the starter home and buy an AirBnB property. Use the AirBnB property when I'm kid free.

Any thoughts or questions would be great. I'm currently single and pay in the 35% tax bracket.

What decision did you arrive at?

 

[UCFBS]

This seems like a no-brainer but you'd be surprised how many investors don't check this out in advance. My daughter got a great deal on a condo in downtown Reston VA (near a Washington DC metro line) because the idiot investor who purchased it had to turn right around and sell it again after discovering the HOA did not allow him to make a business out of leasing it out.

Renting-a-room 'out' kinda 'under-the-table' still happens. I know, I did that myself ... in a condo, in Reston, VA just a couple of years ago.

I'm 'bumping' this thread because I'm curious if anyone has been looking at the 'micro-housing' industry. I'm buying a second home in Huntsville this year, and looking at just getting land and dropping down a micro-house instead of a bigger modular, and then will expand later. It all depends on if I can get close enough to a water main, even if I still have to put in a septic tank.

I've always been a big fan of small condos, and wish we had more <<1,000 sq ft housing options with reduced cooling, especially if they are well insulated. I have no problem living in even 500 sq ft, and did so when I first married almost three decades ago. Most of the ones I've looked at are no cheaper than the modulars that are much larger, and just as well insulated.

Although bonus points if you can find one with a steel frame or some other approach. And yes, I've looked at container homes, still mixed, especially in the wet SE US.