BiggerPockets

Hello....I'm another noobie. Trying to figure out if my goals and ideas will fit in here. Everything in my life has changed over the last five years due to the diagnosis and treatment of a chronic illness. I have worked all my life towards eventually owning my own home, but now that I am not allowed to work, that dream will never come to fruition unless I get creative. So here I am. Looking for someone to partner with, since SSA forbids me to own a home I don't live in. I have a great deal to offer, with an extensive background in informational research, grant writing, and education. I am hoping to find someone who can help me get what I want, while I help them fill their pockets. I hope that doesn't sound too crazy??!!

Hello and welcome to BiggerPockets! Interesting post - I don't understand why the SSA says you can't own rental property. There must be a long story to that one! Does that mean you can own your own home if you live in it?

When you say "help me get what I want" do you mean to obtain home ownership?

What kind of income source do you have now, besides SS income?

When you say you are not allowed to work, does that only mean a conventional job, or one that requires certain physical activity.

The reason I'm asking, is that with your great background, you could probably do well in real estate investing by doing alot of the research that is entailed in finding potential sellers through marketing, surfing the web and other ways that don't require physical labor.

You could go on Craigslist and contact landlords who are trying to rent houses, but would prefer to sell them. Offer to lease purchase their home, or get them to carry the financing for you. Make lower offers until you get one that is motivated enough to work with you at the lease rate level you need.

Anyway, give us some more information and we can help if possible. Good luck, Mike

Thank you both for the info. Both of you have great ideas, and Mike, you really have my situation pegged. As to the SSA question, you can own a mansion, as long as you live in it. However, you are not allowed to have rental properties and still collect SS. My medical condition prevents me from working a conventional job with conventional hours. There may be days when I could sit in front of the computer for endless hours, or have an excursion of some sort, but then the next day I can't get out of bed. SSA allows me to earn up to $600 additional per month, and anything beyond that is deducted from my benefits...and while some might consider holding on to that limitation not the best solution, it *is* necessary because jobs and finances can come and go, but my illness isn't going away, and will only be antagonized by the stress of worrying about being homeless. It can take up to two years to get re-instated....involving lawyers and drama I just can't take. My other option is HUD and welfare, which has already approved me. I just don't think I want to have my rent paid by taxpayers while I still have a mind that works great and should be able contribute to society in some way. In the five years I have lived with this problem, I have not taken that option. It has been a real struggle, but I know I am doing the "right" thing.

In June my son turns 18 and is scheduled to join the military. Once he leaves my benefits will be reduced accordingly, and I will not be able to keep the house I currently rent...which is fine, because I want to move back to Orange County anyway. I would like to be able to purchase a small one bedroom condo in the Seabridge community of Huntington Beach. They are a property that has a history of selling well, and would be a good investment for anyone.

I have a "nose" for distressed properties...however, I don't want to live in one. LOL. I have been living in a hundred year old house for ten years, and it is just too much work. (Although I dare say it is the only one around with an Italian marble mosaic bathroom floor that I did myself at a cost of $22--did you know that some companies that tile mansions in Malibu throw their "scraps" out and will flat out give it to you if you haul it?) I also have worked as a graphic designer, and my artistic eye sees the possibilities. I would like to be able to find someone who is an owner/agent and needs some leg work done--finding the property prospects, assessing/designing/supervising the cosmetic aspects for the flip, hostessing and promoting the open houses (I make a killer brochure). But rather than getting paid in money, I'd like to find someone willing to work something out with one of those little ground level Seabridge condos.

I am an educated (Pepperdine University), 46 year old woman who wants to live a quiet life in an area where her neighbors are at her peer level. Unfortunately, my health has made that goal unrealistic....well, for anyone but me, maybe. Heh. And that, my new friends, is why I am here.

Hi HB,
welcome to the site in addition to the welcome I want to say hats off to you. As an Investor I am always looking for property and recently starting looking in Orange County. So you write Grants?? Have you searched the Grants log? I will almost guarantee you may find some that would fit your situation especially with your son leaving for the military(Good Luck to him also). Check out the grants and send me an email. Debbie

Sherrill,
I wish I was active in your area, but am not. You sound like an interesting person who has alot to offer. I checked in Realtor.com - it looks like condos run from $259K for 500 SF on up to in the $800's. Debbie had a good idea about grants. Maybe you can find a way to get some of the cost abated. Good luck, Mike

YES YES YES!!!! These are exactly the types of things I had in mind. I have "some minimal experience"...I found my ex a condo in pre-forclosure for $95K here in Ventura simply by watching the homeowners fees notices pile up on their door...he sold it a couple of years later for $295K (yeah, I got bupkiss on that). However, I *know* I have very much to learn. That is why I took the step to join this site. I am reading posts and following discussions. When I get brave and/or confident enough about an idea I will post. But until then I am trying to get the "vibe" of the industry, and the needs of investors so that I may "package" my skills accordingly. I have also attended tax-lien auctions at our courthouse steps...things like that, all working towards this end. When I *do* join a REI club, I want to join one down in that area that I want to live. And I agree, I may find that I am able to make enough money to more than satisfy my needs and not make myself sick. And THAT would be the ultimate.