Can't wait to get going, but need some advice!

[Teighlor Melton]

Hey everyone, so I have been reading the forum for awhile, as well as a whole slew of financial blogs/websites/books etc. I really want to get started. I am a full time student and I work full time. And I am a first time buyer, I have some credit already being 19, with my car, credit card and braces payments. But I really want to do more. I want to build up while I am young, get a jump start. I live in Utah and honestly I would love a mentor from anywhere, I am just bewildered as where to dip my toes in first. I have a really good vision of what I want to invest in, and would love any advice you guys have, you can never have too much!

[Aaron Montague]

@Teighlor Melton

Welcome to BP. Starting young is a good thing. Make sure all your deals are winners and you'll be enjoying the fruits of investment sooner than most.

Here are 4 good ways to get into Owner Occupied (OO) properties.

0% Down:
NACA (https://www.naca.com)
VA Loan (http://benefits.va.gov/HOMELOANS/index.asp)

3.5% Down
FHA (http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/topics/buying_a_home)

3.5% AND Renovations
FHA 203k loan (http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/sfh/203k/203kabou)

5% Down
Homepath Owner Occupied

Not as cheap, but come with renovation options attached to the loan:
10% Down
Homepath Investment (SFH only)

20% Down
Homepath Investment (Duplex only)

25% Down
Homepath Investment (3-4 Unit Buildings)

Auxiliary:

http://203kcontractors.com/

Q: I like the concept of MFH investing, where should I start?

Short Response:

1. Eliminate your rent payment
2. Bring all deals to the BP community (and be humble when doing so)
3. Stick to the returns you want

Long Response:
Learn everything you can about multi family investing. Every day you should answer a few questions and write down several new ones.

The general theory is that you need to drive costs out of your life and/or add new revenue. If you live with your parents, and they don't charge you rent, good. I'd then start forcing yourself to put $500-700 away each month as a "rental" payment towards some real estate.

If you pay rent of any kind, to your folks or to another landlord, find a way to eliminate it from your life. My suggestion is to find a 3 or 4 family property that you can purchase. FHA loans are a good way to go, but be wary of the additional percentage points you have to pay each month as PMI. Homepath loans are great as they have no PMI. VA loans are even better, but require you to have served in the US military.

Run every deal you find through the BP community. Some of the responses are harsh, but they are eye opening. There are people on this site that have been buying and selling 4x as long as I have. When I find answers to my daily questions, I can almost always find the answers here at BP.

Last one for the moment: stick to your numbers. It bears repeating: stick to your numbers. If you want $200/month and a 12% Cash on Cash return for your investment, stick to that number. If you pick 12%, 9% is not good enough, nor is 11.7%. Make your offers accordingly.