Newbie Crossroads, rent again, first buy or start flipping?

Question

Devan Mcclish · Answer

@Diana Luna why don't you house hack. Find a duplex or triplex or quad and live in one and rent out the other units that way you live for free, potentially have an additional source of income, get experience as a landlord, and you can say your $900 a month for something else, like a down payment for another home

Paul Timmins · Answer

@Diana Luna

Welcome.

Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info. Here you will meet wholesalers who provide deals and rehabbers (cash buyers).

Two Great reads, I bought both J. Scott The Book on Flipping Houses,  The Book on Estimating ReHab Costs  http://www.biggerpockets.com/flippingbook

Consider checking out HUD homes for small multi's owner occupied gets first crack.

Download BP’s newest book here some good due diligence in Chapter 10. Real Estate Rewind Starting over

http://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/brandonatbp/file/real-estate-rewind-a-biggerpockets-community-book

Good Luck

Paul

Justin Stamper · Answer

House hacking all day! It is on my list of things to do this year!

Godspeed on your trip to pre approval/approval. Its exciting crossroads to be at!

Diana Luna · Answer

Account Closed, yes I am all over the place :) but thanks for the advise, will do that

Diana Luna · Answer

@David Lopez & @Heather DeGeorge thanks a lot for the good info and support

Heather DeGeorge · Answer

I agree that 1) getting a pre-qualification would be a good idea; 2) getting to a local REIA for good insights; and 3) finding a multifamily and living in one will be a good way to get started.  Even just a 2-family.  But make sure that your mortgage rep runs the numbers for all of that or let's you know how to calculate what price-point you can target to see if that's even do-able.  If you don't know about vacancy rate, etc. I would learn all of that so you can understand what they're talking about.

But in most of the country right now, it will be cheaper to buy than to rent.  If buying a place that is a multifamily and living in it would reduce your outgo, that would only help you longer term.

Also, run your credit report and see what's keeping your score down.  Late payments are usually the biggest hit.  Stick stuff on autopay as much as possible.

Diana Luna · Answer

@Sandy Thomas , I live in Orlando, Fl and sadly $900 is not a super great budget, specially if renting. I will follow your advise and get pre-approved :)

Diana Luna · Answer

@Sandy Thomas & @Devan Mcclish, both great points, many thanks!

Sandy Thomas · Answer

Diana, you should reach out to a local mortgage lender to have them pre-qualify you for a mortgage.  That way, you would have a concrete budget to consider as you explore purchasing a home. Or you might find out now that you do not qualify, which can save you some heartache later.

If you know someone who is willing to loan you the money to purchase a home (private money lender), explore that, too.

Then, with your budget in hand, start looking in your target area.  Your lender can probably give you a referral to a local Realtor who would be willing to work with you to tour homes.

If you see a property in your price range and target area that you feel would be a good fit and investment, buy yourself a house!  If you don't see anything that you think works, consider continuing to rent as you save money and work on your credit.

By the way, in my area a $900 per month mortgage payment could put you in to a nice home in a decent neighborhood, perfect for first time homebuyers.

Good luck to you!

Newbie Crossroads, rent again, first buy or start flipping?

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