Starting out- Go big or go home?

Starting out- Go big or go home?

Pueblo, CO · Member since 2016 · 42 posts · 7 votes

Hi, we're going to be looking into investing in buy and hold SFR. Everythings approximated because I'm in the very first stages, as in deciding if we're really going to do this. But say we decide to bite the bullet. By the end of August we should have everything in order. About $50000 cash, decent credit and 25% DTI. Is it better to put the 20% down on one house (approx $180000), or 10% on two with the hopes of getting LPMI. Say we put 20% on one, leaving a 144000 loan at 4.25%, payment $708, tax and ins $200. Trash and water? 80ish. Rents for $1400, about $400 cash flow. Remember all estimates, numbers could be more or less. Now in theory say we do two at $180000 with 10% down on each, leaving 162000 on each at 4.5 (higher for LPMI). Payments would be 820 plus tax ins and utilities, bring it to $1100 each, rents for $1400. Leaving $300 cash flow each. So is two better than one? It it too much to start? More cash flow rules right? We aren't dependant on cash flow, I'm thinking college tuition or retirement, so setting ourselves up for at least 10 years in the future. Not opposed to selling when opportunity knocks or any other reason.

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Scott TrenchPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 6k+ votes
10y

Hi Michelle, 

I'm thinking that you should meet with a variety of investors and really start educating yourself on the ins and outs of real estate prior to going in on this investment. From a couple of comments in this thread, I question if you are as close to the reality of qualifying for conventional financing and ready to buy as you might think right now. For example, you mention you don't have a paying job right now. Do you have prior landlording experience? If not, you may find that you have trouble financing the properties, even with the sizable chunk of cash you have saved for the downpayment. Will you have a co-signer or income source that will help the lender out? I'd get on the phone with a few to make sure that you stand ready to purchase property right now. 

Regardless of whether you are presently qualified, I would begin absorbing lots of information on real estate investing. Books, the BP Podcast, etc. You need to be able to speak the language and understand the pros and cons of the different strategies, then make a choice about what works best in your personal situation. For example, my strategy of buying properties, managing them myself for several years, and once the cash flow grows to an acceptable level, outsourcing management may not work for you if you don't want to manage yourself. Or, you may want more or fewer units. You may find that you can't make those decisions reliably until you've soaked up many stories from many investors. 

I will punctuate by saying that if I could buy $200K in real estate in Pueblo, I'd be looking for as much cash flow as I could get. 

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  • Pueblo, CO · Member since 2016 · 42 posts · 7 votes
    10y

    Thanks Stephen! I was starting to question if we're not actually in as good of a spot as I thought we were.

  • Real Estate Professional · Atlanta GA · Member since 2015 · 615 posts · 225 votes
    10y

    The great thing about real estate is that it allows you to leverage money, people, resources.

    So yes, if you are on the leverage side I would use it to the fullest extent possible. 

    The problem with leveraging is doing it without knowing correctly what you are doing.  For instance someone who knows how to leverage can leverage 1M and make 5M.  On the other hand someone that does not know how to do it correctly can leverage 30k and lose it all.

    So the real question is not how nay can you do? But how well you are going to execute it.  In the end, getting money for the right deals is not  overly difficult.

  • Financial Advisor · Boynton Beach, FL · Member since 2015 · 833 posts · 798 votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Michelle Melchione:

    Heres the details : We bought our house with no money down 2 years ago using a VA loan. As of today there's about $100,000 equity. We are in the process of doing a VA cash out refinance (no closing costs except appraisal, no funding fee because he gets VA disability). It's a .65% lower rate, so to get $65000 cash out, and still have $35000 equity, our payment barely changes. On top of that each month, we have about $2000 extra after bills. If we use some of the money to pay off one or both cars, or one and refi the other, we can have closer to $3000. Also he's got a job interview thats looking promosing, that also makes quite a bit more, but I'm not counting on that. I can wait til next year to invest and just keep saving, to give us more leverage, or jump in soon and then worry about rebuilding the cushion.

     Get the equity out of the house and put it someplace safe. When the bubble bursts and home values drop, you'll be very happy to look at your investments and see that you still have your equity. The people who left the equity in their homes will be the people who have to wait years for home values to appreciate again.

    I set up a simple arbitrage. If a bank will give me money at 3.5%, I can dump it into an safe investment making like a first position commercial mortgage note paying 6-7%. It gives me the money to make my payments and I still have cash flow after that. The note is secured by real estate at very low LTVs.

    https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/7595/47603-you...

    Hope this helps.

    Tom Rutkowski

  • Investor · Schaumburg, IL · Member since 2016 · 34 posts · 14 votes
    10y

    I say go for the 2 properties.  However 400 cash seems lite for me.  Havev you considered day rental in a resort area that cash flow 10-20k a year total managed.  

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