First time investor. 30k. What to do?

Question

Hello everyone! New to BiggerPockets. New to investing! Live in Massachusetts, 30 minutes south of Boston. Have 30k saved up. What should I do? Single famIly flip? Single family Rent? Multi-family 2-4 owner occupy? Any tips will be greatly appreciated!

Chris Boselli · Answer

Hi @Michael DeRienzo lot of good info on this thread so far, really depends on where you are in life and what your goals are. If you are currently looking at buying a house to live in you could look at buying a small multifamily to live in one unit and rent the others or even look at doing a live in flip over the next couple years (save up as you go and make steady improvements while living in the house). I was looking at the former before I ended up accepting a new job down by NYC, and now instead I have completely shifted to buying rental properties and flipping using all cash in Memphis, TN. Might be viable to look at some other cheaper markets in the Midwestern US, but again depends on your current situation and goals. I was initially looking for a personal residence to double as an investment, now I am waiting on that until I move back up to the Boston area in the next few years and want to start building a solid cash-flowing rental portfolio in the meantime. David Greene's book on long distance RE investing is a good start for how to approach out of state markets like this, just my two cents. Good luck!

Lien Vuong · Answer

No flips - not enough $. Best way to get equity and gain experience is to buy an owner occupied multi where you can leverage your money, reduce expenses, and build equity.

Inventory is on the rise post COVID lockouts so you should see some nice fit in the market esp given historical low rates.

Philip Ganz · Answer

@Michael DeRienzo  I would buy a 3 to 4 unit in NH on the MA border with a FHA 203k loan.

Mason Hickman · Answer

@Michael DeRienzo

Owner occupying a multi-family would be my suggestion. What area are you looking to purchase in? You shouldn’t use all $30K for down payment, so you have some reserves. To have $10K left in cash, you’re looking at a max purchase price of ~$550k assuming you can get FHA without many repairs needed.

Richard Viau · Answer

Hi @Michael DeRienzo,

There are so many benefits to owner occupying a multi family property. Tenants will be paying the bulk of your mortgage payments, you’ll build equity via principal paydown and appreciation, more tax benefits of owning vs renting, and you’ll be living very subsidized and able to save that much more cash to roll into your next investment property.How deep into the process have you gone? Have you squared away your financing with a lender and met with a real estate agent to help guide you through the process and outline expectations? I’m happy to assist anyway I can. I’d definitely recommend having a conversation with a loan officer so you can understand your financing and what your preapproval limits would look like.

Kerry Noble Jr · Answer

30k......find some creative financed deals....stretch that 30k out......

Colleen Mullins · Answer

I did my last flip using hard money and cross collateralized the equity in my current home. Had to pay lender fees at closing of about 10k. Bank loaned 90% of repair costs (the other 10% was on my Home Depot card that had 0% interest for 60 days) I paid off Home Depot at the closing to the new buyer and walked away with a profit.

Sean Sweeney · Answer

@Michael DeRienzo the biggest challenge with a flip is the buy and renovate costs.   Your best bet may be to add some equity with a multi-family.    I’m an investor and real estate agent in Braintree, MA if you want to connect.   I’ve done a handful of flips and own about 20 units.   Getting stared is key and working to build some equity.   The flip will need a down payment and then money for renovations.  Will you do the work or have to hire people to do it?

Sean

Michael DeRienzo · Answer

Credit score “excellent” no debt.

First time investor. 30k. What to do?

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