Best methods to acquire first investment property ?

Starting Out
5yFollow

Best methods to acquire first investment property ?

Stedman Valentine
Rental Property Investor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2020 · 7 posts · 12 votes

How’s it going ?

My name is Stedman Valentine currently located in Columbus, OH i’m in the very beginning stages of my R.E journey. I’m looking to connect with all R.E professionals, with hopes of  receiving feedback in regards to ( Leveraging Credit, Finding the right lender, Loans, Investment strategies etc) overall I’m currently in a good position with a down payment, credit, debt-income. I’m just not quite sure where to start !?!

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, helping me get one step closer to my ultimate goal of obtaining my FIRST investment property!!

Thanks !!!

10Reply
52 views

Most Popular Reply

Ola Dantis
Multifamily Syndicator · Houston, TX · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
5y

The amount of times OH or Columbus has popped up on BiggerPockets as a market to invest in even just in the last week is a lot! 

So, you did not have a market issue and possibly a ton of options to invest in something. If you are unable to HouseHack, find a 3 bedroom to buy and maybe rent out rooms to friends depending on what stage you are in your life. 

As they say, there are a 100 ways to invest in real estate!

5Reply
See this reply in the discussion

42 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Alexander Szikla
    Real Estate Agent · New York City · Member since 2020 · 818 posts · 639 votes
    5y

    You want to assemble key players of your team. 1. Lender 2. Lawyer 3. Insurance 4. Inspector 5. Agent

    Take this time to conduct "interviews" and learn about the people, the process and the opportunities. 

    0Reply
  • Ola Dantis
    Multifamily Syndicator · Houston, TX · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Marc Rice:

    @Stedman Valentine

    Your first deal won’t (and doesn’t have to be) a grand slam deal. It will get you in the door and help you feel more comfortable on your 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc deal. There are a lot of great resources in Columbus. Good luck on your journey!

     Yes, with real estate investing, I think the proof of concept is much more powerful because when you just take action and see some results, you are better positioned to find those grand slam deals!

    0Reply
  • Dan M.
    Real Estate Agent · McLean, VA · Member since 2015 · 11 posts · 6 votes
    5y

    Step one is to get a good local lender. I've had issues closing with big banks and online budget lenders. If you find a good agent, they will likely have lenders they like working with. As far as properties go, it would be great to get a multi-family and house hack, but don't limit yourself. You could find a good single family, live in it for a year to get the benefits of an owner occupied loan, then repeat in a year. It also gives you the opportunity to make improvements while you live there.

    1Reply
  • Lee Yoder
    Rental Property Investor · Lebanon, OH · Member since 2016 · 220 posts · 228 votes
    5y

    House-hack! Especially if you don't have kids yet. It takes so little capital to get started and you can work on the property while you live in it. It's even better if you can house-hack a 2, 3 or 4 unit instead of a SFR.

    0Reply
  • Clayton Silva
    Lender · CA · Member since 2018 · 635 posts · 393 votes
    5y

    I think most people generally recommend house hacking (have someone live in spare bedrooms that you know and trust that will pay you to do so). You could also look into ADU's (accessory dwelling units) depending on the property. Best of luck!

    0Reply
  • Stephen Knapp
    Real Estate Agent · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2014 · 8 posts · 7 votes
    5y

    As other members have stated, house hacking is a powerful strategy for a first-time investment. Vacancy risk is lower. Access to owner occupied financing. If you have never owned before, it is helpful to deal first-hand with the maintenance issues and learn the quirks of the property before moving on and outsourcing to a property manager.

    My other $0.02, narrow down your search to one or two neighborhoods. Real estate is local. Plan out your criteria: price point, rent to price ratio, employment centers, etc. and start whittling down to your target neighborhoods. Then go out and look at every property you can in those sub-markets, be it a listed property, a property for rent, a garage sale, estate sale, etc. When you see the right property, you will know it pretty quickly. If the property is not for sale, talk to the owner, you never know what you'll learn.

    Best of luck with your search!

    0Reply
  • Brian Thomason
    Member since 2020 · 15 posts · 7 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Carlos Ptriawan:

    I bought all my rentals from multiple sources: MLS Software , Roofstock, Turnkey Company,Real Estate Agent, wholesaler. They're all good sources with plus and minues.

    But before I buy, I already know what's the cap rate and expense/capex,risk that I face so I plan this accordingly. You need to have a plan and do cost simulation and work with the same lender that will benefit you.

     Where can you get the data on the cap rate and expenses / cap-ex risk? 

    Is this all just something you learn over time or is there a database or accurate source for this info?

    0Reply
  • Forrest Faulconer
    Real Estate Agent · Oklahoma City, OK · Member since 2020 · 471 posts · 462 votes
    5y

    @Stedman Valentine

    You have the finances and the will so just figure out what you want to invest in and what you’re comfortable with and start down that path. Hook up a good agent in your area, find some properties, run the numbers, and make an offer.

    1Reply
  • Carlos Ptriawan
    Member since 2019 · 7k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    5y

    @Brian Thomason : for market cap rate, there's excellent market research for both SFR market and Multifamily/apartment.

    1Reply
  • Salvatore Lentini
    Rental Property Investor · Doylestown, PA · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    @Stedman Valentine. I’d be happy to connect and provide advice or financing.

    0Reply
  • Brandon SturgillBusiness Member
    Real Estate Broker · Columbus, OH · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    @Lisa Knapp Everything we do is in house...proprietary. Local data, no influence or blurred lines between things all popular sites do with MLS data...for example, an SFR is 1-4 units for most every MLS and Zillow and the likes...but this is crazy...an SFR behaves very differently from a 2-4 unit property on every level...so, anything that is publicly available is largely inaccurate. The objective is to entice, plant tracking cookies, gather your information, and sell it...the information is just the bait.

    Being new does not mean that you can't look at data and start to learn the market...here is an example of a great place to start with basic market data: https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

    937-979-7000
    Realize Multifamily Group11 Review
    View Page
    2Reply
  • Ray Lin
    Rental Property Investor · MS · Member since 2018 · 67 posts · 46 votes
    5y

    In my opinion, the best deals I have acquired are from foreclosures. You go to the courthouse and bid. You win or lose and you have an answer right away. Also, HUD homes is another source for discounted properties. Fannie mae or freddie mac are also great sources. Everything is online and your can do a lot of research from a digital device. I'm always looking and from time to time a foreclosure shows in my target market.

    0Reply
  • Clayton Silva
    Lender · CA · Member since 2018 · 635 posts · 393 votes
    5y

    @Ray Lin that's interesting, I've wanted to get into foreclosures in my target market as there are quite a few of them. Do you have more information regarding buying foreclosures?

    0Reply
  • Will Clark
    Investor · Nashville, TN · Member since 2019 · 95 posts · 65 votes
    5y

    For optimal risk/reward, if you have an income on the side already, I would look at house hacking. Even if it is not as nice of a house as you would want to personally live in, you only have to live there a year, and it is a safe way to jumpstart your investing and gain some confidence. Connecting with an agent would be best for that. For investment property, I would hook up with either a turnkey provider (there are usually a decent amount of those in midwest markets like yours with good rental yields) or get on some trusted wholesalers' lists. Hope this helps.

    0Reply
  • Matt Honeyford
    Investor · Rochester, NY · Member since 2017 · 206 posts · 175 votes
    5y

    @Stedman Valentine

    Owner occupied multifamily, that’s the best way to get started. It gives you a place to live. Teaches you how to manage tenants. Allows you to buy a large property, typically more than a single family, with a small down payment. And! 30 years from now you’ll be sitting on whatever your purchase price is plus 2% - 4% property inflation depending on the market (Rochester, NY is 4% for example over a 20 year timeframe).

    Good luck

    0Reply
  • Brian Thomason
    Member since 2020 · 15 posts · 7 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Carlos Ptriawan:

    @Brian Thomason : for market cap rate, there's excellent market research for both SFR market and Multifamily/apartment.

    Awesome! Do you have a link to any of these resources with the market research? It would be much appreciated.
    0Reply
  • Carlos Ptriawan
    Member since 2019 · 7k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    5y

    Burns Research and Berkadia market research is the best.

    0Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free