Newbie from Las Vegas, NV

[Cory DeGuzman]

Hello BP community! new to the community here. I'm 22 and extremely interested in becoming an investor. Currently, I'm making somewhat good money working in the casino industry as a dealer, but I know I don't want to be working for someone else my entire life. I'm in a bit of a predicament here: I've been reading a bunch of forums over the past 1-2months that all suggest buying a multiplex as a good first investment. I can live for free, pretty much, while keeping my current job, and getting income from renting out the other units. that sounds wonderful, I thought- if only I didn't have a fiance, 9 month old baby, 2 cars, and 3 dogs. Currently, I'm renting out a 4/3 house and have gotten roommates to keep my living expenses low. It's been working out perfectly thus far, having my rent down to $300 split between my fiance and I. My lease is up next October. My plan was to continue renting here but, in the meantime, buy an already, fully, occupied multiplex as my first investment. That'll give me experience as a landlord, cash flow, and income to put aside for necessary repairs / a downpayment for my single family house for my family. then I ran into another problem: I wanted to use an FHA loan for the multiplex, but that would require me to move my family into one of the units. The multiplexes in vegas are all in run down areas and i do not want to put my family in jeopardy. we will have the funds for an FHA loan by the end of summer, but do not have the funds for a conventional loan. TLDR I'm stuck in between buying a multiplex or a single family home as my first investment property. if there is an investor in Vegas that wouldn't mind taking a young, enthusiastic, passionate, entrepreneur-to-be under their wing, I would be willing to work as hard and efficiently as possible to learn the ropes from you, for the sake of my family's future well being. Thank you all so much for reading. any suggestions and advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Bob Okenwa]

@Cory DeGuzman

Welcome to BP and congrats on taking the 1st steps towards reaching your goals by getting educated. I understand you do not want to, nor should you, house hack in a rougher part of town and jeopardize your family's well-being. Conventional loans can go as low as 3% with some lenders for a primary residence although the fees and interest rates will reflect that lower down payment. 

Have you considered using down payment assistance for your primary residence purchase? They'll help you get in a home with little to no money out of pocket. Not sure what your household income is or how expensive a home you're looking to purchase, but you should check out the State of Nevada website for more info: http://housing.nv.gov/programs/FTH/Home_is_Possible/. Maybe with the DPA you can find something in the nicer area of town to house hack.