All Forum Posts by: Adam Chmielewski

Hey John. I am pretty familiar with where you are located... I actually went through the duplex you recently sold on N Wisconsin St when it was for sale. I searched for you on here and could not find you but as BiggerPockets does, you always find people you wouldn't expect. 

I am still new to REI with only a house hack behind me, but I plan to continue to invest in Northern OZ county. I am sure our paths will cross at some point!

I sit here as a newer member and one of the first things I was told on the forums was "be aware of the blind leading the blind". I thought nothing of it until time went on. Now I can see it though. I am far from experienced, so at a entry level, I feel the information talked about is much of the same. I use to think people like Jim K, Joe V., and Jerryll N were jaded and brash, but now they are the posts and discussions I enjoy they most because they tend to contain REAL knowledge. When I see things from Marcus A and Jay H, I know they did their research. Most things now feel like copy and paste responses to the same topics worded different ways. there are very few thought provoking and informative posts left that actually provide helpful information to the general readers.

That being said, what is the new investor to do in times like these? Like Marcus A. said, RE is mainstream and over saturated. I just recently closed on my first property. Am I 100% sure that I did everything right? Nope. Am I excited for everything I have and I am going to learn? Yep. Am I already looking into acquiring another property? Yep. Do I recognize that it will take years if not decades to establish a portfolio while also taking the risk of going bankrupt along the way? Of course. If I listened to everyone on BP, I would have bought nothing and learned little. Which I feel has strayed from the original intent.

I now crave the in person, hands-on learning from a trusted source. The question is whether BP still provides that.

As far as the credit card goes, I recommend looking into a "Secured Credit Card". When I was 19 and had no credit, I applied for one of these through the credit union I bank with. It essentially functions as a credit card but the difference is that you pay the "Credit Limit" beforehand. I.E. when setting it up, I put in 500 dollars, and it therefore had a $500 limit. 

Probably not the best explanation but as always do your own research and see what you can find. It helped me build my credit up enough to qualify for standard credit cards relatively quickly. 

Thank you both! @Marty Johnston you put it in a way that helped me connect all the dots. That makes a lot of sense with the info I was receiving from banks. I was just not looking at it the right way. @Brock Mogensen I will definitely reach out to some people and see if they know any good brokers. That sounds like a good option for my current situation.

Thank you everyone for your information I will definitely look into the lenders mentioned. @Brock Mogensen would you be able to explain briefly what makes a good mortgage broker? Lending is probably the area I feel the least comfortable in right now so I am trying to learn what I can before I make any decisions. Right now, I simply want a preapproval letter to start making offers on properties off the MLS. I may be just overthinking this...

Hey BP, 

I am slowly pushing forward on my real estate journey. My current "hurdle" is finding a lender. I say hurdle because it is something that I know is critical but is also very intimidating. 

I have a set criteria that I am looking for so it helps when talking to lenders, but I have not found anyone that offers what I need yet. I am currently looking for a duplex/multifamily under 300k just north of Milwaukee to house hack in. I plan to live there for over a year so I understand FHA is an option. Right now, I can afford about 5% of 300K as a down payment (while also maintaining cash reserves) so I am also looking for a lender that may do a portfolio loan close to those terms. I have less <10% DTI and a decent credit score.

I have called some local banks and all so far have only had arm loans without any other solid options other than the conventional 20% down loans. I was wondering if I am too far off with my expectations? If so, what would be more realistic? I was also wondering if anyone may have recommendations for a lender that handles loans close to what I am looking for in the Greater Milwaukee area? Any feedback is welcome as this is all brand new territory to me.
 

With anything new, there is always something to do. I just discovered BP in July and have fully committed to learning as much as I can. I have decent credit but not enough capital. Instead of settling for waiting for a year or two or five for the right time, I decided to set a hard goal of summer 2021 to aquire my first property. This pushes me everyday and keeps me motivated. I picked up a second job to raise capital and I am on track to have enough for a down payment on my target property. I am not saying that another job is right for everyone, but it was something I could implement to reach my goals.

On top of that, I am reading when I can and talking to locals in my area trying to network a little on the weekends. I am very clear with my timelines with realtors so their is no false expectations or them feeling like I am wasting their time. You never know where a deal might come from, so I hope can push luck in my favor

I am in the boat where I feel I do not belong, which is a different face of the same feeling of being stuck. I just remind myself its a lot easier to talk myself out of something than actually doing it. 

A key thing to also note in these descriptions also is the "essential repairs" part. That number (depending on the lister) is most the likely the money needed just to bring back the property up to code and habitable again. There is a very good chance you need a lot more money for nonessential repairs to make it "rentable". 

I was looking at some properties and I found one owned by the Secretary of Veteran Affairs (SVA). From quick research the owner of the property is transferred to SVA after a VA loan has defaulted. I cannot find anywhere the property is listed for sale. What does this mean about the property? The property currently looks uninhabited. Is there a chance it is for sale but not listed? Or is it a matter of contacting a realtor and seeing the status of the property? Any info would be helpful, Thanks!

Thanks for the info! I had the feeling that was the case and that makes a lot of sense. The length of time on the market definitely supports that Scott. Is it wise to stay away from short sales early on in investing, or is it all about finding the right person?