All Forum Posts by: Alexis Birmingham

Hello Everyone! 

I am going to be buying a multi-family home to house hack. I spoke with a loan officer and am in the process of being preapproved for a loan, but I have some concerns to resolve before moving forward in the process... I know the intelligent investors here can help me far more than any internet search.  

For some background information: I am 23, live at home with my parents, and have never bought a home. My plan was to use an FHA loan to purchase a duplex or triplex. The loan officer I have been speaking with is someone who reached out to me after I filled out a form on realtor.com. I had originally just wanted to ask a professional the questions that I had, but the loan officer said everything sounded good and we could go right on getting me preapproved. Amongst my excitement, I uploaded all of my W-2's and tax forms. Now, I just need to sign the preapproval disclosure forms before proceeding. With that being said, I do not want to simply get a home loan from the first person who reached out to me.

I am wondering if I should be getting prequalified for a loan instead of preapproved? I want to talk to more than one lender, but I do not want my credit score to be impacted by having it checked multiple times. Also, what happens if you apply for a loan on a mortgage company website? 

Furthermore, the loan officer I spoke with would like to have me approved for a conventional loan with 3% down to purchase the home rather than FHA. I know this would save money on mortgage insurance, but are there any other benefits? I am planning on living there for a year and repeating the process.

Lastly, any advice for finding the best mortgage lender would be extremely helpful! 

Thank you SO much in advance! 

Hello! My friend and I believe we have found an excellent property for a wholesale. It is a very large, abandoned property, located across from a river on a main road. It has been in the same condition for 10+ years. After some research, we have found the phone number of a family member of the owner of the property, who has recently passed. We are looking further to find the current owner of the property. 
Neither of us have any wholesale experience, nor have ever been in a real estate transaction. My friend and I are looking for any guidance regarding the approach we should take when contacting the owner; i.e., what questions to ask them, what information to disclose about ourselves 

Furthermore, should we have a real estate attorney in case the owners are interested in selling? 
Thank you so much in advance!