All Forum Posts by: Artie Shau

Fellow investors,

I'm looking to attain my first investment property. I'm renting currently... I'm very interested in using a 203K FHA loan for financing the purchase, and rehab of a property that I would move into... and drive up the equity... eventually leveraging the increased equity to refinance & invest forward... or outright sell and invest forward.

Is it possible to find a deal that matches my house hunting criteria from a wholesaler, and use a 203K loan to do the purchase?  Wondering if there area any wholesalers that could weigh in.  Would this scenario work for a wholesaler?  I understand that there's a bid process with the general contracter for a 203K and I wonder if that would cause issues with the wholesaler's timing with the current homeowner in terms of how quickly they are commited to close by?  Perhaps $ could be put up as good faith?

Thoughts?

Welcome to the area Caitlin. Maybe will catch you and / or hubby at a meetup

@Chris Long great reply!

@Joshua Whitehorn I know you're not here yet but welcome to the STL! Very happy to have you. I'm in a similar place in my investment career - looking to acquire my first investment. I'm also looking to "house hack" with a FHA loan though I've got a family with 3 boys... so we're looking for more space than most duplexes would afford... we need more like a 3+ BR SF home...

For your FHA specifically... have you checked out the 203K loan? These are also FHA insured... but (this is gold for investors like us) you are able to finance the rehab costs of the project within the loan itself. There are restrictions in that you need to work with a licensed general contractor to bid the job... and some other hoops but it could be well worth the investment.

Here's the HUD link for 203Ks 

I'm interested in connecting with other investors in the area so feel free to reach out with any area questions... Maybe I can buy ya a beer when you get into town.

@Nathan Dehn I agree with Lance and Charlie Above.  From a textbook sense... we've got the fundamentals to check out...

- Is the population of the neighborhood rising or declining? Most city pops are growing but which are growing faster?

-Is there a source of jobs drawing folks here?

-How desirable is the school district?  A good school district will cause demand for housing for a long while.

More nuanced... there are aspects like

- Is there a key piece of info like a new Amazon distribution center opening or a Walmart opening?

- What is the "buzz" like in the neighborhood?  Is there an awesome restaurant and night life scene down the street?

I'm reading in the book "Building Wealth One House at a Time" that there's really no great, reliable way to understand the wide area numbers and trends by just looking at the macro level data... really getting to know neighborhoods seems to be key.  Recommend becoming a specialist on a few neighborhoods and expanding from there.

Hi @Nicole Austin. Welcome to the community, its great to have you.  I'm new too.

I recently read Brandon Turner from BPs book on buying real estate with low and no money down... seems like some of the options in there might work really well for you.  In particular, it seems like working with a private lender / hard money lender with a short term loan for the course of the flip might do the trick.  I believe there's places to connect with such folks on the BP community.   I'd love to learn how the process goes for you.  

https://get.biggerpockets.com/nomoneydown/

@Mackal Smith @Travis Rasmussen I'm interested in the same question as Travis.  I'm a new investor scoping out where I should make my first move on an investment property once I've saved enough capital (go-go Uber side hustle!)

I'm super interested in the AirBnB angle because it seems like you can generate significantly more cash flow than a traditional rental if willing to take on the extra management.  The big hurdle seems to be the zoning laws that are changing... with some areas frowning on AirBnB activities.

Hey Frankie,  since I'm currently just starting out my personal investing markets that I'm getting familiar with are in my general vicinity.  I'm looking at Pattonville school district... Bridgeton / Maryland Heights / Saint Ann.

I'm hearing that studying where the residency rates are increasing along with understanding which businesses are establishing / expanding can be a great source of insight for understanding where the housing demand will be.

Would love to catch you and some of the other local folks at a meetup sometime.

Appreciate the success story Jordan.  Inspiring to hear for someone starting out like myself, for sure.

Wow!  your after pictures are very inspiring... the house looks great.  I'm personally in the process of learning / planning my first real estate investment and also looking for where to move my family as we are currently renting.  I would love to live in a home that looks as great as this.

Loved to see the numbers breakdown to understand how a flip can work out.  Thanks for the post.  Saint Louis send its encouragement your way!