All Forum Posts by: Benjamin Barredo

thanks @mike wood

Hello,

I'm doing my homework and soaking in my first real estate investment book "The Book On How to Invest in Real Estate With Little Or No Money Down" and a question comes to mind. 

You find a fixer-upper, bit how do you know it's a great deal without knowing what it is worth? 

I know part of that answer is analyzing the property but one must also know the worth of similar homes in the neighborhood. Where do I go to get that information? Is there a website? Do I hire am agent (I'm not financially there yet)? 

Help a brother out, please.

where will you be living? 

Thanks a lot. This information is making sense of things though being a bit uneducated on them leaves me with a few questions still. 

After starting this forum @jeff brower I read about "house hacking" with a VA loan, plus a FHA (is that the low down payment loan?) and that it can be used for a multi unit home. Plus, if I only live there for a year that there are stipulations of getting out of raising there and even using another VA loan to purchase more real estate.

Very exciting stuff. 

I didn't think about the fact that the cash flow generated from the rentals would count as income on new loans, butt makes perfect sense. 

So I have yet to own a property but have a personal goal of either buying and holding a cash flow rental property by year's end. I just need to get that credit score up a little more. I'm about there

Anyway, I am a veteran and I make a decent middle class salary at my full time job. I don't plan to use the VA loan for my first buy but that's another topic. I only bring this up to give you a little insight as to where I am, where I want to be, and how you can help me get there by providing your knowledge in your answer.

What I want to know is, after listening to a podcast with Bill Allen who had only been investing for a few years and now owns five rentals, how does a person finance five properties? Can you take multiple home loans out at a time? Is it the ability to show loan providers the other properties are being paid down? Does owning investment properties change a person's ability to gain multiple loans as compared to a person buying for residential purposes? 

@Dustin Fisher

 I agree. After bouncing around on this site, downloading a few free books, and other things, I believe that I can get the same education on here that I would get for the $200 3 day seminar.

I'm calling them tomorrow and getting my money refunded for sure. Then I'll use that money to buy the books suggested above.

Hello, Everyone

My name is Ben. I am not a real estate investor. I have never owned any property. Currently, I rent a condo from my ex-boss and friend who, at 27, owns 2 homes - this condo being 1 of them. 

I am a Manager / Chef working for a barely middle-class salary in the Healthcare industry. I have worked as a full-time, hourly paid employee for all of my adult life (I am 35 years old) and most of my teenage years. I've worked for a salary for a little over a year now but I digress. I'm tired of working so hard for so little. 

I want to live debt-free and stress-free. I want to eventually work for myself. I want to leave my daughter with a legacy, but in the meantime pay for her education and retire at an age when I can still enjoy it. 

I joined BiggerPockets because I know there is no "Get-Rich-Quick" pill out there. I know that with the right education, guidance, and fortitude, I can get out of investing in Real Estate as much as I put in. 

The move to join this community is my first step in the right direction. I look forward to getting my education while meeting possible mentors and friends who will help me on my journey to financial freedom. 

BTW, the term Financial Freedom I stole from a Seminar hosted by Than Merril and Financial Builders. It was a free 2-hour event that was actually put on to sell me a 3-day, $200 dollar educational seminar where I hope to actually learn something. I don't expect to get a "get-rich-tomorrow" plan out of it but I do hope to learn about the world of real estate investment. Does anyone on here know about Than Merril and his Seminar? What are your thoughts on using the 3-day course as an educational opportunity? I know he also has his own investment firm that is willing to finance start-ups. Being a guy who is still building his credit, that could be nice - using someone else's money. Anyway, any thoughts on the Financial Builder Seminar's from Than Merril? Would I be better off using BiggerPockets as a way to learn? 

Again, I look forward to meeting everyone. As I navigate the website, read articles, listen to podcasts and watch videos, I'm sure I'll have a lot of questions. Look for them in the forums and other places. 

Thanks

Ben Barredoon