All Forum Posts by: Blake Dowe

@Frances Buerkens Thanks for the info! I decided to not go for a HELOC after all... I met up with Mark Ross like @Eric Mcginn had mentioned (I actually have known Mark for a while and never thought of reaching out), he set me up with a great residential lender at KSB who helped me out with a low down payment option.

@Jake S. Thanks for the input, if I decide to move forward I'll definitely shop around to find the best terms before accepting.

@Tyler Bushey This would be on my 3 unit in Biddeford and through Northeast Credit Union. Do you have any suggestions on smaller banks or credit unions that are portfolio lenders and might not have as strict requirements, not just for HELOCs but for mortgages as well?

Hi BP! 

Much of what I've been researching has shown that the best way to prepare for the (potentially) upcoming market downturn is to save cash and open up lines of credit where possible. I went through the process of getting a HELOC and after the appraisal came back very low they offered me only an $18,000 Line with a variable interest rate moving with the prime rate.

I know I don't need to use the money just because I have the line of credit, but is it worth it to move forward with this even though in my market $18,000 won't get me very far?

Thanks,

@Zachary Whitfield After I graduated I got a job for a property management company that shares an office with a real estate agency. This made it possible to build relationships with agents/brokers while I learned property management first hand. If you plan to buy rental properties, having experience in property management can help you smoothly self-manage the properties and save you money on management fees, which really adds up especially when starting out.

@Leo Don That's a good point about the closing costs and PMI, I was hoping to have enough equity to cash out refi with the renovations that I completed. In theory that would give me closing costs back and enough left over to be very close to that 20-25% mark. But it would result in a higher interest rate that will cut into my current cash flow, so maybe it's not the best idea.

@Antonio Porta Definitely some good info! The Home Possible loan looks like a great option, especially if the PMI goes away once you have 20% equity. The only issue for me is with that loan you cannot have an ownership interest in another property. Good luck with your choice on FHA vs. Conventional!

Hi All,

My first property was a 3-unit house hack that I purchased through FHA with 3.5% down just under a year ago. I am now just about ready to purchase another multi and am having a hard time finding other low down-payment options to utilize.

Does anyone have experience with low down payment mortgage options for multi units for non first-time homebuyers? I am willing to move out of my current property to owner occupy the new one if necessary. One idea I've come across is to refinance out of my current FHA and try to get another one with 3.5% down, but I'm not sure how plausible it is to get another FHA Loan without an increase in family size or geographical job change.

Thanks!

Hi everyone, here's an update:

I spoke with the owner of the PM company again today and asked him a bunch of questions. Most importantly I asked him if building a real estate portfolio of my own while working the job would be alright. He said that several other people in the office have rentals of their own and that he helped them acquire the units! Sounds like a perfect job and hopefully my boss can even be a mentor! 

Needless to say I am putting in my two weeks notice at the sales job tomorrow.

Thanks for the tips everyone!

A few weeks ago I started a job as a sales rep for a small medical supply company, and I'm not crazy about it. Before I started this job I interviewed for an assistant property manager position, and they just offered me the job today.

My real estate goals are to be a buy and hold investor of small multi-family properties (30 units by the time I turn 30 years old), and the owner of the property management company has over 100 units and the management portfolio is over 400 units. 

I'm having a hard time quitting a job for a small company where I know and like the owner, to start as an assistant property manager even though I think that it could be a good career choice to help with investing/managing my own properties in the future.

I guess my question is... How beneficial could a job as an assistant property manager be to my investing future?

Hi everyone!

I'm a new investor in the Southern Maine area and am looking at a property with hopes of getting it through seller financing. 

On the tax sheet it says the property was sold to the current owner in 1981 for $0.00

Is the $0.00 a misprint? or does this represent that the current owner has no mortgage?

Either way I would assume that the owner does not have a mortgage because the property was purchased more than 30 years ago. I'm having trouble finding out a concrete answer on whether or not they have a mortgage and am wondering if anyone has any tips.

My backup plan is to finance the property through an FHA loan if I find that they do have a mortgage.

The property is 3-unit residential and I will follow up with my analysis if anyone would like to tell me their thoughts on that.

Thanks!