All Forum Posts by: Craig Curelop

Daniel Krenz - I recommend you talk to a few lenders to see what they can do for you. If you let them know your situation, some will get creative and work with you. Also - purchasing in Boston itself is going to be tough with not a lot of initial capital. Have you thought about a little bit outside the city? Maybe Quincy, Dorchester, or any of those areas? As for the mentor - I highly recommend you go to www.biggerpockets.com/meet and have coffee with a 4-5 investors each week. Talk to them and keep in touch. Over time they will become your mentor. It's tough to ask investors for money if you have no deal to show? I recommend trying friends/family who know and trust you. If that's not an option, save your pennies until you have enough for that down payment.

Ronald Kielmeyer - I highly recommend you educate yourself on flipping by reading J Scott's books on flipping houses and estimating rehab costs as well as listening to any flipping related podcasts. It also helps to do your first flip with your own money. This will give you some experience and give you something to show to potential investors.

Michael Dunn - you should have a look at Amanda Han's book - "Tax Strategies for the Savvy Real Estate Investor." You should be able to take similar write offs as last year. However, the interest write off on your mortgage will be a little less as you pay more towards your principal on each payment.

Hey Alex Ko - Welcome to BP! The short answer to your question is it depends on where you plan to invest. If you're in LA, I would imagine $20k is not going to get you much. I would save up for a house hack. Purchase a multifamily property with 3.5% down, live in one unit, and rent the others. This typically has the largest cash on cash return and is a great way to get started.

Nick Causa - Doing a cash out refi on your personal residence via a HELOC shouldn't be a problem. People do that all the time. If you're looking to get some additional capital for a down payment, I highly recommend you take this route as it's usually pretty cheap capital. It's always best to talk to a few lenders and ask them any questions you have. They have answered all of my stupid questions without making me feel dumb :).

Grant Hamlin - what is your plan for real estate? If you are looking to flip houses, whole sale, become an agent, or have a JOB in real estate, it might make sense for you to stop pursuing he degree. However, if you want to be a little more conservative and purchase buy and holds, then a college degree may help. Here's why. A college degree will give you a higher paying, more stable W2 job. You will be able to save significantly more and obtain financing a lot easier. That isn't to say, you can't flip a few houses or be in real estate with your W2? My advice would be to finish your undergrad and you then have the option to work a steady W2 OR go out on a limb and take a stab at wholesaling while always having the option of returning to a steady job.

Ali Khan - there are tons of ways to get involved in real estate. It all depends on what your goals are. I highly recommend you start by reading the Ultimate Beginner's Guide, start listening to the podcasts, and attend the webinars. From there you can figure out what you like and focus on that one aspect. Don't spread yourself too thin. That's how a lot of people fail.

Ralph E. - It is a good idea to save as much as you can so you have the capital to put down the 3.5% yourself. Check out the book Set for Life. It goes into how to do that. However, if you do wish to partner with someone, have then wire you the money 2-3 months before you plan on providing a lender with your bank statements. They typically only check your last 2 months worth of statements. This is something that one of the lenders I talked to suggested, so I don't think it's crazy uncommon.

Tristan Russell - assuming you're in a position to make a 3.5% down payment, I highly recommend you house hack the next place you live. I can promise, you'll get richer by owning rather than renting and trying to figure out which market is the best. There are deals to be had in every market. You just need to look hard and diligently. If you're goal is to build wealth and become financially free over the next 5-10 years, buy a property or two every year and you'll be well on your way. Buy when the market is down, but when it's up, and buy in between and you mitigate a lot of market fluctuations with your overall portfolio.

Ryan Moore - with a partner you can do more deals in a shorter amount of time. You have two heads to think about problems rather than one. Also, you have someone to share the risk with. Like they say 50% of one deal is better than 100% of no deal.