All Forum Posts by: Daniel Kim

@Drake Moser Congrats on your graduation. For me personally, I just had to get over the fear of losing money by just biting the bullet and diving into my first deal. Did I make mistakes? Yes. But I learned along the way... Yes you can wait to find a mentor but to be honest no one is going to hold your hand through the entire process. Best wishes, hope you join some REI groups, network, etc. and find some great deals in Des Moines and surrounding areas.

Normally I would say always buy your own primary residence first and near where you live so you can experience the whole process (buyer's agent, inspections, appraisal, escrow, seller's agent, insurance, etc.) but easier said then done it pricey coastal markets.

I know you said there will no problems with your mother-in-law but I have learned to never mix family (or friends, co-workers, etc.) with money.

I think you would want to research the property taxes of the suburb you are looking to buy in. Illinois is notorious for high property taxes. You'll probably need to file a nonresident tax return in Illinois but that should not be that big of a deal.

Where you are located and whether or not you can/want to self-manage would make a lot of difference. Do you want to be hands-on (STR and even LTR will require more effort on your part) or just rent out the home and not think about it?

Also was the home was bought in cash or do you carry a mortgage? 

I lived a few years near San Pedro and worked there a year. Although the Point Fermin neighborhood is one of the best neighborhoods of San Pedro it is still LAUSD schools. A family who can afford to rent a (2bed? 3 bed?) 2500 sq ft home is probably want to send their kids to PV, Torrance, etc. schools. Also I just did a search for your size homes for rent on Zillow in the Point Fermin area and nothing came up. San Pedro is kind of a far drive from everything with only one way (the 110) out so you would really need to find renters who work in the area.

Probably a question that experts would ask you is: are you looking for cash flow or appreciation (since it's very hard to get both)?

Plano (and other popular suburbs) seems like more appreciation while most of Indy might be cash flow. Dallas and Charlotte are like markets that are too big to generalize the whole city.

It's tough to know without knowing your whole financial situation. The lender for my second property required my income to be high enough to be able to make both mortgage payments. They did not give me any credit for what I thought I could get as rent for the rental property. As long as your income is high enough and you also have the 20-25% down for your second property, you can hopefully find a lender who can make it happen.

Thank you @Donte Handy I already did so but just thought I'd reach out to the BP folks as well.

Welcome to BP and congrats on the recent marriage!

Us coastal residents in overpriced markets probably cannot expect positive cash flow from our primary residence. Depending on whether you rent a room out (not sure if you want to do that if you are married) you just want to be able to make the PITI and hopefully bank on appreciation.

I don't know if I would have been brave enough to do out-of-state investing without buying first where I live. The process is stressful enough as it is but being a plane ride away would make it so much worse.

Good luck and hope you find something you like!

Hello all, would anyone be able to refer me to a portfolio lender/asset-based lender who services the Wilmington area? I am out-of-state but looking to buy a long-term buy and hold in Elsmere. I have the 25% down payment and high credit score but am afraid I have maxed out my DTI. Thank you in advance.

I don't know what kind of loan you're looking for but I've used JoAnn Merrill of Finance of America (Seal Beach branch) for two loans so far. She was great.

I just looked up my last preapproval letter. It has a "Loan Amount" and a "Purchase Price". I'm assuming the 225K on your letter is the purchase price. Your downpayment outside of the letter would probably need to be shown as proof of funds (your checking account etc. wherever you are getting the funds from)...