All Forum Posts by: Elealeh Fulmaran

Start with the core four: investor-friendly agent, lender, property manager, contractor. Network hard in local meetups and online groups, ask for referrals, then trust but verify with short trial jobs. Treat it like a light interview plus a test drive: What types of investors do you serve? How do you communicate and how often? Can you show recent results and references? What happens when things go wrong? Do you align with my buy-and-hold criteria and timelines? One good teammate often connects you to the next; keep what works, replace what doesn’t, and build systems around the winners. You’ve got this—pick one role to fill this week and run a small test.

Great start and solid savings. For BRRRR in Strawberry Mansion, verify everything on the ground: walk comps, confirm ARV with a local investor-friendly agent, and get a GC to scope roof, foundation, plumbing, and electrical since photos lie. Keep first rehabs light, pad your budget with contingency, and aim to be all-in around three-quarters of conservative ARV so the refi works. Stress test rents with a PM, run numbers at higher rates and taxes, and avoid unpermitted work. Analyze 50+ deals fast, make offers on the few that fit your buy box, and let deal one be a proof of concept, not a grand slam.

Congrats on the beachside condo win at 22—that's huge. Treat it like a business from day one: confirm HOA rules on rentals, insurance requirements, and any minimum lease terms; price using true market comps and seasonality. List on Zillow, Apartments.com, and HotPads; syndicate through one platform to keep leads organized. Use written criteria, verify income and employment, run background/credit, and call prior landlords. Collect an application fee, require a deposit before move-in, and set up online rent. Document condition with photos, handle repairs fast, and keep reserves untouched. If you plan a HELOC later, keep clean books and steady rents to make the refinance easy. You're off to a strong start.

House-hacking a duplex with assistance is a strong first move: lock the terms you’re offered, then underwrite like an investor. Confirm market rents with a property manager, verify separately metered utilities or price in the fix, and budget for vacancy, maintenance, and reserves so your buffer stays intact. Screen tenants hard, set clear house rules, and treat your side like a business with written processes. Walk the block at different times, check flood maps and insurance, and get a thorough inspection. If the numbers still work at today’s rate, you’re buying time, experience, and optionality.

Love it. For your first BRRRR, keep it simple and data-driven: pick a stable rental area, stick to light cosmetics, and make sure your all-in (purchase plus rehab) targets roughly three-quarters of ARV so the refi works. Get preapproved now, define your buy box, and line up your core four team, starting with an investor-friendly agent and a property manager. Always get inspections, build a contingency into your rehab, and verify rent comps with your PM before you offer. Analyze 50–100 deals fast, make offers on the best few, and let the first one be your proof of concept, not a home run.

Use that FHA to house hack now and turn it into your launchpad: target a small multifamily or a single-family with an ADU/bedrooms you can rent, focus on a property that needs minimal work, and verify it cash flows with conservative rents; keep your 4K as reserves, cut living costs by renting rooms, and bank every extra dollar for 12 months; while you stabilize, underwrite deals weekly, build your core four (agent, lender, PM, handyman), and learn one funding path like DSCR or private money so you can refi or buy the next door when your savings and equity allow; simple, steady steps beat waiting for perfect.

Interview like a pro and read between the lines: ask for specifics, not sales talk. How many doors do they manage, max capacity, and who’s on their team? Show me the software they use, sample owner reports, and their maintenance process, markups, and approval thresholds. Walk through their tenant screening criteria, rent-setting strategy, and exact eviction workflow step by step. Verify fees in writing and what’s included, plus takeover costs and inspection cadence. Ask for two investor referrals with similar assets and confirm stories match. Red flags: vague answers, Excel-only ops, slow communication, and “we handle it” without details. If they can’t scale with you, keep looking.

Cash-out refi can work—just be surgical. Only pull what you can redeploy at a higher yield than the new payment, keep solid reserves, and stress test DSCR at today's rates. If funding cap-ex, focus on upgrades that quickly raise rent or cut costs, and compare a HELOC's flexibility to a full refi. Watch seasoning, closing costs, and prepay penalties; sometimes a partial refi on your best asset or a HELOC on built-up equity is smarter than resetting every loan. Rule of thumb: if it doesn't boost cash flow, resiliency, or velocity—skip it.

You're ahead of the game at 20, so channel that boredom into skill stacking and deal flow: tighten your buy box, underwrite 5 to 10 deals a day, and post your criteria to your network so leads come to you; master one financing path (DSCR, HELOC, or private money) and prep docs now; optimize your current duplex with a simple revenue bump test and expense audit; build your "core four" team in your next target market and do virtual tours weekly; line up a small BRRR-style playbook so when your savings hit your target you can move fast—your job now is reps, relationships, and readiness so next summer you're executing, not learning.

Document everything and get local help fast: hire an Ohio eviction attorney or your PM’s attorney to serve the proper notice for nonpayment and lease breaches, then file as soon as the statutory cure period ends so the court clock starts; in parallel, offer a written cash‑for‑keys with a firm move‑out date, walkthrough, and condition photos to reduce damage risk; change exterior locks only if/when legally allowed; keep communication in writing, stop informal deals, and line up turnover vendors now so you can re‑rent quickly once you regain possession.