All Forum Posts by: Evan Barney

Hi I am a little confused on how a home equity loan works. Based on my understanding, the loan amount you can receive is based on the amount of equity present in a property. This is found by subtracting the remaining Loan Amount from the Fair Market Value of the Home. (Feel free to correct me if I am missing anything) My confusion comes from this idea. How is Fair Market Value determined? I know it is calculated during an appraisal process. However, I am unsure of the details that go into the appraisal. I would assume that the value is gated by comps, but I do not know to what degree this affects the final value that a lender comes to. Please let me know your thoughts. Happy holidays!

I am a 21 year-old college student looking to begin my journey into the world of real estate. As a full-time student I have almost zero income, but I am fortunate enough to have received a substantial amount of inheritance money from a relative (lets say around $50k). Obviously, it is difficult for me to acquire a loan given my circumstances and I have been trying to determine the best way to use this money to get started in acquiring rental properties. 

Since I have been experiencing difficulty finding owner financing, an idea I had was to use this money to purchase a home outright for cash. One house in particular I found for $45,000, in good condition, that should rent for between 650-700 a month. Once rented I would then plan to take out a home equity loan on the property to reclaim hopefully 70-80% of my cash. Based on my calculations, taking into consideration taxes, loan payment, repairs, vacancy, CapEx, and insurance, I should be able to cash flow somewhere between 200-250 every month.

I would love to hear anyone's thoughts on this course of action. Am I missing any important details or considerations? Is this a viable strategy or am I better off pursuing other avenues? Any advice is greatly appreciated! Happy holidays!

Hi My name is Evan and I find myself in an interesting predicament when it comes to financing. I am a college student, and have no income whatsoever. However, I am fortunate enough to have a significant number of assets in the form of stocks and bonds. Obviously I could liquidate these assets, to free of cash, but I would rather leave them untouched. Is there any specific type of lender/loan I could pursue? How can I leverage these assets? If anyone has experience with this type of situation I would appreciate your advice. Thank you!

Thanks for the reply Michael! If the option is available, would you simply recommend purchasing such a property with cash to save on the hassle? Or are the advantages offered by the 203K mortgage worth the extra work? 

Hi everyone, I am looking to acquire my first deal for a fix-and-flip and a realtor recommended I check out financing through a FHA 203K Mortgage. I was wondering if anyone might be able to share their individual experience regarding this type of loan option? Are there any pitfalls/ contingencies/information I should definitely be aware of before considering this route?

I appreciate any advice you may have! Thank you for your time!