All Forum Posts by: Felipe Ocampo

@Jim BrownIf you find one let me know. I would also be interested in finding a good handyman.

@Jamie Cruce Good luck. Check out the Analyzing tools for checking out if the flips/properties are worth while. Also, if you become a Pro member, you can watched all the old webinars which have been a great learning tool. At least for me. 

@Brandon Hall Thank you very much for your answer. How do they determine the improvement ratio of the property? Also, do you have to pay the "depreciation recapture" of 25% if you do a 1031 Exchange?

Welcome @Stacie C. I am a new investor as well and BP has been great. Keep listening to the podcasts and reading/learning as much as you can can. There are a bunch of free digital books on amazon that are complete free. Also, the webinars here are also great, but you need to become a Pro member. Good luck!

@Matthew Saskin and @Jerry W. Thank you for your responses. So basically you don't get as much with a tax deduction as you would with a tax credit. Do you get a tax deduction for the full amount of the mortgage interest that you pay or just a percentage? Also, how are the deductions based on depreciation calculated? Are they a percentage of the property value? Are these linear or exponential depending on the age of the property?

What exactly are the tax benefits from buying a rental property? How much money should I expect in tax benefits/tax refund from my investment property? Is it a percentage of the interest rate paid? Are there any others? I am trying to get real world numbers. Thanks in advance!

In addition, you mush live at the property or have the intent to live there for at least one year. 

Lenders usually look at a few different things:

1. Credit score: The information varies, but it looks like you need a minimum of 620.

2. Debt to income ratio: They need to make sure that you can actually afford to pay the loan. This is how much you owe in credit cards and other debt(including the mortgage that you are applying for) divided by your monthly gross income. The FHA debt to income ration is around 30%: which means you could just qualify for a mortgage of:

$20,000/12(months)=$1666.7 income per month x 30% = $500 per month mortgage

3. Down Payment: 3.5% of down payments plus closing costs

Here are a few more things: http://www.biggerpockets.com/mortgage/fha-loans/

Hopefully that information helps.

@Davon Ruffin-El Welcome. This is a great resource. Make sure you listen to both podcasts and go through the Forums. They are a great resource. Also, if you have any specific questions, feel free to post them. People are great at answering and helping out on this site. 

@Duke VangDo you have any money saved up? How is your credit? Do you have family and friends that could help you with a down payment? Do you have a stable job?

If I was you, I would look into getting an FHA loan for your first duplex. That way, you only need to put down 3.5%. You will have to pay PMI which is an insurance on your mortgage since you will not be putting down 20%, but it is a great way to get started. You can live on one of the units and rent the other one out to help you pay the mortgage.