All Forum Posts by: Jay Orlauski

@Mark Nolan  and @Brian Eastman Excellent information - thanks for posting that!

I'm trying to get as many people as possible from our weekly meetup group to attend -  I think it would be great for them - I am looking forward to it - There is going to be a lot subjects I'm interested in - I'll be like a kid in a candy store!! 

Here's a piece of HELOC advice - stay far far far away from Tri Counties Bank - they do not know what they are doing and lied several times to us over the course of our loan process - also took close to 6 months to close even though we always provided them with exactly what they needed immediately - they had no sense of urgency on their end and had conflicting stories about why things were being held up. In the end I swore I would never work with them ever again. They never met one single deadline and ultimately payed our car off late even though they swore that it would be sent several days prior to close, it was never even sent - luckily it was the only late in the etire history of paying off the car so they backed out the late fee and fixed the records to reflect on time payment - working wit Tri-Counties was an absolute nightmare. Sad part was - I was warned in advance not to work with them but did anyway.

@Jonathan Rosario - I started investing by so called "house hacking" - I bought a duplex and lived in one side while renting the other - I had student debt - but used the money I was saving on rent to help pay it down faster - come to one of the meetups and I'll be more than happy to talk to you about it.  I still house hack to this day  - it makes a lot of sense and allows us to buy investment property with a low down payment. Toughest part is finding one you're willing to live in that still cashflows. 

@Ed Lopez Yes- I am referring to an FHA loan - it is how I got into all of of my multifamily units. Then I usually refi out of it so I can use it again later.

@Mandy Silveira  - Thanks for the kind words - we love having you there - See you at the next meetup!

@Ed Lopez  - Your welcome - You can find out more info at this link: 

http://www.meetup.com/Fresno-Deal-Seekers-Meetup/

SFH are a good start - easy to get into for cheap - I like Multi-families myself - that way if one tenant doesn't pay the rent, I have other rents to fall back on - also - one insurance policy vs two or three - and one tax bill vs two or three - plus you can usually pick up a multifamily at less $$ per door than a standard SFR - you can even get into one for as little as 3 1/2 % down cause you can owner occupy on unit for a year - so many options for you - best of luck to you - hope to see you at a meetup.

Hi Ed - Welcome to Bigger Pockets. Your are in the right place for learning about real estate - there are many very helpful people here. I've picked up a lot of good information from the posts, blogs and podcasts. Be sure to set your keyword alerts for whatever subjects your interested in as well as a Fresno keyword alert. I would also encourage you to check out any of the REIA groups in the area including our local Fresno Deal Seekers meetup - we get together once a week to network and talk about real estate, partner up, share deals, and analyse properties - its a great place to meet other investors, make great contacts and ask questions in comfortable no pressure environment.

What kind of deal are you looking to put together? Flip? Wholesale? 

I look forward to hearing more about your venture into real estate... have a great evening!

@Mark Senecal I have found this video to be very educational - it discusses the advantages and limitations of the self directed IRA how to use it for real estate investments. I had a hard time getting any good info about it and she breaks it down pretty good in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z15aanCJ4sA

hope it helps

@Samuel  - never heard of this type of program before - we have some similar types of grants here but I am in California. Sounds like if you are willing to live there for 5 years than it could be a good deal for you - you will have a roof over your head and tenants paying down your mortgage - and 20k  grant doesn't hurt either.  

but getting $1000 vs $1600 is a big difference so check the area and see if the rents in the area justify that. You can always compare it to you existing rent and see if it is more or less - if less than great! if more - you have to come to terms with what you are willing to pay and wether or not the "squirt" is going to be there in the future. 

by the way - I think you just invested a new slang term for "equity"  - I am now going to refer to equity as "Squirt"  - I like it - 

Another exit strategy could be to take some 'squirt' out of it and then 'lease to own' it to someone else for above market pricing.  Still collecting income , but none of the responsibilities of a landlord. 

Let us know how it works out for you -best of luck to you!

Well - it definitely had good start - but after it defines "equity" it completely veers off  into into other stuff and never comes back around to real estate  - but very good to know that they at least broach the subject - would be great if there were more educational information for kids like this that was able to keep their attention.