All Forum Posts by: Gabrielle E.

I was driving through my parent's neighborhood in Richmond, VA and I noticed a 3 bedroom, 1 bath, 1920 sq ft property with a For Sale By Owner sign in the front yard. I stopped to take a look around and I noticed that the property is vacant and it looked like someone is currently flipping the property. I called the number on the sign and spoke to the owner. She purchased the property in September (last month) for $80k, she flipped the property, and is now trying to sell for $175k. She seems motivated to sell, saying that she needed to sell the property yesterday and I'm the only call she's gotten about the property so far. I did some research on comps in the area and I can see that her asking price is too high based on numbers in the neighborhood. I'm wondering if this could be a potential wholesale opportunity where I could help this woman get the property off her hands by selling to a buy and hold investor within an accurate price range. Since the property is renovated, I'm thinking $155k is more accurate range based on market comparison but of course I would have someone take a look at the property to determine the true value. She may not want to budge much on price at first but perhaps as time goes on she may start looking to get the property off her hands quickly. This could potentially be my first wholesale deal if things play out in my favor. For example, I could do a double closing for $160k to a buyer and $155k for the seller so that I would profit $5k. The numbers may vary based on how much time has passed. The profit in my example isn't much but it could be a good learning experience and an opportunity to help if this woman gets into trouble trying to sell. Does anyone have advice on whether this is a good idea, ways that I can set myself up for success with this opportunity, or any insight on whether this is worth putting my time into?

I'm interested in buying my first owner-occupied rental property in 2016 using an FHA Plus loan as a way to house hack my way into real estate investing. I want to purchase a property using an FHA Plus loan because it has two loans: one that covers 94% of the home cost and another that covers the 5% down payment. Borrowers pay 1% of the sales price as closing. I plan to live in the property with two roommates who cover mortgage payments. Does this sound like a wise decision? I'm not sure I'm a fan of having a second mortgage on the home but I also want to use as much OPM (other people's money) as possible for my first purchase. Thoughts?

Congratulations, I wish you the best of luck!

@Upen Patel thanks so much for the response. I would definitely like to connect.

Hi BPers,

I recently graduated with a Master's Degree and I will begin work as a Human Capital Consultant in Vienna, VA next week. My life goal is to stop working and invest in real estate full time. After years of researching the topic (BP podcasts, books, online courses, etc), I'm ready to dive in. I want to use the capital earned from my job and an FHA loan to obtain a buy and hold owner-occupant property (live with rent-paying roommates) in one of the Northern VA cities. I can save up quite a bit of funds because I'll be living with my grandmother for a year to help me save money before I buy a house. I would like to be able to close on a property one year from now.

I have a few questions regarding my plan:

1. How much money should I save to buy my own property in Northern VA? (Making a 60k/yr salary, no school loans, and no rent payments for 1 year).

2. Are there any flaws in this plan or is there a better strategy based on the information I've shared?

3. Is this a good first step towards a career in REI?

Any other general thoughts or comments are welcomed. Thanks so much for reading and sharing your thoughts with me!

@Dmitriy Fomichenko thanks for the info!

@Sara Cunningham Thanks Sarah! How are you going about your decision making process?

@Jeff K. That sounds like a long commute that would wear on me after a while. I don't think the Baltimore area would be my number one pick based on the commute time 

@Adam M Schlabach I'm very familiar with the Rockingham County area. Nice to meet you :)

@Darron Stewart your advice on focusing on schools, commute time, and central location are definitely three key things that I needed to hear!