All Forum Posts by: Ham Merritt

@Derek Luttrell That is pretty steep for your first purchase however, it helps that you will be house hacking. That will certainly take some of the risk out of it. When I was your age I did the same thing in Chicago. I bought a condo flat for $363K in Lincoln Park and rented out 2 of the bedrooms for $900 each. This was back in 2004. I still own the condo and have it completely rented out as I now live in Milwaukee. Depending on your income and how stable it is, I think your heading down the right track as far as getting started. Purchasing a property that expensive could make it harder to purchase a second one down the road unless you have a 2 year history of rent and the units are being rented at that time. Hope this helps. 

@Harsh R. @Shala MappWelcome to BP. Best of luck with your journey. BP has been great to me so far. If your ever in Wisconsin, let me know as I would love to connect.  

@David Washington Welcome to BP! I'm actually a native of Toledo. I grew up in Old Orchard and Sylvania. I went to and graduated from St. Francis in 99. After college I moved to Chicago, lived there for 3 years, then met my wife. She was born and raised here in Milwaukee. So, I have been here since 2006. My parents still live in Toledo so we visit there from time to time. I will look for your other post to see if I can help you with your predicament. Let me know next time your in Milwaukee and we will schedule some time to meet in person. Shoot me a PM if you have any specific question relative to our market here in Milwaukee.

@Mark Shelstad Do you invest in Wisconsin at all or just IL?

@Joshua Martin How do I learn more about the Brew City Meet up?

@Lucas Allmon You are heading in the right direction. Just keep plugging away at your plan and be patient. If you are passionate enough about it, you will make it happen and be successful with it. House hacking is a good way to get your foot in the door to start. Nice thing about house hacking is that the rental income of the current or proposed tenant can be used for qualifying purposes. I will PM you.

@Zack Ellard the interest will be very little. I use a savings account so it is easy to access when needed.

@Dorian Brown you won't need 50% to put down on a purchase. You will need half of that for a 4 family. Problem you are going to run into if you use conventional financing is that you cannot borrow the money unless the funds are coming from a family member. You will more than likely need to borrow the down payment from a family member or produce the down payment on your own.

@Timothy Gaus I have been meaning to follow up with you regarding the same. It was a pleasure meeting with you. Hope the rest of your visit went well.

@Anthony Vanson Best of luck to you with whatever direction you choose.