All Forum Posts by: Jacob Willett

What are the major factors that you look for in a target market?

On my way to my first deal I have researched many financing options. FHA loans, conventional loans, private/ hard money lenders, etc..

How did you finance your first deal and what would/ wouldn't you do differently in terms of financing?

I am also happy to hear any creative financing ideas you used outside of traditional routes.

@Stephen DeThample Thanks for the advice, I think renovating flooring and paint will provide a happy medium that will be more manageable for my first deal. Adding security to promote a safe environment is an awesome idea that I will definitely put to use since I will be looking in close proximity to a college.

@Nicholas L. My main constraint is that I have to stay within reasonable proximity to my college for the next couple years so my market is limited on that front. As for a down payment, I was planning to use an FHA loan to keep the down payment low. I am looking for something under $200k so hopefully around $7,000 or less.

@Nicholas L. Yes, that is my current plan.

I am preparing to start looking for my first house-hack property and I am not sure whether a turn key, ready to go, property or a property that needs a little bit of work is right for me.

Obviously I would like to reap the equity benefits of adding value to a property through renovations but on the other hand this will be my first property and I don't want to bite off more than I can chew on the first go. Another consideration of mine is money. I don't have a ton of capital to work with so I am hesitant to jump into a renovation project for fear of running out of money halfway through and being stuck with a property that's not bringing in any cash.

I would love to hear what you guys went with in terms of your first deal and how that worked out for you!

I am in a very similar situation, albeit a couple years behind you as I am still in college. I wanted to second the recommendation for rich dad poor dad, I am just finishing it up and I think it does a great job of setting the stage for the start of a wealth building journey. 

I am currently 20 years old in my 3rd out of a 5 year college program. I have been interested in real estate in the background for a few years but in the past couple months I have gone much deeper into it and I would like to start building my portfolio before I get out of school to hopefully get the ball rolling as soon as possible. I currently have about $8,000 in capital after paying for tuition.

I have been researching through books, forums, and this site and my current plan is to house-hack a 2-4 unit multi-family, financed with an FHA owner-occupant loan so I can utilize the 3.5% down, since I don't have a ton of capital to work with.

I am looking for anyone who has gone through a similar strategy and can provide general advice, things they wish they would have done differently, things they did that they would NOT have done differently, etc..

My main areas of question at the moment are:

• How can I effectively evaluate a specific market area to determine a reasonable purchase price and reasonable rent amounts for a property in that area?
• What is a good resource to learn about estimating renovation/ repair costs?
• Fixer-Upper vs Turn-Key properties for first time rental owners?
• How to find good real-estate meetups around my area?
• Major red flags to look out for when analyzing properties?

I am new to this platform but have heard great things about it so I very much appreciate any help you are willing to provide me in getting started on my journey!