All Forum Posts by: Jon M.

Hey Ron,

Thanks for the advice and that is definitely a smart place to be cautious. Our only real problem is that even with decent cash reserves for our age there is no way we could purchase anything in the DC area without financing of some kind. We likely won't take him up on the offer of 300k the first time (if we do go in together) and are even considering trying Baltimore or Richmond in the future but for now we don't think having our first flip more than 20 minutes from our place is a good idea and that means 300k+ purchase prices.

Hey @Elizabeth C

Thanks so much for the information. To respond to your suggestions:

- I am currently looking for a place with as many bedrooms as I can afford, so townhouses are definitely the best option in the DC area. The one I'm looking at now is a 4/3.5 where I would live in basement/ first level with a walk out to the backyard.

- Definitely looking to get the nicest area possible, but unfortunately that means close to DC and in a metro area which means very high prices. Anything remotely "walkable" to shops/restaurats in northern VA is giong to fetch 150k per bedroom and have terrible numbers. Trying to stay as close as possible though.

- Definitely trying for 4 bedroom although keeping it below 360k or so will be challenging.

- I like to put down as little as possible as well but am not a fan of the up front and then 11 year insurance premium that the FHA requires. I plan on looking into conventional 5 or 10% down.

- I am looking for something that will need 5k or less of planned rennovations to hopefully keep the purchase price on the low side. My exit strategy is pretty simple, live there until I can buy a new place and then rent the room I was in out and do it all over again with owner financing.

Thanks again for the encouragement. Excited about getting started once I can nail down an action plan.

Hey Everyone!

I'll try to make this short but I have a dilemna on my hands.

I would LOVE to flip houses for a living. I probably watch more HGTV than any other male 24 year old on the planet. With this in mind, I am looking to get started while keeping my current full-time job.

So I'm in a unique situation at the moment. My landlord also wants to get into house flipping with me (he is a few years older than me). While he has become a close friend I don't think he is actually passionate about flipping but really just wants the extra income. However he is a good worker and understands finances better than most our age.

This landlord happens to have a well-off father. Enough that he would be willing to lend us 300k in return for 10% back on that per year. Obviously I am not likely to find financing like that just starting out even with great credit. He would like each of us to put at least 20k down (which we can both do) for each 300k loaned.

Of course that this means while my landlord and I would split the work (which we plan to do some of ourselves) and responsibilities we would also split any profits. We both work flexible schedules so between the two of us we could be available any day if needed. Also, his dad is well off enough that even if we didn't get any return for him it would not affect their relationship (although he might be more reluctant to loan in the future).

What would you guys do in this situation?

Hey Everyone!

I'm finally getting around to posting after spending the last month reading everything I can. I bet everyone has seen this thread title 50 times before as it seems this area is packed with small to big time real estate investors.

I'm looking to purchase my first home while renting out rooms to cover the mortgage. Going to look into finding a RE agent that can help me get a deal on an owner-occupied property. Then I think flipping houses is the next step for me.

I made a post asking for help on my current situation if anyone feels inclined to chime in:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/1534...

Thanks for reading!

Hey Everyone,

This is my first (long overdue) post on BP after finding it about a month ago while reading everything I could find on real estate. First off I want to thank everyone who posts here. I have already learned so much and love how people with so much experience are willing to teach what they know and still be open to learning more themselves.

I have so many questions to ask but I’ll start with one at a time. I’ll try to be as concise as possible.

I currently live in Northern VA (the DC area) and am trying to get started in real estate in addition to my full time job. To start off I am looking into purchasing a property to live in while renting out the rest of the rooms to cover expenses. I'm trying to evaluate these places as an investor (e.g. factor what my room would rent for into the equation) to ensure the deals make sense.

With DC being so expensive I am looking to put 10% down on a 3 or 4 bedroom townhouse in the 300-400k range (since a multifamily here under $500k is unheard of). Also I am fairly young (24) and don’t mind living with my target rental demographic (young professionals out of college). I plan on going with a 10/80 piggyback mortgage unless there are better options.

I’m hoping my status as an owner-occupant buyer might make finding a deal easier since this market is so saturated with RE investors who I can’t compete with. But even sites such as homepath have a very limited inventory in this area.

I guess my biggest question is “What should my next steps be?” I’m thinking I should find a RE agent with rental property experience to help me get started. A 3 bedroom townhouse I really liked just went under contract and I’m kicking myself for not acting on that one sooner. I know I wrote this post terribly and it will probably get me more questions than answers, but thanks in advance for anyone who takes the time to read and reply.

If anyone is interested I could post an example of one the few properties I am looking at. I could also make a new thread in the Analysis forum section if that would be more appropriate.