All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Alvarez

Thank you everyone for the advice, I really appreciate you all taking the time to answer my question. I listen to a lot of podcasts at work and I will be adding the Chicago investor podcast to my daily listening list. 

Hey BP community, looking for some guidance on my situation. My lease ends in March of 2027, I am looking to stop renting and get myself into a home. House hacking or a live in flip is what I want to do. A duplex is ideal for my situation but I haven't seen many on the apps I've been looking on. I am a union electrical Apprentice so I plan on putting in a lot of sweat equity into the property. I am a veteran so A VA loan is what I plan on using, unless anyone has better suggestions. My question is, should I focus on paying off my debt which is credit cards and a car loan roughly about $20,000 in total and go to the closing table with no debt with enough for closing cost and a little bit in reserves or should I focus on saving more for closing costs and reserves and go to the closing table with more cash in the bank account? I was thinking having about $30,000 for closing costs and reserves for a multifamily would be enough, is that be realistic? I'll be earning around $90,000 stating in May 2026 with another pay bump in 2027. Thanks in advance I'm excited to become a part of the community.