All Forum Posts by: Josh Young

@Mike M. I use Geico for my auto and all of my properties, they don't actually carry homeowners insurance, but they broker to several different companies, so I actually have different companies for different properties, but I still get the bundle auto discount, best available rates, and it's easy to keep everything straight even though there are several different carriers. Also, it's easy to shop for a cheaper rate every time a policy is up for renewal without having to switch anything except that specific policy.

That's a great question, here is a podcast episode with Maricopa County Assessor Eddie Cook that explains the FCV, it's basically a discounted market value, but you have to understand that there are literally millions of properties in Maricopa County, so it may be off a little, similar to how a Zillow Zestimate can be close, but not exact. At first glance if you can buy a property for less than the FCV then it could be a good deal, but will require more research to know for sure.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMzHYG2vZ-4

@Shahzad Ali you should be able to pay no points or even get a credit towards closing costs (negative points), but your interest rate will be higher.  This may be a good idea if you plan to refinance within the next couple/few years, but there will be more closing costs to refinance and there is also the risk that interest rates won't go down, so you just have to balance your outlook, risk tolerance/capacity, and your current/future cash positions.

@Carter Neal quitting your full-time job is going to set you back on investing if you plan to get conventional financing (typically the least expensive financing).  I would recommend buying at least one property before you quit your job, maybe something that you can house hack to help replace some of your income or at least help keep your expenses lower.

@Carlos Silva if you don't mind moving this is the best way to acquire rental property. The financing for a primary residence is much better than it is for an investment property, you can put less money down and you get a lower interest rate. What difference does it make if the loan is on your personal home or an investment property, it's still your debt.  Also, you will never own anything free and clear, you will always have property taxes and insurance (although insurance does become optional once the loan is paid off).

@Terra Ternet you should talk to a local Property Manager/Realtor to help you. They will determine fair market value and put a lease in place for you. You will need to contact your insurance company and update your policy to a landlord policy. I don't create LLC's for my rentals because I have found that the added protection from liability is minimal if any and it just makes financing much more expensive if you want to do any kind of refinance. I would highly recommend you use a CPA to do your taxes as they will likely save you more money than you will pay them. I would make sure you have 6+ months of PITI payments saved as reserves, maybe even an extra $10k to cover cap Ex depending on age and condition of the property. Also, if you are in an HOA you want to make sure that medium term rentals are allowed.

@Jimmy Rojas there are a few, here is a map. Shoot me a DM if you want to check any of them out.

@Robert Johnson I don't think you have enough capital to buy something right away, you need reserves for cap Ex, maintenance/repairs, and vacancy. I like the idea of saving for another 10 months then buying another primary residence, the down payment is so low it's basically like doing a BRRRR as far as capital conservation goes, but the the financing is so much cheaper on a primary residence vs a BRRRR. Don't be in too big of a rush, and remember the more properties you have the more reserves you need.

@Tiffany J. I like buying a new primary residence and keeping the previous as a rental, this helps keep the down payment manageable (around 5% or less), it helps me better understand the condition of the property when I turn it into a rental (I fix/update some stuff while I live in the house and prepare for it to become a rental), and it helps make sure I always buy in a good area that my family will want to live which is good for appreciation. 

It is important to learn as much as you can and a mentor can help answer questions you might have, these forums are also good for that, but the truth is I learned more by doing it than I could have ever learned from a book/podcast or mentor. 

My suggestion would be, save to have more reserves than you think you might need and go for it, the extra cash savings will help offset a lot of the risk of not knowing what you don't know.

Here is what I did: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/61/topics/1096979-how-i...

@Lynn Wong San Tan Valley and even a little farther out into Florence you can buy a new build that will cash flow at 30% down. You can get a lower interest rate on a new build using the builder's lender and you will have almost no cap ex or maintenance/repairs for several years (long enough to give you time to raise rents and maybe even refinance). This area is growing and will continue to grow with the addition of new highways connecting this part of the valley. Full disclosure, I am an investor and agent/property manager in this area and I help investors find, analyze, buy, and manage properties using this exact strategy.