All Forum Posts by: Anthony Gayden

@Sean Harry

If you are approved for an amount that large, I imagine that you could even invest locally in NYC. My suggestion would be to begin networking with other local area investors. There is a great deal of money to be made in a market like NYC due to price appreciation.

The strategy that I would use would be to buy multifamily properties in "up and coming" areas that may gentrify in the next 10 years. The area would still be rough around the edges so prices will be less expensive and you may even see cash flow. The property itself should be a fixer upper where you can build equity.

@Chris Kanady

I have had several tenants break leases over the years. I would rather they leave with the place in good shape and have paid me on time the whole time they were there. I have never gone after tenants for lost rent

From your story, it seems like this house is your primary residence? You have a certain timetable when you will need to return, and that is the problem. You have a few options here.

-You can keep this property as a normal rental and move to a new place when you return.

-You may be able to find someone who wants or needs a short term rental.

-You can keep the house vacant until you return.

-You can put it on the market and sell it, and find a new place to live upon return

Brian Ripperda The best way to prove your point is to show others through your actions. Become a successful investor and others will see that it is a viable investment strategy.

@Brandon Turner

I had to sit for over a year while I figured out how to get beyond my first two properties. Money is not a huge limiting factor when it comes to real estate. It takes creativity to succeed.

I have used several of the most common beginner strategies in order to acquire real estate and grow my portfolio. I have taken a 401K loan three times. I used an owner occupant FHA loan to purchase a 4 plex where I lived in one unit and rented the rest. I bought a single family home with 5% down that I fixed up while living there, then got a HELOC and turned it into a rental. I bought another single family home and did the BRRRR strategy with a cash out refinance that gave me all of my money back. I am using that money to buy my next property which will be another owner occupied home that I am purchasing with 5% down.

There are quite a few innovative strategies that I personally would have never believed would work prior to joining this site and hearing about other people doing them.

Originally posted by @Sean Newcomb:

Which one is better if you can get the loan at 3.5% and use your savings to buy more deals do you guys put as little down or all that you can down?

A little PMI does not scare me. I like using conventional mortgages with 5% down when I plan on living in the property. The amount of time it will take me to save a 20% down payment even on a moderately priced property is much greater than the amount of time it takes me to save 5%.

Just as an example, I am in the process of buying a primary residence for $265,000. I am putting 5% down and with closing costs I have to come up with about $20,000 out of pocket. For the same property if I were to put 20% down it would require a little less than $60,000 out of pocket with closing costs. Even with my relatively high rate of savings, it would take me a couple of years to save $60,000 for a down payment.

At that point I would likely be facing higher interest rates and price appreciation causing the value of that home to be greater than it's current value. Basically it is very likely that I won't be able to buy the same home in a couple of years for today's prices. That means that I will likely need more than $60,000 if I wait until I have a 20% down payment.

On the other hand I will get two years of debt pay down, tax breaks, and appreciation if I buy now with PMI. At $150/month, PMI seems like a good deal in my situation.

@April Friedl

Why not just pay someone to paint the house? It would be done in a fraction of the time and you would no longer have to deal with the code enforcement.

Chris Conte My first investment property was a 3.5 hour drive from where I lived. It simply didn’t make sense for me to invest locally. Still there are a lot of successful investors in your area. You might find that buy and hold isn’t the best option for where you live.

I like your write up on KC, however I think you have things backwards in your comparison of KC to Tucson. I have lived in both places and the redevelopment in KC began longer than 10 years ago. KC saw an urban renaissance in the early 2000’s that continues today. KC has had more than double the urban development of Tucson over the years and it enjoys a far superior urban environment, local economy, and growth of it’s urban core. That’s not to say Tucson is bad, it’s a great town, however it is far from urban even near U of A and downtown. It’s economy is very dependent on government and the university. Household incomes are far lower than the national average and Phoenix metro takes the grand majority of state tax dollars.

I have one 20 miles from my house and my two 4-plex properties are 1000+ miles away.

Originally posted by @Anthony Gayden:

I recently lost out on four homes here in Omaha. This is with pre-approval from a bank and 25% down payment. All within the last month. All were on market deals.

1. Asking Price $122,000, my offer $130,000

2. Asking Price $110,000, my offer $140,000

3. Asking Price $145,000, my offer $145,000

4. Asking $133,000, got under contract, and then the property did not appraise.

One thing I have noticed lately around here is that a lot of realtors are not even looking at offers until after the open house and at least a week after a property is listed. Everyone is using escalation clauses, and there are more investors than ever.

 I should mention that every single property was a rehab.