All Forum Posts by: Kristine Ann

Hi @William Strickland

In my opinion, the best mortgage calculator is the one you create yourself in excel (or google sheets).  That way, you understand all the moving parts and can add the specific data you want to evaluate.

I would put the breaks on!  You need to focus on your primary residence and your W2 income.  Usually investment properties will want a 20-30% down payment in addition to closing costs, so it's not going to be a good idea in your current state. Investment properties take a lot of capital and even that amazing "cash flow" that everyone talks about should really be put in reserves for vacancy and repairs anyway.

Learn from your current experience with your first home.  Start writing down the seasonal preventative maintenance you need to do and how much repairs cost.  As I said in another post, learning how to paint, spackle and caulk are really important.  If you have time to complete projects in your home, practice those skills and keep a log of how much time and cost everything was.  

Start saving for another down payment and in a few years, take a look at investment properties then.

You're not going to want here this, but this is what I recommend.  I would focus on consistent, steady income and building an amazing credit history. Maybe get some hands on experience painting or staging.

Find a w2 job that you don't hate and you can keep for years.  When you are working steadily at the same place for more than two years, you are seen as stable and responsible and a better candidate for loans in the future.  I made pizzas on Friday and Saturday nights all through college and it didn't even feel like work.

I would also sign up for one (and only one) credit card, not use it that much, and make sure you pay it off every month.  Keep this credit card forever, as the longer you have an open account, the better your credit score is.

In real estate, you are better off "house hacking" by renting a large apartment or house and renting out your extra rooms to roommates. 

You can also learn how to paint by painting rooms in your parent's house.  Painting houses a neutral color is the easiest and least expensive way to get houses rented or sold.  It is a skill that is learned through practice, though. Spackling, caulking and painting are all important skills if you are planning on owning property in the future.  

I would highly advised from borrowing from your uncles until you are much farther along in the process.  If you borrow from them early on and mess up, you won't be able to tap them as a resource when you are more experienced.

I disagree with a lot of the answers here. This is your first property and you plan to live there?  I actually think if you can get 0% down loan and the monthly payment is very affordable, you should consider it. I am against being too leveraged and moving to acquire properties too quickly, but we are talking about your primary residence.  I bought my first home with a 100% financing 20 years ago.  It would have otherwise been impossible to save the down payment.  

What is important is that the total monthly payment is very affordable.  It's also important that you have some cash reserves and enough income to fix at least two or three $1000 breakages in the first year.

I suggest looking into the Adirondack Mountains in NY State.  Lake Placid and Saranac Lake in particular have cute downtowns and year round tourism. There is a range of prices and there are some very affordable homes.  Paul Smiths' College (now it's called something else) is a private four year college.  There are also a couple boarding schools and private schools in the area that bring in wealthier families for visits.  Most of the locals are friendly, nature-loving types that enjoy activities like hiking, camping, snowshoeing, and live bluegrass music.  It's also close to Quebec/Montreal.

That makes sense @Martin M.The mortgage foreclosure auction is in June.  The tax auction isn't until October in this county.  

hi @Kisaki Nicole Kaopua 

Is this bank owned (REO) or are you buying directly from the homeowner? Normally with distressed sellers there is deferred maintenance which can be expensive.

I'm not sure what the square footage is, but new floors and carpet alone for an entire house could easily be 11k, so the price actually isn't all that attractive.  If you like the house and the area and want to live there and its habitable, go ahead and try to get a plain vanilla conventional loan from the local credit union and mortgage broker.  You can gradually make cosmetic changes, so a loan for construction isn't really necessary.

Overall it sounds like a buy and hold.  Not really an amazing deal, but if you like the house and have confidence in the area's growth it sounds like a good bet. You would want to offer less and then negotiate concessions after the inspection.

It's actually a mortgage foreclosure @Ned Carey.  I've never bid on an foreclosure auction before and I was surprised the bank would risk losing the property to tax default....but maybe they just want rid of it either way.  I'll show up to the mortgage foreclosure auction either way and see if they show and what they bid.

My theory about what might have happened was that the foreclosure wasn't going through the courts because the guy disappeared off the face of earth and hadn't been served the papers after several attempts.  The bank stopped paying the taxes because it's a loss either way.  But finally the court approved the foreclosure and now it's going through.

Thanks @Adam Walter and @Bruce Lynn for your responses.  

I just really hate this process: 2-3 years to foreclosure, then dormant REO, then investor rehab fail, then 2-3 years of tax default, then tax default auction. By the time the property reaches the tax default auction, it is completely unsalvageable. It seems like every working class neighborhood has one of these disgusting eyesores. I wish I could swoop down and rescue this property from this inevitable downward spiral.

Paying off a credit card balance (and keeping the card open) does not decrease your credit score.  If you pay off a balance on a credit card, your credit utilization on that card goes to 0% which is very good.  All other things being equal, your credit score will go up....next month.  It takes a month to a month and a half for companies to report and for it be reflected on your score. 

Closing the card would decrease your score. Also, paying off one card but letting the balance/credit card utilization raise to over 30% on another card would drop your score. Changing addresses, changing jobs, high DTI ratio, and high credit utilization will all decrease your score.