All Forum Posts by: Leanne J.

HomeBridge financial does both FHA 203k and Homepath w/ construction loans. Their website shows they have offices in Illinois. I used them in Md and was happy with the results.

Thank you @Robert Gilstrap. Also great questions!

Thank you @Nathan Gesner! So many things I wouldn’t have thought of to even think of! 

We are starting the journey on our first rental property and it will be out of state so we want to have a property management company while we ease into landlording. So, when looking for a PMC, what are the best questions to ask, and answers to look for?

@PaulBowers Thank you for that nugget about reoffering every 30 days!!! I have a property I’m eyeballing and they turned me down. If it’s still on the market next month, I’m gonna do this.

A couple of thoughts: The one thing I learned the hard way but has helped me immensely in life: you have time for what you want to do. Unless you’re working 80 hours a week, it’s not that you don’t have time, it’s that you aren’t using your time effectively. Set a goal, spend 80% of time you aren’t using working on reaching that goal. When you get home from work, give yourself a set time to relax and then a set time to do your “homework”. If you have a GI bill that means you aren’t paying for college, why not start now, one class a semester? Since you want to be an investor, focus on finance/business classes, maybe. Lastly, you’re 24 and it sounds like you’re single? Instead of moving out of your house, why not bring in roommates? If you had 2 roommates and the each paid $600 a month all inclusive, you’re gonna probably find you have a lot of free money all of a sudden. Throw it in a savings account and call it whatever keeps you from spending it. My husband’s is his Tesla fund...

Matt K. You’re right...for your area. Each area is different. In 2006 I rented 2/1 800 sq. for in ATL for $600 a month, by 2008 they wanted $735 for the same apartment and didn’t include utilities or insurance. It had mold growing in the kitchen cabinet, my electric was an additional $200 a month minimum, and it hadn’t been updated since the 80s. I purchased a 3/3 1300 sq. in 2009 for $64.5k. With taxes, mortgage and insurance my monthly mortgage is $550, my utilities are $168 for electric and gas combined and I have no restrictions on my lifestyle. Today, I can’t even find a crappy apartment for less then $750 + utilities.

Would it hurt to tell them your willing to offer them $1350 a month, because they have been such great tenants, but only if they are willing to sign a one year lease and seeing how it plays out? I’m lazy, if I know I’m going to stay somewhere for a year anyway, and this means I don’t have to come up with a new deposit, money to move, and have to take time off, I’m going to sign a lease for the still cheaper then everywhere else apartment as long as you aren’t trying to up it for a ridiculous amount. If you’re raising the rent and going to do some upgrades going to benefit from; so much the better...

How much cash can you save a month? If you can save $200 a month, in three years you would have $15k available for a kitchen renovation. If you watch the sales at Lowe’s/ Home Depot, you can purchase stock cabinets pretty inexpensively as well as the countertops. I was able to renovate my kitchen doing this for about $12k. Most of that was on the appliances.

I’ve read a lot of good advice, so I’m not going to give you any ;). I wish I had started thinking about this at 23, my life would have been completely different, I think. I look forward to seeing your journey on BP!