All Forum Posts by: Aaron Carter

I am assuming this is for a buy and hold not a flip... Am I missing something?

Very impressive story Kyle! I am 26 and you are leaps and bounds ahead of me! Sounds like you are doing very well!  I am about 4 hours North of you in Bemidji. If you are ever interested in some investments in the Northwoods let me know. Although I am sure you have your fill of Lake time on Minnetonka. Haha

Thanks, I have really been learning a lot from this community.

Thanks for the response, sorry for not getting back to you. The owner is very motivated and willing to do seller financing. The property sits on three acres, with well, septic, and a 32x28 garage on a slab in very good condition. The land itself with garage is worth around $38,000. In order to cash flow it for $950 per month I would need to replace flooring, put in a heat pump for energy efficiency, paint, and insulate the skirting. needs probably around $6,000 total in capital improvements. 

I do have a TSP account for my retirement for the federal government but it is not really substantial yet as I have only been working there for a year. My main concern is with the reserves, my HELOC is pretty much the only thing I have without pulling from reserves from my other rental which I am not comfortable with.

After typing everything out it is just occurring to me that it is just way too risky at this time. I will wait a year build up some reserves for my next deal. It will also give me some more time to learn a little more on REI.

Looking for some guidance. I am 26, in a town of approximately 19,000, currently have one duplex as well as my primary residence with a mother-in-law detached apartment that I rent out. For a total of three rental units all of which I completely renovated myself. The cash flow on these properties completely cover the mortgage and utilities on my primary residence. My wife stays home with our 9 month old daughter so we rely solely on my income as an RN for all other expenses.

I spoke with my banker and I have approximately $35,000 that I can pull out of HELOC while still remaining under the 80% LTV for all of my properties. I have no other debt than my real estate investments. However, I have very little cash on hand.

I have been tossing around the idea of doing a flip in my area to provide for an initial capital boost, as I have done very well in regards to the ARV of my two previous properties.

I have a lead for purchasing a 3/2 manufactured home built in 2007 very close to where I live for $60,000 that is not currently listed, comps in the area are between $80,000 and $95,000. Taxes are $950 a year, I believe that I could rent it out for $875-$950 month. However, this would tie up most of my HELOC and I have no experience with manufactured homes.

I am concerned with the amount of leverage that I am using at this time but also don't want to feel stagnant. Should I flip, buy and hold the 3/2, or wait approximately one year for more cash reserves and find a better deal?

Excellent book on this subject is called Section 8 bible. You can buy it on Amazon, it has really made me consider getting into section 8 properties.

As long as you are willing to do the work I have no doubt you can do it and being a girl is not a factor. pick up a drill and a reciprocating saw and get to work. There are going to be times that you get discouraged but as long as you are determined and willing to put in the work you will be fine. Good luck!

I would talk to a local bank, a credit union, as well as searching the internet for some first time home buyer options. A lot of times these programs can really help you out with closing costs which also need to be considered with your down payment.  Good comments from @Joshua D., any way to pick up some extra income would be very beneficial especially if it is W-2 income even if it is part time. Price points in your area are really going to determine what is going to be feasible. Just know that the lower the price point relative to the area, the more likely it is that the property will need some work and labor is not cheap.

When buying the property you really need to consider what renovations need to be made and the cost to perform those fixes. Last thing you want is a Duplex that will not pass a rental inspection because of necessary renovations and no money to fix them.

I do all of my own renovations and prior to purchasing my duplex I had no handy man experience. A good beginner book that can really help you out in this area is "Home Improvement 1-2-3" sold by home depot. If you can do a lot of the renovation work yourself, you will be much further ahead.

If you do need to hire out the work I would suggest looking into a FHA 203k loan which will lend you money to perform a lot of the fixes that needs to be done in order for it to meet FHA criteria.

I really hope that none of this is discouraging at all and I really hope you continue to learn more about real estate investing because it is a great way to make passive income. Just know that initially it is A LOT of work!

I am assuming that you are a first time home buyer, so make sure that you look into those programs, many of them are through state or county websites. You would also likely qualify for FHA financing since it will be owner occupied. You can purchase up to a four-plex with FHA financing, but know that you will have to pay PMI for the life of the loan. Your market is going to determine a lot of factors as well, such as purchase price, rent rates, taxes, etc. With only $7,000 cash I would advise that your first step is to talk to a few lenders and see what you would pre-qualify for and make sure you have enough money in reserves, which they should be able to tell you about. If you have a vehicle that is completely paid off you may be able to take a loan out against it in order to raise some initial capital if need be.

Financing may be difficult to obtain since from what you have stated, you do not have any "traditional" w-2 income. However, talk to a lot of lenders and see if any of them are willing to work with you.

I am 26 and purchased my first property when I was 24. My wife and I purchased a Duplex which we lived in for about a year then moved. This strategy has worked very well for us and I would encourage a lot of people who are just starting out to adopt this strategy.

I have checked the ducts as much as I could and used a shop vacation to get at anything I could reach.there was some dust and hair. I pulled the cover off of the furnace and saw more dust and some pet hair. Which is to be expected to a certain degree.

I think I will cancel having the cleaning done and turn the furnace on to see what happens.