All Forum Posts by: Philip Williams

How in the world can you think your saving money by moving from 4% interest to 21% interest are you hearing yourself? I mean a convoluted 0% credit card idea might be ill advised but at least we could argue the merits, this just completely makes no sense on any level?

Hey welcome to bigger pockets, what kind of investing are you looking to do? I would advise a 1-4 unit with an fha for your first purchase. It can be down with a low down payment, will give you a taste of how investing really is, in my opinion it's the perfect first investment. Some people want to manage tenants and have the demeanor for it some don't. Living next to your tenant's will show you that very quickly! Good luck and keep studying there is a lot to learn. 

Don't be discouraged this is way more common than you think, especially if you don't have a w-2 to back up your investing. I have heard we are very risk averse, we are a conservative bank etc more times than I can count. If I had to guess I've probably been turned down or heard no over 100 times lol, so trust me this is more common than you think don't get discouraged keep pushing!

Yes banks will want you to have an established credit history, since you are obviously a responsible individual open up a credit card and use it for a few monthly expenses and simply pay if off monthly. That way you will never pay interest which it sounds like you are averse too and who could blame you lol but will start establishing credit for lenders!

Yes that is a huge problem and don't let anyone tell you differently! I am sure lenders like @Harjeet Bhatti have a much more positibe view of lenders than the average self employed investor. When I go to apply for a home mortgage and drop off my hundred page tax return I don't even get a call back 90% of the time. Not even a courtesy hey this is too complicated for us just complete silence. So the fact that guidelines are the same makes no difference most not all but most lenders want regular w-2 income. 

Hey since I go to auctions pretty much daily thought I would throw in my two cents. Just because they say they are occupied doesn't mean they are always occupied. I have found at least in my area 70% are unoccupied but you do have to actually walk up knock on doors etc. I prefer live auctions as well as opposed to online auctions, the barrier to entry is much lower online. I have literally watched investors just put in bids on every single property in an online auction. They have bought enough properties they don't have to deposit with the auction site and they can do it from the comfort of there office. Just a couple things to think about hope this helps!

Hey @Erik Pfundstein Yeah I go to most of my potential flips with my contractor, unfortunately that's not something that a new investor can do as easily. My contractor is a partner in some of my deals and we provide him and his crew essentially full time work. My suggestion especially if you haven't done a few deals yet is to try and partner with a contractor on your first flip. Try and find someone on here who flips in your area and see if they are willing to go at the deal with you. This could be structured numerous ways but having a contractor as a partner on even a single flip will teach you a lot of what to look for and how. 

See this is the exact problem with long distance investing and turn key investing in general. Not that it's bad in every scenario but new investors don't even know how to vet a turn key company before investing with them. If this house was less than an hour from his house it seems very likely he would have lost much less than he is going to on this deal. 

@Chris Sellers Hey that's a hard question to answer because we don't know what your goals are. How much equity do you have in both deals, how many years are left on the mortgages. It's a much different question if your in the first year of a mortgage or the 25th. What does your vacancy look etc, I think we need more info on your goals in this question. 

@Chris Youssi It seems your the local investor that needs to be taken out to dinner lol 500+ properties I want to be like you when I grow up!