All Forum Posts by: Robert Nichols

Just pick out a number that you might be able to afford about 40% of your gross income less your monthly payments. A good banker - some bankers are much better than others. from my experience Quicken Loans is great up front at doing the sale part - but if you actually want to go all the way of buying a property they are horrible - so I would suggest getting pre qualified through quicken - then switching to another banker if you actually decide to do something.

Quicken will ask to do a hard credit pull - this will very slightly lower your credit score. I would probably let them. Then go through and actually put in the application. Some work here - but in the end you will save yourself a bunch of time thinking about this or that. There should be no cost. Ask for a prequal letter.

Also - you can monitor increase your credit scores using creditkarma.com - creditsesame.com and credit.com.

Ok, so when you say a banker, do you reccomended any bank? Should I try to talk to my personal bank (one of the large banks)? When you say 40% income, do you mean from my day job?

And pre qualified through quicken, will this just tell me how much loan money I qualify for?

I have a few more questions but I don't wan t to bombard.,

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Originally posted by @Peter MacKercher:

I don't know your area but i would suggest finding a 4 family and living in one manage it your self and live rent free. If your job would credit you for housing instead of paying or just rent out all 4.

What determines a good neighborhood? the easy test is if you're willing to live there is good. that what i use as my test.

Also how can you evaluate the return of the property? there is a calculator on this website. under resources. I would want to make at least $100 a door after all expenses.

Good luck and Welcome to BP.

Thanks,

i dont follow what you mean about my job crediting me for housing. Can you elaborate? And if i rent out all four, what i understand is that I will not qualify for FHA loan. I can already say flat out, that i cannot finance 25% DP on a 4plex in the bay area. Not by a longshot. Can you give me any insight on FHA loans? I know the down payment is much lower, like 3.5%, but does this lower down payment negatively affect cash flow?

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Originally posted by @Kirk R.:

I liked one BP blog that talked about how saving capital and doing buy and hold is investing. Where flipping/wholesaling/being a realtor is more like having a job.

Most of the successful investors I have come across are extremely frugal. Aka saving like 50% of their income. I would think it would be a little easier to build capital without having to pay for housing.

I guess maybe make the decision of whether you want to buy and hold a piece of real estate or ---supplement your income - wholesaling/flipping/working doing something related to real estate.

If I were you - my first step would be call a banker and see how much you would have to save to be able to get into a duplex/3plex/4plex and avoid PMI if at all possible.

Thanks for the reply. So, would it be sufficient to call the bank and just ask them this, without having a property in mind? In other words, can i just call, and they can give me some general info on the requirements for these types of properties?

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Originally posted by @Peter MacKercher:

Also i would go to a lot of REI clubs till you find the one or one's you like. Seek out a mentor and get a lead for a investor realtor and mortgage broker.

Thank you i knew this would be a big part of it. Thanks for clarifying. Can you elaborate on why I want an investor realtor and mortgage broker? The only thing i know about a mortgage broker is that you need one, or need to be one, in order to seller finance mobile homes.

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thanks, Im surprised with the fast replies haha. Well i would like to buy and hold, for cash flow. Im in the SF bay area, which is ungodly expensive in general. I had thought about 3 or 4 plexes. Assuming I did well, cash flow wise (lets say the 100$ a door example above), would it be a good strategy to then try to buy another 3 or 4 plex? In other words...buy repeat these purchases to build capital?

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Hi this is my first post. I really want to make my first investment, but i dont know where to begin. I was thinking of joining a REI club nearby, and from there, i'm really unsure how to proceed. I live in San Mateo CA, 20 minutes south of san francisco. I had originally been inspired by an old thread in a forum where he spoke about building capital doing lonnie deals...but it seems as if this has become much more complex to do in recent years. Im not even sure its worthwhile, from what ive read here. ANyways, i work full time, and I dont pay any rent, because of the nature of my job. They provide housing. So I think i am in a good position to get started. Any thought on a good first investment? maybe a 3 plex, or 4 plex? I dont have an enormous bankroll to work with at the moment, but i can save fairly rapidly, and my credit is good (last i checked).

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All Forum Posts by: Robert Nichols

Robert Nichols has started 1 posts and replied 6 times.

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