All Forum Posts by: Ron Gallagher

 What would this rent for?

 The condo is so small the couldn't even fit a camera in it to take pictures of the inside!

You can get a nice 2 bedroom condo in Oaklawn for less than $200k:

https://www.redfin.com/TX/Dallas/2710-Douglas-Ave-...

Do you consider Oaklawn class C?

 Where is this magical location Heather?

I can buy four really nice parking spots for $200k in Washington DC and then rent them each out for $500 a month, which would actually meet the 1% rule.  Hmmmm.... maybe I should look into investing in parking spots!

I thought this was an interesting graphic from this article: https://www.propertyshark.com/Real-Estate-Reports/2018/05/22/for-200k-would-you-rather-buy-a-box-in-manhattan-or-a-mansion-in-san-antonio/

https://infogram.com/how-much-space-can-you-buy-with-200k-1h0r6r8kr7yl4ek

P.S. looks like I need to move to Cleveland

This is exactly what you should do and so when you are looking for that first property you are going to live in for a year or two try to buy with the idea that you are going to turn it into a rental in a year or two after living there yourself. Don't buy a fancy condo with a high monthly condo fee in a building that doesn't allow rentals or a house that only has one bathroom and you have to walk through the master bedroom to get to it.  Make sure that your first property will make a good rental when you move out. If it is a single unit and you own no other properties then you can buy it with no money down with NASA FCU. This is the easiest and least risky way to start out in real estate with no money, no desire to take in roommates, not able to save a bunch of money for a down payment, etc...

If your mom currently rents in Woodbridge you could by a property somewhere in Northern VA and then rent it out to your mom. That's what one of my younger friends did-- he was living with his mom in a townhome in VA that they rented. He was living rent free because it was his mom who was paying the rent and she didn't charge him. His mom didn't have great credit and may not have had any credit at all since I guess she got into debt with credit cards and then after she got out of debt she cut up all her credit cards and closed her accounts. So without great credit his mom couldn't buy a house, so he bought a townhouse in his name and then invited him mom to be a roommate and pay the same amount she was paying at the rental townhouse and they got one more roommate and now he's still living for free, with his mom as his tenant. His mom and the other roommate pay enough to allow him to live for free. He was living rent free before as a freeloader in his mom's rental townhouse but now he's building equity, experiencing what is like to deal with home ownership and repairs, and still living for free!

Maybe you saved up a bunch of money for a down payment living in your mom's basement, but if not I would say you keep saving up cash for a down payment in a cheaper market like NC or Texas. Then you can get owner occupied financing, get experience as a landlord by renting out the rest of your property, and not have to pay for property management that you would probably have to have on a property in DC/Woodbridge if you bought and then moved away. Best of luck and congrats for thinking about this stuff when you are only 22!

I want to make sure I apply for 2 HELOCs and a 30 year fixed mortgage in the right order so I am able to get approved for all three. Here's my situation-- I currently have two mortgages that based on my current income have maxed out my DTI. I will improve my debt to income ratio when I rent out the house I am currently living in behind me which should allow me to apply for another mortgage on my next property and get approved. I will move into that next property in order to get an owner occupied interest rate. I also own a rental property free and clear.

The three mortgages/HELOCs I want to apply and get approved for would be 1) a HELOC on the rental property that I own free and clear (using a lender that offers HELOCs on investment properties like Wells Fargo or PenFed) and 2) a HELOC on the house that I am currently living in that I put 20% down on and it has appreciated a decent amount since I bought it last year so I am hoping to get a 90% LTV HELOC (I have heard there are some lenders who will give you a HELOC up to 100% LTV on an owner occupied property) on that property while I am still living there as an owner occupant. 3) I want to buy a new property with a 30 year fixed mortgage as an owner occupant and rent out the property that I am living in now.

My common sense tells me that I can pretty much get the HELOC on the rental property anytime and as long as the balance is $0 when I go to apply for the other HELOC or for the mortgage on my next property that HELOC will not show up on my credit report and will not affect my DTI. Is that logic sound? It seems obvious to me I want to take out the HELOC on the house I am currently living in before I move out in order to get owner occupied rates and be able to tap into as much equity as possible but also I should wait until the last possible moment (assuming continued appreciation) to get that HELOC so that the property will appraise higher which will allow me to get the maximum amount for this HELOC. Finally, once I save up enough cash for the down payment on my next property purchase I want to buy my next property with a 30 year fixed mortgage and I am thinking as long as I don't tap into the two HELOCs I hope to obtain and their balances are both $0 then my DTI will not be affected by the two HELOCs as I assume they will not show up on my credit report and I will get approved for the new 30 year fixed mortgage despite having two rather large but unused lines of credit. Is this correct?

Then after I buy my next property I will have reached my monthly cash flow goal and I will quit my W-2 job, but I want to get all these loans and HELOCs in place before I leave my W-2 job so I have some HELOC money to play with if I want to do some BRRRRs in retirement and I was always told you apply for credit when you don't need it so I assume this is the right order and way I should go about getting these mortgages/HELOCs but I wanted to run this by the people of Bigger Pockets to make sure. Thanks in advance for your input!