All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@Tenzin Sherap

With an FHA loan I think you have to live in the property (a single family home) for at least a year before you make it a rental property. So find a great deal on a fixer upper. Get an FHA loan and move in. Spend a year living there while you fix it up. Then move and rent it out.

@Tenzin Sherap

You would be better off talking to a bank, a mortgage broker, or real estate agent to find out details of available loans, including FHA loans. I will say that in 2006 I bought my 1st house with a FHA loan. I was supposed to put down 3%. There was some kind of down payment assistance available so I bought my house with 0 down. At least it was 0 out of my pocket at the time. Of course the 3% down payment assistance was rolled into the loan, but I didn't care. I bought a house with no money down.

I don't think the down payment assistance deal is available anymore because of the housing crash, but many people are still able to get FHA loans. I think those people are only putting around 3% down, instead of 20% required on an investment property. FHA loans are talked about on the BP podcasts from time to time.

@Tenzin Sherap

Buy a SFH or a multi family to live in for at least year and you can probably get an FHA loan that only requires you to put down around 3%. There used to be first time home buyer programs before the crash. I guess some of those things are still around. Find a good real estate agent that helps first time home buyers. They will probably know how to help you get into a house with the least money.

@Nicole Nylund

Welcome to BP! Glad to have another Investor from Georgia here! How did you like the GAREIA meetings? I've been thinking about joining. Is it all about selling you something or do they actually have some good free info and classes too?

@Cresundo Whitaker

If the area doesn't bother you then go for it! I don't know about property values going up, but I always hear that cash flow is usually the best in the worst areas. You just have to factor in crime, damages to your property, evictions, and vacancies while looking for new tenants. 

I would never invest in an area like that, but I have read of plenty of others that do well in bad areas. There are even women flipping and renting in those areas. They're not afraid to knock on doors for rent money or evict people for non-payment. I guess they are tougher than me. 

As far as house hacking, or living in a bldg you're also renting to others, it sounds like an awesome idea to allow you to live rent free. I would never want to live next to my tenants, but lots of people do it. I say try it out. If you don't like living next to your tenants, then move and rent out the side you were staying in. 

@Chris Webb

House looks awesome! Great job! I see you installed vinyl plank flooring. Is it the brand from Home Depot that a lot of BPers talk about? Traffic master I think?

@Jay Y.

I hate when people cover old siding with new stuff. I see it all the time in my area. No matter what kind of siding you choose, I would have the contractor remove the old stuff. I don't want some nasty old rotten cedar hiding under my new siding. I see this on flip shows a lot too. Flippers just cover up the old garbage instead of removing it. Plus, I think it looks bad. It doesn't meet windows and doors correctly with all the layers built up. 

This question of vinyl or cement board is a good one. I've looked at a lot of houses I'd like to buy for rentals that have old cracked vinyl on them. Driving around those neighborhoods you'll see a lot of houses with the bottom couple rows of vinyl siding cracked and falling apart. I hate vinyl, but I don't know that I would want to spend the money on cement board in certain neighborhoods where the neighbors houses will probably always be in less than great shape. I think I would make my decision based on the neighborhood. If it's a decent area and other neighbors take care of their properties, and are changing over to cement board, I would spend the extra money. If it's a low end neighborhood where you'll be the only house or one of the few to upgrade to cement board, then I would probably stick with vinyl. 

@Regina Sitterley

I don't remember if Tucker talks about it on the BP podcast, but he talks about it regularly on his own podcast, The Real Dealz Podcast.

@Regina Sitterley

If I understand this correctly, you purchased the home "subject to" while you were rehabbing the home. This keeps you from having to use cash, hard money, or private money to hold the property while rehabbing it. Tucker Merrihew talks about doing this on his podcast. I think it's an awesome strategy. 

@Account Closed newbie wholesaler mastermind here. The link is for his Unofficial BiggerPockets Atlanta Group on meetup.com.