All Forum Posts by: Stephanie Sherman

I just asked this in another thread! The only one I know the answer to is that you'd have to qualify (income-wise) for both mortgages. Someone did say on my thread that you may be able to get around that with a signed rental agreement, and I know friends of mine are renting their home out, and renting a home to live in for long enough to document the rental income so they can qualify for both loans.

Hi @Austin Strode thanks for the reply!

I will contact you to look into this when my credit goes up. 

Hi all, 

I would love some advice from you veterans. I own a home in Portland, OR that I bought right before the crash and now since the market has recovered here I have about 135k in equity (more if I sold it of course). The house is in a neighborhood that is still fairly affordable and transitioning. I'd like to get an FHA loan to do a cash-out refi and use the money for home improvements, some minor debt pay down (mostly to raise credit scores) a cushion for starting my real estate career, and ultimately buy a new house and convert the current one to a rental. I've spoken to a couple mortgage brokers before finding BP (not ones familiar with REI) who have said that the difficulty is having the income to qualify for both loans. Now, a large reason for my career change is hoping for better income, but I haven't seen much discussion on here about needing the income to qualify for both mortgages-- is that a real concern? For the record I know I won't be able to have multiple FHA loans, and once we're in a new primary residence and have the rental, my plan is do flips/rehabs or buy and holds depending on the deals I find.

So, advice please! Any reason it's a bad idea to convert the current house to a rental? Anything else I need to know or am missing?

I am open to selling if that's a better plan, but would still cash-out first to spruce it up for sale...

Hi @Melissa Dorman!

I am very new to this but not new to Portland. I will be interested to see what the veterans say but I think it will be challenging. 

thanks @Walter E.!

Hi @Justin Mespelt

I too am new to this and BP as well. I'm in a similar boat as you, planning to become a real estate agent for better cash flow, then doing some buy and hold and rehabs. Maybe we can connect through the learning process some time!

Thanks for sharing the story, and the house turned out beautifully!!

thank you everyone! I so appreciate the advice!!

Hi everyone! I am getting ready to get my real estate license, and planning to invest as soon as I'm able. I'd like to start with buy and hold properties but am also interested in flipping houses. 

I'm in the impatient position of waiting for my credit score to go up so I can do a cash-out refi and jump in!