All Forum Posts by: Sergio Garcia

Read the forum here as a daily routine. Ask a lot of questions, nothing wrong in asking questions here on BP. Read the blogs. Listen to the podcasts, read the RE books recommended by others here on BP. See where you're station at if there's RE Meetup in the local town. You'll be able to talk to other RE investors at the Meet ups.

Don't rush into RE investing. There's a lot to learn before that first deal. 

Good Luck

Finish you schooling first...Real Estate will be there still once your done with school. Your first purchase is not going solve your financials. You having a  steady income and wife will help you in your future RE dealings.

Good Luck

Removed the old tiles and re-tile it. It will last much longer then the laminate flooring. Seal the grout to keep the dirt out. I bought a house with carpet in the master and laminate throughout the house. I had my contract pull the carpet and laminate flooring out of the house. The tiles I buy is the porcelain type, stay away from the red clay backing tiles from the box stores. They are cheap and if they chip the red clay shows up on the surface.

Good Luck 

Rehabbing is an experience but a fun one. You get to learn a lot of things and you'll be ready to use what you learn on your next rehab. I have been lucky that my realtor is investor friendly and she has many contacts that I have used to rehab my properties. 

Talk to others rehabbers, go to a REI meeting there you can mingle with other rehabbers to see who they are using, you'll get recommendations who to use and not to use.

Good Luck.

I always paint my properties even they look good. Good fresh coat of paint on the walls, ceiling and baseboards makes a difference of renting it sooner and getting higher rent.

I got my contractor painting two houses inside and out and laying tiles throughout both houses. 

if you are near a school district I would go with the 3 bedroom. You got a lot more opportunity to rent it, on average there 2 kids in the family. Many people are working from home too that extra bedroom can be used as a office.

Good Luck

By the way if you obtain your own homeowners insurance for the property it's significantly cheaper. Shop around for homeowners insurance don't let the mortgage company provide it, it will cost you a lot more. 

Sounds like your original LO was in the wrong...there's not much the new LO can do for you in terms of the cost of the loan. You have to pay the 3.5% down payment along with the expenses of obtaining the loan. The Good Faith Estimate (GFE) will tell your the cost of your loan. 

Down payment + closing cost = Mortgage Note

Good Luck

Borrowing from one bank to another will kill your chances of getting a loan. if you have 401K I would borrow from there instead. Banks are eager to lend to individuals with sweat and tears in the game. In other words you worked hard to earn that money and less chance of you walking away from the loan.

Good Luck.

it's all in fun I bet. I hear it from my friends too. We laugh. My friends could do the RE deal too but they don't want to deal with the nuisance of RE investing. Take it as a compliment I do.

Good Luck.