All Forum Posts by: Paul Santos

@Achi Adamit Welcome to BP! You will find a lot of information about HomePath in the forums. Some changes in financing occurred back October 2014, but there is still a lot of discussion about the program. Good luck and enjoy your journey. 

@Dick Rosen thanks for the offer! I have read some of your posts and profile in the past, always good to know someone who is actually doing the business. Thanks again. 

@Chaz Reid Thanks!

Greetings BP members! I am starting a little late on my introduction since I have been on BP for almost a year now. I recently upgraded to a BP Pro account and relocated to Arizona (Phoenix metro area), all in my master plan of entering the REI world. I have some real estate experience having bought/sold 7 primary residences in 5 different states. Sixteen years ago I owned a condominium that I rented out for about 3 years, before I sold it. Now I wish I still owned the condo.

Now that I am getting settled here in Arizona, I figured it was the perfect time to submit my intro. BP has truly been an asset in sharpening my focus and giving me direction in real estate. I plan to purchase my first investment property (SFR or maybe a small multi) in the next few months. Once I get over that initial hurdle, my plan is to continue to accumulate additional properties. I am fortunate to have financing and capital in place for my initial purchase. I have been working with a local mortgage lender. I really want to focus on properties in the Phoenix metro area, as I plan to manage them with my wife. We are both bilingual, and being here in Phoenix it should help expand our tenant/customer base.

I will get my Arizona real estate license as well, in hopes to expand my capabilities. My long-term goal, besides building up a portfolio of rentals, is to establish a small to medium size property management company, where my wife and I can concentrate on giving exceptional service and individualized attention to our customers.

I find it amazing with all the different aspects and potentials in real estate. I think that is one of the main attractions of the industry. I continue to read and listen to BP podcasts, and appreciate all the insightful information posted daily on the forums. The knowledge base is unlimited.

I plan on sharing my experiences with the BP community as I progress. At the same time, I am sure I will have numerous questions to ask and research. My experience so far with BP and its members has been stellar!

Thanks for reading my intro!

@Ryan Burch Welcome to BP and make sure to take advantage of all the information from podcasts, to free guides, forums, and several real estate investment books available for sale. The information on BP is unlimited and you can get a good education from this site. 

@Brian Cameron Welcome to BP!

@Barrett Anderson Try alternative sources, like Craigslist, as you know KSL is big in Utah, HUD website, or maybe try a local property management company and see if they are aware of any deals that may not be on the market. If it is on MLS, then a real estate agent is probably involved, and if an agent is involved, the sellers are most likely not that desperate to sell, and all your competition is going to the MLS as well. Go off-track and use a creative way to find a "true deal" that is not published and you can work with the sellers directly. That is where you will find a property that yields the profits that you are looking for.

Taxes, they always ruin everything. But since Mike is active duty military, this may apply. 

"If you rented the home to others because you were on "qualified extended duty" with the military you can "suspend" that period of time in the capital gains calculation for "the last five years" timeframe. But, a suspension period can't be more than 10 years."

"If you rented out your place for a reason other than moving under government orders, you still might qualify for a partial exclusion if you are now moving because of a permanent change of station. As with all things tax related, consult your tax adviser."

@Mike M. Welcome aboard. I am new as well and am still absorbing information and getting to know my way around BP. Seems like your biggest dilemma is what to do with the condo. Being in downtown SD that is some prime real estate. There is a lot of  potential for future appreciation. But at the same time, keeping it could be a financial burden. Listening to a lot of BP Podcasts, they tend to advise to stay away from investment properties with HOAs, since as you outlined, they eat up your profits. 

I think you should take advantage of the strong SD market and sell it now and add to your existing capital and go after some good SFRs or Multi family units with positive cash flow and build from there. I am interested to see what the other members advise. Good luck! 

@Tyler Flagg Thanks for your comments. I was hoping to get some more input and feel reassured that using my capital for rental(s) purchase is the right way to go.

The way I look at it is: I am pre-qualed for a VA @3.5% and no funding fees and of course no PMI. So I lock in my primary. Then I use my capital to by rental investment (buy/hold). I think it is better than, taking out a line of credit on my primary later, which I will pay interest on at a higher rate, to use towards purchasing an investment property.