All Forum Posts by: Tony G

Seth Williams Thank You for sharing your experience and it's so true everything looks good on paper but reality is a different ball game. Great questions you asked me to get me thinking honestly about myself and my skills, thank you again.

Ali Boone Yes this conundrum does suck. Did you have to change your mentality about your job at that time or how did you overcome going into work everyday? What helped you to keep moving forward?

Thank You everyone for the feedback, much appreciated.

I agree with either keeping my job for a while longer or find a replacement job for consistent income. I also agree with finding other avenues to get mls access because its a great tool to know individual markets. Lastly, I agree with buying a duplex while I have a job.

Which option would you choose and why? Please keep in mind my savings is 40k.

Go with investor option which is to put a minimum 20% down on a 150k property (30k) + 5-10k in rehab to get them in renting condition, or OO route which would be 5% down + 5-10k in rehab?

I currently have a job with a 55k salary, which i'm highly considering to give my two weeks due to the high stress level and overall a bad company to work for. My only motivation to go into work is to save more money to invest in real estate.

I have done one fix and flip project with a partner, which i grossed 9k, and that is my only experience. We haven't done a deal since because he is opening a business.

I have 40k in savings, only debt is car payment of 365, no rent/mortgage living with sibling, not married no kids.

I want to take the plunge and get my real estate license and to do it full time. This way it would enhance my knowledge, have access to mls, understand my market better, and network w/ a wide variety of people in the real estate industry. I understand I would be commission based and it may take time for me to earn a paycheck.

My dilemma is I would like to buy an OO duplex around 150k as soon as I can in order to take advantage of the low rates and qualify for a mortgage, but clearly if I were to quit my job that would not be a wise decision. I understand if I were to become an agent I would be self employed and wouldn't be able to qualify for a loan until I have 2 years tax returns that shows sufficient income. I would rather not wait that long.

What would you do if you were in my shoes?

@ Jon Klaus Very viable option to cut down closing costs. In 2012 did FHA reduce it to 3% of loan amount or 6K maximum?

@ Ned Carey Now that I think about it from a mathematic perspective, even if I did roll say 6k of closing cost into the loan, in 30 years i'm paying 6300 back in additional interest, not terrible. (6k x .035 x 30)

I'm planning to buy a duplex and be OO in the property. I will be using an FHA loan to achieve 3.5% DP. I will live in the property until I have filled my FHA requirements for occupancy. My objective here is to use minimal cash outlay for this long term buy and hold venture.

Now is it better to pay the closing costs out of pocket or roll it into the loan?

I was curious as to how much investors, who are in the metro and surrounding areas, have netted for SFR flipped homes that are in the 150k or less category in 2012?

I read a lot of articles that give advice on the importance of getting a home inspection done before buying a property. My question is what if I want to buy a HUD home which doesn't allow home inspections? Usually, are HUD homes harder to acquire than foreclosures? What are advantages and drawbacks in acquiring HUD properties?

how would I figure out equity accrued per year when I have bought the property with all cash?

what is a good average yearly cash ROI % when I don't have a mortgage? I understand every state is different but was curious to what everyone thinks is an average to good number.

to clarify, i'm talking about exclusive rights on buying side. I had some city assessments that were due and she said she would pay it if the lender wouldn't pay.

i had to initial on the purchase agreement that i would be responsible for the assessment because the bank was insisting. if I didn't sign an exclusive right to buy with her, would I or my agent be responsible for the assessments? I didn't have to pay anything extra at closing for assessments, but if i do have future assessment could i hold my agent accountable to pay since i was advised by her to agree to it with the bank in the purchase agreement?

what is an exclusive rights contract and when should exclusive rights contract be signed between myself and my agent? would it be at the beginning of my search or at closing, does it matter? if the agent were to make promises on paying for assessments, if any were to exist, but i didn't sign the exclusive rights contract with the agent, would she still be responsible for the assessments?