All Forum Posts by: Amy Oltendorf

@Andrew Tyson

Welcome to BP! I currently work at MU for the past 10 years, welcome back. There is a wealth of knowledge on this site, and any everyone is so helpful.

@Doug Martens

Congrats on your deal! I have seen you at some of the Milwaukee REIA meetings. Glad to see you made your way on to Biggerpockets!

Welcome to BP @Ed Riggenbach

@Ed Riggenbach

@Ed Riggenbach

@Taylor Tautges welcome to BP! This site is an excellent source of information.

@JJ Bliss That sounds very interesting. I am currently looking to invest in my first buy and hold in Milwaukee, if I may ask, what area do you invest in? I guess my problem is, that I am scouring the MLS with my realtor currently. As I am new and don't know what I am doing yet! Ha!

Did you say anything the first month that he was $100 short? I am all about nipping it right away, however, is there something that just came up in their personal life? Have they paid on time with sufficient funds in the past? For how long? Try communicating with them first to see what is going on, then if you do not get anywhere with it, then you know they are non compliant.

@Karen M. Yes, the podcasts are awesome, I have listened to a few of them twice and cannot wait for them to come out every week! Especially when @Dawn Anastasi rocked it with her peer to peer lending, and have tried investing a bit on the side as well.

@Bob Hines Thank you, that sounds very interesting, and I will be keeping that in mind in the future.

@Karen M.

Hi! That is really good to hear! It really is an awesome source of information, do you listen to the podcasts as well? Where are you at in the process currently? Have you been to any recent REIA meetings? My work schedule changed, and now I am unable to attend most REIA meetings, and bummed about that, as I was just starting to meet people over the summer. Good luck in your search and keep in touch!

@Ramon Jenkins Thanks, makes sense, so you really would recommend not making much "cash flow" right away since you would work towards paying it off sooner, affecting monthly cash flow.

@Simon Campbell That is what I am talking about! Thanks for your input!

So, after much thought and debate, I would like to start investing for the long term with buy and holds. Here is my situation: I currently have my duplex for 7 years now, so I have had some experience in managing that. Ups and downs of course, but overall I have enjoyed it. I am not too handy, but have learned along the way. I originally thought I wanted to buy a 4-plex or a triplex, however, after reading into things on BP, I think I may start with single family homes, as they have lower start up costs, and more exit strategies, I mean if I like it, I can always look into adding more to my plate, right? I will be looking into investing close to me, on the lower end of town (single families are going for 25-40K). I already spoke to a handful of banks and asked the question to my local REIA about financing the first deal. I do not think I will have a problem receiving bank financing, (since I spoke to one specifically about my situation) since I have a stable, decent paying job, (for 10 years) excellent credit, (little over 800) liquid reserves, a 20-25% down payment, 2K on a credit card, (which I could pay off, but have a deal with no interest, so why bother) and a decent amount in my 401K and Roth IRA (as the banks informed me I can use up to 60 % of that value for 6/12 months of reserves ). Since I am looking in the lower end, and the prices are not drastic, is it smart to receive bank financing for such a small loan, probably 20-30K? I have also heard people talk about "portfolio lenders" and maybe looking into something like that. I hear though, if you are able to receive bank financing, do it, since the payments are so low (but how will this affect things in the future, when I plan to buy another one down the road). Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on this, as I am reading and reading, and tired of not doing, as I am ready to call my bank to start up the paperwork this week. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. This site has been so helpful to me already, since I have already searched the forums and all with these topics! That is why I am stuck, every time I think I know what to do, someone else speaks up to give me more thoughts on something else! Which is awesome!