Help I'm left with a house!

[Gregory Robinson]

In recent years my mother has, as she said it, gifted me her old house, this process was done without me signing anything and I became the owner of this house that I'm responsible for.  Just within the last year I've had to replace bricks on the side of the house that was looking bad and now it's got a possible mold problem. I don't make enough money from my current job to pay someone to fix it and I'm not even sure if it's possible for me to make any money from selling it considering the way my mother transferred it. I'm no specialist but if sell it I'm assuming the cost of selling will be high since I paid nothing for it, I'm not really sure what the rules are on it. I have been listening to the podcast for a while now and every episode refers me back to here for more information, so I was hoping one you experienced guys know if I'm able to come up off this and possible turn it around and use this house to make money some way. My personal thought was to try and get a mortgage and fix it then rent it out to pay off the mortgage, would this be a smart move? Would I be better off trying to sell this and use what I make as a down payment towards a different loan and possibly start my real estate business this way?  So many questions and I'm from a small town so It's not likely I'll find a mentor out here in the country.

[Jason Mendoza]

Hi Gregory -

In this case I would say it depends on 1. the equity in the property currently 2. willingness to get the property rent ready. In my experience, you are in a great position since you already own the property. You don't have to go through the hassle acquiring a asset at this time. If I were in your shoes, I would use this property to learn the process of investing. Get a cashout refi and use those funds to get the property ready to be rented. This will give you the opportunity to build a relationship with a General Contractor (If the property requires a lot of work) and also with a lender. Having a good roladex of contacts is key in our space. Get that property rentable and acquire your first tenant. See how the property management side works and see if its for you. I would keep the LTV low on the refi to make sure you keep as much equity in the property has possible since it was inherited. It will give you ease of mind if you ever have a change of heart and decide to want to sell it down the line.