Newbie From VA! Few Q's inside.

[Emzie Blankenship]

**DISCLAIMER** I know my profile picture is poor quality, however it is me, it was posted onto my Facebook in about 2010/11, so just hang tight for a higher quality picture in the near future! :)


I am 21 years of age, I'm currently residing in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, however I am open to buying real estate in any part of VA, possibly NC. Currently saving up some money to put toward an investment, I have been looking into rental properties for the most part, duplexes-quadruplexes.

Since I am new to all of this, when I go to look at a property that I am interested in, will the realtor be able to tell me estimated repair cost, and ARV of the property, or should I bring a subcontractor to help me estimate the repair costs?

If the units already have tenants, or when I go to get tenants, what legal actions will I need to take?

I would like to try to get a FHA loan on a duplex in the $60k or less range. I have no credit history so I was thinking about taking out a $2k loan and paying it on time for a little while. What should I do before trying to acquire an FHA loan?

What steps do I take to finding someone to help me make some repairs or upgrades to a property? Do I just call up a local contractor?

What are some good websites to look at multifamily units?

If anyone has any little advice for someone whose completely new this industry and just now looking into getting their first multifamily property, please spill the advice. I've already found out that BP is great for advice.

I may have some more questions in the future, but this should be good for now. I've been reading around and their is a lot of helpful folks on here. Thanks BP!

[Sean H.]

Welcome to the BP site. A few things: on the duplex/quad, do some digging into the area you want to invest. From what I have found, most of these are in the Norfolk/Portsmouth areas....but as others have highlighted in other post the area can really make a big difference on the quality of the property. Not sure if you have determined a strategy yet, but one idea to look at is "house hacking". It is when you live in one pet of a duplex, tri or quad and rent the others. There are a lot of post in regards to this...so just do a search. Finally, there are some local real estate clubs such as PREIA (Peninsula Real Estate Investors Association) that is a good resource. At least get on the email list. Also mark your key words to get forum post in the area you are interested in. Good luck!