Waiting until later to buy my first multi?

[Brendon K.]

Hey folks, I'm trying to buy a multifamily house in Austin. After ep#25 I got interested in this after hearing one guy who got a tri-plex and ended up not paying rent after expenses. He was in Boston and got approved for something like 385k. I just got approved for 350k, but I expect this may only be because it's going to be my first house and I don't have a heck of a lot of capital to start with (25k after cashing in a 401k rollover from a previous job). So I started messaging realtors in the area telling them I would like a 3 or a 4-plex if possible. Many just put me straight out and told me it's impossible with no further communication. One guy seems fairly interesting though:

Because this is the first guy who didn't write me off, I asked him if he could imagine a way for someone like me to do it the way I'm envisioning. This is what he said:

What do you all think about this? Should I just keep saving as much money as I can, or should I reduce my requirements and just see if there's a duplex that's not a death trap? Is there any way I can fact check what he's saying? Or maybe some way to get a multiplex much cheaper than the average MLS listing?

[Todd Dexheimer]

All of my properties are pre-1980's and none have a negative cash flow. Make sure when you buy the main items have been updated in the last 10 years and you'll be good. If they haven't count on saving for it. As for flips, I have completed Mid 1800's houses and they are fine. I would say houses built between 1975-1995 are poor construction with cheap materials for the most part.