Looking for financial ideas for starting out

[Travis Nelson]

I know I am facing an financial uphill battle in particular when starting out in this industry, however I am choosing to look at this as an opportunity to learn and find a solution that works for us. While working a decent warehouse job 5 years ago as a single guy I was able to save up a down payment, and purchased my first house. A few years later, after getting married and having 2 kids, a back injury left me unable to do physical labor for a living anymore. The only jobs I really qualify for now pay less than childcare would cost. We now own a small business, that makes more than I did in the warehouse, but still not enough to really get ahead. After 5 years the house now has (conservatively) around 100k equity after simple updates and appreciation. My goal is to invest in multi family units in my area, but the biggest roadblock I see is trying to find financing as the numbers don't really support us being able to get a loan on that equity as income from a small business is looked at differently than that from a typical job. I am very new to this but am determined to find solutions. Any insight/advice/warnings are welcome. Thanks