First property needed as a stepping stone

[Julio Bobadilla]

Greetings, Long story short I'm currently renting an apartment, but I'm looking for a property to move into, but to also rent out in 1 year, and continue to build my real estate business. I am familiar with 203K loans, house hacking, and/or buying a regular home. I'm having trouble finding properties in my area (Bakersfield, CA) there's currently too many buyers and not enough sellers. How can I find wholesalers in my area, besides a random Google search? Any pointers or best route to take? Are manufactured homes a good idea for a first house?

[Geordy Rostad]

@Julio Bobadilla

Try attending some local real estate investor club meetups. Try meetup.com or Bigger Pockets events section to find them.

I'm a big fan of manufactured homes but you have to know what you are doing and know what you are buying. As a first house, it would be fine if you stick with the following things:

1) Must not be on a huge piece of land (up to 5 acres is probably fine). Reason being is the bank is quick to devalue it and calculate your purchase as a land deal instead.

2) Must be July 15th, 1976 or newer. Anything earlier than that date is a mobile home, not a manufactured and thus it's very hard to finance.

3) No single-wides.

4) Must be on owned-land, not in a park. A manufactured home in a park is not a real estate deal unless you are buying a park.

5) Something built in the 90's will be a LOT better than the older stuff. It will probably have drywall and feel like a proper home inside.

6) Must have the title eliminated to finance. This will require tie downs.

7) Must not have any structures or buildings(including decks) attached to it (aside from an aluminum carport perhaps). If there is a deck, it must be free standing and not be nailed to the house for load support. Appraisers will red flag the house if there are structure changes to it because they are engineered and designed as a functioning unit. Therefore any modifications after leaving the factory require engineering, inspections, etc.

8) Your loan rate will be slightly higher by maybe 1/4 point or so.

If you can wrap your head around some of these nuances, go for it!