First Investment, is FHA holding me back?

[Elif Erguclu]

Hi everyone,

So I'm working with an agent to find a property that I could live in for a year (FHA requirement) and rent out after my year is over. I'm using Brian's "house-hacking" strategy using an FHA loan and I already got pre-approved for it. Based on my pre-approval, income, student loans, etc. I would have to look at houses that are bellow 200K. I also heard that "In real estate, you make money when you buy" so I found some properties that were between 60-90K but my agent told me that they are not FHA approved. The properties that she has for me are condos between 130-200K (with a C/C and/or HOA fee of around $200/month) and I think they are a bit too expensive for a rental investment. I live in Montgomery County, Maryland and know the area really well. The prices that my agent is showing me are reasonable for someone who wants to live in them. But for me, since I'm using the property as an investment, the prices are high. Now, I was wondering if I should invest or not.

Thank you in advance for your advice and suggestions.