Investing in rental property post bankruptcy

[Dominique McDonald]

Hello!

This is my first post here. I'm excited to be apart of this community of knowledgeable individuals. Because of medical reasons I was forced to file bankruptcy to get rid of my medical bills in collections that was ruining my credit. What would be the best way to start investing in real estate with this public record on my background?  Will this prevent me from investing right away? My goal is to have at least a four unit by next summer.

[Justin Kay]

@Dominique McDonald if you saved that up post-filing, congratulations! If you were able to save it through a wild-card exemption filing through bankruptcy you're one of the lucky ones. 

If you keep saving, you should have enough to apply toward a FHA loan in a year and a half-ish. In the meantime, look at some other real estate investing options that don't involve direct ownership, including REITs.

Feel free to try some hard money lenders, but I don't think that's enough of a down payment to be able to give a hard money lender sufficient cushion and comfort, especially 2 months post discharge. But if you find the right property and the right lender, it's possible. Keep trying, and don't say no for an answer. Just make sure you run the numbers very conservatively, and you pay special attention to the fees and interest rates being charged. I've seen dozens of people post-bankruptcy get taken advantage of.

Good Luck!