New Investor Goals..

[Victor McGlothurn]

Okay so a part of me feels like I'm overthinking what it takes to succeed as a real estate investor. So any help would be appreciated. Here's my situation: 

I purchased my current primary residence in 2020 (Still residing here so my FHA waiting period as expired) .

I have equity on this property that I haven't cashed out yet (didn't know what it was until recently) 

I would like to purchase a fully occupied multifamily property (preferably a 4plex without FHA) as my first investment to generate immediate cashflow

Someone said that I should purchase another property using FHA and rent out my current one to get started. It's not a bad idea but the thought of paying 2 mortgages until I can get the lease signed scares me to death (I have 2 small children and am the only source of income). House hacking is also out of the question because I spent a lot of time in apartments and can't stand the fact that I would have to do it again with a wife and kids.

I keep seeing that you need to get pre approved for loans but I'm not sure if the loan should be for the listing price or just the down payment. 

I have a couple thousand saved for an emergency but it's just collecting dust so I'm almost willing to use it for an investment if necessary but not using it is definitely preferable 

I can feel in my soul that there's a way to get it done I'm just having a hard time seeing it. I've been doing research on investing for about a month so obviously I'm still wet behind the ears but the sooner I can get the ball rolling the sooner I can take actual steps to secure my freedom. So any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thank you 

[Jonathan Greene]

First off, pump the brakes immediately. If you don't even understand how to get a new loan and you have only a couple thousand saved, you are not buying a four-plex. Slow down. With two kids, you will likely not want to bounce into a house hack, and you only want to pin FHA to FHA together as a strategy and you need equity in the first home to do it and cash reserves to make the transfer. How much equity do you have in your current home? Either way, if your family savings with two kids is two thousand dollars, do not think of how to invest that into real estate. You need reserves for your kids and your house for a long time before you go into deal two.