Need professional advise in buying my first multi-Family

[Michael Jimenez]

Good afternoon!

This is my first post ever and I will be probably throwing in bit of information as I got a few options to go through and would like to reach out to you guys about your options and advise as I start my journey as a Real estate investor! I would also like to build a team and or build connections as I will be an out of state investor. 

About me -

I am currently in the Army national guard currently deployed in the Middle East. I live in Massachusetts and plan on staying there for now once I'm back home. I do have a POA ( Power of Attorney) for anything that needs to be taking care of like appointments, walk thru, and closing deals.

The goal is to start finding deals and sending offers for multi- families in December 2022. I have multiple ways to go about it but wanted to hear from others what would be a good way to tackle my first deal! In December I'll roughly have 20% down for anything under 120k, but I also have FHA and VA available!

What are your thought? Also would be get if you have recommendation on PMs , contractors and agents! I’m ready to network! I’m ready to get my feet wet! 

[Ian Hogan]

In terms of your timeline, December and the winter in general can be an interesting time to start the search. Usually volume is lower but so are buyers, especially on snowy days or non ideal weather. So it can be great for determined buyers. That being said, the last year has been pretty strange with high buyer activity, with some open houses with a line down the road.

You'll probably want to determine your strategy in terms of the scale of turn-key to full gut rehabs. That may determine where you want to invest as well as what loan vehicle. Saying this since many minor things can possibly fail an FHA and VA loan but be saved by a smaller 203k (renovation FHA loan). I'm a fan of the 203k loan.

If your targeting MA (or not but want to talk with other investors either way), depending on your availability and when you come back to the states we have meetups for Massachusetts in person and virtually still for likeminded investors to meet other investors.

Thank you for your service and stay safe out there.