Help on my game plan

[Ashley Guerra]

Hello everyone,
I am 23 and looking to get into my first real estate deal this year. Why? I figured if the numbers make sense (i will get to those in a minute) and i can afford the house worst comes to worst, meaning not defaulting on the loan, Iam willing to invest in the property. I'm currently looking for a multi family (2-4) in my local market: Trenton, NJ. Homes ranges 250-350k. most of these homes need renovation minimum 10k most of the time. Now with that, I would want to go in fha203k loan or simply fha. 

Financially speaking, I'm still saving, but the goal is 50k saved up (all costs: closing, fees, down payment, portion of rehabbing costs) by this summer with my fathers help on the cash all while I continuously save 50-80% of my work checks to fund for rehabbing this property and I work off my second job and "survive off of that."
I currently live with my parents so my DTI is less than 43% for sure.
credit is good
currently have 13k in a roth ira, i have been reading i can use up to 10k tax free one time, should i leverage this?

Now, why summer?
I finally start my full time job, report 60k a year, which is not very high considering where I live and my home purchasing power. Now I have a question regarding when I can use my college degree and job as "proof of two years work" rule: when can i show consistent paystubs where i can be considered for a mortgage loan? 1 month, 2 months?
I don't plan on leveraging my dad at this point since we wont qualify for an fha loan if he is on the contract, so I heard.
With this said, how does this plan sound so far?


I am a planner type of person and am trying to build my own guide for home buying. I am aware of the home buying process from reading but I can imagine its like a bunch of gears working at once. I had a last question about when or if I should hire a buyers agents, assuming im preapproved and im at the point of finding a deal: do I hire a real estate agents or home buyers agent to find a home that fits my criteria? Or is this even their job? Also, is it rude to leverage multiple agents to see which one finds you a property first or using his contacts even though you didnt close with them? 
Even from all the reading I feel these things are unclear from a newbie investor

Thank you all! Any help is greatly appreciated

[Obiora Okagbue]

Hello Ashley ,

You are definitely on the right track, I became a real estate agent so I could invest in real estate. You would need an investor agent and also the ability to run the numbers.

I'm looking at a DSCR loan for fourplex and above for investing, but can't find a good deal yet in Somerset New Jersey area.