Newbie from Cincinnati buying multi family

[Will Sanders]

Hi everyone, my name is Will and I'm not only new to bp but also to real estate and investing.

I've wandered the forums for the last couple weeks and decided to join today as I was pre-approved for my first mortgage this morning. I'm looking for my first property to be a 2-4 family preferable in Northern Kentucky or some parts of Cincinnati's east side.

I can give more info but basically now that I'm approved I need to get as much help as possible evaluating properties. My budget is up to 200k at the extreme, though likely closer to 175.

More about myself. I'm 28 and have never owned property as mentioned. I work full time and graduated from NKU last December thus my familiarity and preference with the NKY area, my fiancé also has a lot of family in the area as she grew up there; I myself grew up in Cincinnati, Sycamore.

Hopefully I can get advice going forward on what to look for with potential properties, cash flow analysis, and so forth; maybe even meet some local members.

Questions, comments, or rude remarks for me?

[David Beard]

Will -- welcome to BP and the world of real estate investing. Are you looking for an owner-occupied multi? I'm sure you know that if not owner-occupied, you'll need a 25% down payment, whereas owner-occ can be had for 3.5% down with FHA financing.

Here's a little worksheet I uploaded that will give you a good idea (reality check) of all the expenses and other considerations that you will face with any rental property, but multi-family in particular has more expenses that may not be immediately evident.

http://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/d1beard/file/buy-and-hold-analysis

The Cincinnati REIA is worth a visit (first visit is free), though for me the jury is still out on the value of spending a lot of time with it. However, it's pretty inexpensive (a friend and I are paying $19/mth jointly to be members) and they have an extensive library of educational materials. Just don't get bogged down with spending inordinate amounts of time at meetings and seminars. Of my network of seasoned investors (and investor agents) in the area, almost none go to the REIA meetings, just the reality.

So you need to get to know a few serious investors, and pretty quickly start taking massive action, going to look at lots of properties, learning how to estimate rehab, running rental comps and market value comps, making offers, etc. At some point, it make sense for you to consider getting your agent's license ($1,200 up front and $100/mth), to have full MLS access and ability to inspect properties, control deals, bid low on HUD properties, and earn an occasional commission.