New BiggerPockets Member Kasey Ryan

[Kasey Ryan]

Hello there BiggerPockets community! This is Kasey Ryan. I currently live in Chicago, and I am finally looking to move out and purchase my first property! I have been doing as much research as possible at Bigger Pockets and other locations on the web. From my research, I BELIEVE that my best strategy at the moment would be to start with a multi-family property and live in one of the units. 

It is my understanding that this would help me to pay the mortgage, qualify for the loan, as well as secure a much lower down payment. I realize of course that I cannot expect the rent to be pure income. I plan on purchasing with the 50% rule in mind. 

I have also come to find out that the FHA loans have a large extra monthly expense for the mortgage insurance which must be budgeted for.

I am planning to speak with a few lenders to get a few ideas of how much money I can be pre-approved for, and I am planning on using the 75% of estimated rental income to help me get approved for the loan. But I am not yet sure where I can get accurate rent estimate information for properties...(?)

I am also in the process of creating my format for analyzing property. I am putting together the procedures and spreadsheets to crunch the numbers for various properties (still in the early stages of this) to make sure that I only go after the fair, good, and hopefully great deals.

I came here mainly seeking information at first, browsing without really posting myself, creating a membership, etc... But after viewing the forums, pages, stories, and resources available, I decided creating a membership and communicating at least semi-actively on the forums would be very beneficial. This seems to be an extremely knowledgeable and supportive community. 

I come to you guys with an open mind, I hope to get any and all criticisms, advice, suggestions, etc... I will consider them very seriously, as I realize I know very little at this point. I hope to pick the brains of those that know far more, and are kind enough to assist me.

Thanks to all of you for reading, and scores of you for the help you have already given me in the research I have done up until now.