New member! Looking to invest in WV, PA, & MD

[Katie K.]

Hi everyone!

My name is Katie, and I'm from Morgantown, West Virginia. From the information I've gathered so far, I've decided to focus on rentals. While researching REI, I of course came across the BP podcast and their videos on youtube. The first video I saw was a handheld live stream of Brandon standing in a kitchen talking a million miles a second. I thought "Who the heck is this?!" haha But the more he talked, the more sense he made. I've since become a sponge, soaking up all the information and advice I can, from various sources. The 4-5 books whose titles kept popping up again and again in interviews are set to arrive on my porch this afternoon! (thank you UPS tracking) So I'm pretty pumped.

Some quick facts:

• I work full time.
• I bought my first home last fall with an FHA.
• My house appraised for ~$30k more than my loan amount, so I have a small amount of equity in the home already (I think that's how that works; correct me if I'm wrong)
• I've already spoken to my real estate agent about viewing investment properties, and she said "Let's wait until you get pre-approved." Fair enough.
• I spoke with my loan officer, and he was frank with me - I need 25% down on an investment property, period.
• He came up with some creative alternatives, like buying a "2nd home" in a destination location, which only requires 10% down. Or buying another primary residence in the same town, moving, and renting out my current home. He can get that down to ~4% down.
• I also came across HELOCs in my research. Since I have some home equity already, I could possibly use that to cover the 25% down on an investment property. Any advice on this is welcome!
• If I could rewind the clock 6 months, I would purchase a multi-family unit with my FHA and house hack. Hindsight...
• I also have an adjacent, but related question: Should I pay off my car, free and clear? I know that seems like a question for a different crowd, but it affects how much I can save for REI. I'm curious to know what others have done with their debt(s) to position themselves for REI. Is paying off your car a good idea? Because I have the money now, and it would put an end to the monthly payments. I just hate paying interest every month on an asset I can just own outright, especially when I'm venturing into REI. Any advice on this is welcome as well!

Thanks in advance to all who read this and offer some advice. This community is bursting with positivity and camaraderie, and I'm so excited to be a part of it now!