Working Towards Bigger Pockets

[Jesse Thommes]

Hello everyone! 

I just wanted to introduce myself to the community that I've been reading from for a little over a year.  My names Jesse and I'm a licensed insurance salesman who's main long term goal is to buy and hold properties, working towards earning my financial freedom.  I am in the early stages of my planning and researching, and would appreciate any feedback that comes my way. 

I'm very grateful to have access to such a wonderful community with more answers than I would ever have questions for, and plan to contribute as much as I can. I have been in and out of the BiggerPockets site for a little bit and the knowledge I have acquired has helped me clearly define my goals, but I am looking forward to investing even more time and understanding REI more thoroughly.

My current "ideal situation" would be one in which I can secure a discounted fixer-upper property (around 70%?) with a 203k FHA loan. I love the BRRRR strategy, and I feel that this would be the best way for me to go about my first property. I would renovate and live in the property for the first year, and then rent it out for a little bit, refinance at new value, and then take the profit to another property and repeat. This is all from research, I have not actually been a witness or participant in any type of deal, so my knowledge of processes and what not are spotty. Is there something else that may arise as an issue with this strategy?

I can imagine an issue coming from trying to hold more than one property at a time with loans, I'm lacking in the credit history field. 

I like the 203k loan for my first property because I currently cannot come up with 20-30% for a conventional loan, and I plan on living in the property for the first year anyway.  I also assume that I wont have much cash on hand for the rehab, so 203k sounds like my best option.  My plan is to stay in the western market area, as it's what I'm most familiar with. 

To wrap up this intro, I just wanted to reiterate that I'm grateful to have an access point for so much knowledge and be involved in a community with helpful members sharing their expertise.  Thank you so much for reading my intro, and I wish you much luck in the future. 

-Jesse Thommes