New Member Introductions
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies

Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal


Real Estate Classifieds
Reviews & Feedback
Updated over 4 years ago on . Most recent reply

New Investor, looking for guidance?
Hello, if its not painfully obvious, this is my first post here.
So, my wife and I are in the process of clearing our plate of a small amount of consumer debt and a few other non essential expenses before we start to move into acquiring our first property. This will take approximately 12-18 months, if we're being realistic. My question is, we have approx. 80K equity in our primary home at the moment. But...It definitely needs updating. Current value is estimated at around 220k. It needs new windows, siding and the kitchen needs a complete rehab. I don't have access to MLS but some very similar (fully updated) houses in our area have sold for 280-300 recently. We eventually plan on renting this property out when we move in 5 years or so. Also, with our new budget, my wife's new job and some of the debt we've gotten off our plate, we'll be able to set aside approx 15k a year starting in 2021. We're both in our early 40's.
Do we A.) Just take the current equity we have and use that to invest in our first BRRRR property ASAP?
or
B.) Update the kitchen and windows in the spring so we actually get to enjoy it for awhile, pay off the loan we used to update ASAP and get a higher amount of equity available for our first property, which would delay us another 18 mos. to 2 yrs?
Or is there another option I'm possibly ignorant of?
I appreciate any help you all can offer. Thanks!
-Henry
Most Popular Reply

@Jonathan Klemm, Nothing is impossible, but I’d not considered that due to the fact that finding a duplex or other multi family property in our current school district, that would fit a family of 5, is really tough. We’d most likely have to have all of the kids change schools and that is a complication I’m sure I’d receive some pushback on from the rest of the family.