If you could make your first investment over again...

[Yader Gomez]

What would you change about it? Would you change the type of property, the area you purchased in, how you financed, etc?

Like many of the newbies here, I still am hesitant to pull the trigger on my first deal. Let's assume house hacking is off the table because my girlfriend and I don't want roommates in a SFR and no MFH makes sense number-wise or are in an area we'd be okay with living in.

The main choices for me are whether to 1. Buy a primary residence that I'll be in for a good amount of time, then save up for an investment property, 2. Buy a modest primary residence that I can stay in for a few years, then upgrade and use the first one as a rental while taking advantage of the financing terms I got by going in as a primary residence, or 3. Keep renting and make my first buy an income property. 

The main dilemma for me right now is that Orange county is offering a generous $15k bond that I qualify for but it's only for first time home owners/ haven't had name on a deed in over 3 years. So if I stick with REI this will be the only time I qualify for something like this. But I'm also not a fan of still having to spend some cash on a non-income producing property and having to build back up again.

[Sung Park]

@yader Gomez can you and your girlfriend qualify for two homes separately with each of your incomes? If both of you qualify for the bond program by being first time home buyers, then you individually owner occupy both and after the occupancy requirement is over, both of you live in one home and rent out the unoccupied home. You get your SFH, twice the bond program money, and an investment property with owner occupied financing.