Need immediate help, please I live in the bronx NY... (Newbie)

[Tom Willai]

Im 24 years old, my girlfriend is 22 years old, we live in the bronx, ny and live in our own apartment, rent is 900 per month for 1 bedroom, our lease is up in November 2012. We make around 2600 a month after taxes. My dad has good credit, good at fixing things as he is a superintendent. Bird Dogging/wholesaling seems a bit slow to get into real estate but worth the time, just hard in the bronx, and i really dont understand it. I know about arv, noi, and can pretty much tell calculate repair expenses from working with my dad when i was younger. I use to sell used cars from the auction before me and my girlfriend moved, but im looking to invest in something more BENEFICIAL. So here is my dilemma, Should i start birdogging in the bronx ny where houses start at $156,000 fmv for multifamily rehab homes(i also have a cousin in richmond va, but he doesnt have a car right now, i cant put him to work), should me and my girlfriend pack up and move to arizona with her mom, then get a house out there?, Should we continue renting where we are at now(i hate paying rent!) and find something(what i've been trying to do for past few months), should i get my dad to co-sign for a mulifamily? With the deposit me and my girlfriend will have $2000 in november if we move out. If not i still have a 1000 to invest. It feels like i may have to go back to selling cars. i have no kids, my girl friend has 10,000 credit card untouched. my credit is s***. Can anyone help me please?

[Jon Holdman]

I'm not entirely sure what your question is.

Should you get your dad to co-sign on a property? IMHO, no. You're obligating your dad to make the payments. By your own admission, you've trashed your own credit. Why risk trashing his. Work on fixing your credit.

Should I buy rather than rent? Maybe, maybe not. You say you hate paying rent. Yet, unless you buy with cash, you're paying "rent". You're either paying rent to a landlord or interest to a bank. For the first 10 years of a 30 year loan, your payments are almost all interest.

Can you buy a $156K house with $2000 in cash? Nope. Even the lowest down loans (FHA) are going to require 3.5% down. And those are available only for properties in very good condition, not rehabs. There are some FHA loan programs that are for rehabs, but they will still need more cash than $2000. If you want to buy, you need to work on saving up more cash. Also sounds like you're counting on getting back your full deposit from your current rental, which is unlikely.

Should you stay in the Bronx or move to Arizona? Beats me. Where do you want to live? Where can you find work? Probably cheaper to live in AZ, but can you find a job there?

Should you birddog/wholesale? I assume you have a day job. If not, I'd concentrate on that first. If you do, and have the time, why not give wholesaling a shot. But realize it is very hard work. You will have to put some time and money into finding deals, finding buyers, and closing the deal. I know the gurus makes it sound like easy and quick money. Its not. So, if you're actually counting on that to be a "job" (it is just a job, no matter how many gurus try to convince you its "investing"), then you may come up short. Its commissioned sales. You only get paid when you close a deal. And closing deals is hard.