Upside down mortgage/Possible opportunity? - Katy, TX

[Dilthon Ramos]

Hello All,

So I've been thinking about this for a while but I have limited knowledge real estate investing. I'm going to try to keep this short and sweet.

My mom and her husband live in Katy, TX. They bought their SF home (4b/2ba) when the market was high (before the crash) and they are now upside down with their mortgage. They both want to move back to Los Angeles but their current mortgage situation is holding them back. They have played with the idea of renting their home and moving out here but can't workout the property management aspect.

Flipping over to the Los Angeles side and my story, I'm still trying to acquire my first investment property in LA but have had a difficult time as multi families are out of my price range (FHA 3.5%).

An idea I've pondered is to buy my mother's home and then rent it out to tenants which should allow my mom and her husband to move back to LA. The property management would still be a challenge, though. I do have family out there near by but they work FT and I don't want to rely on them too much.

Is this a feasible idea or just a newbie tragedy waiting to happen? I'm trying to think my way through it but with my limited knowledge of REI, I'm not sure I can accurately plan this out without covering all the bases or if it'll even work.

Thanks for taking the time to read!

You stay classy, BP.

[Sandra Gibson]

What would you looking to rent it per month  compared to taxes and insurance? Is the roof, siding, flooring, kitchen and bath in good condition?