Advice on moving forward

[Jose Esquivel]

Hi there I'm relatively new to the bp forums and I am wondering on how to move forward. I am looking to invest in properties and must ask should I take a conventional loan out and build some equity and pull equity out of the house? Or should I pick up a deal a seller is telling me about and take out the conventional loan out on it and owner occupy it while renting the other half?

Thanks ahead 

[Brian Pleshek]

Learn everything you can. Before moving on a deal, you should probably spend 50 hours doing research on various types of real estate issues. You fortunately have plenty of resources here. First pick the type of real estate you wish to work in(likely SFH or small multi-families). Then do a lot of research on what it takes to acquire these properties. Find out what pitfalls there are to having property. Learn about rehabbing costs, because some will require more than just a new coat of paint. Learn about different neighborhoods of town. Go spend a few weekends looking at open houses and talking to realtors. Learn about different financing options. Do you know your credit score? Get a copy of your report and make sure it's accurate. Fix any inconsistencies.

And save, save, save.  Try to reduce your expenses so that you can save up a decent down payment.  While you can do creative things to acquire properties, the easiest way to do so is to have money.  So save up a decent down payment.

Good luck,

Brian