All Forum Posts by: Al-Qumar Atkins

Investment Info:

Condo buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $304,900
Cash invested: $3,000

Three bedroom, two full bathroom, 990 sqft condo in heart on San Diego, CA.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

San Diego is a great place for appreciation and this condo was in my price range.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found this condo on realtor.com. I used an agent for the entire deal.

How did you finance this deal?

VA loan

How did you add value to the deal?

N/A, condo was newly remodeled.

What was the outcome?

Closed quickly with minimal repair issues.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The biggest challenge was reading and understanding all of the legal documents. Now I understand the process for buying a home and the next one will be that much easier.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Twana Rasoul - Agent

Hi everyone. I'm currently looking for my first property in San Diego to househack and had some questions for others who have done this already:

Are you househacking with roommates (i.e. not a multi-family residence where you live in one of the units)? Was there good demand for roommates? Did you do monthly leases? Did you charge less than the average rent price in the area since you are sharing common areas? Do you pay for utilities or do you split it with the roommate?

@Bryan Blankenship and @Dmitriy Fomichenko Thank you for the tips!

Hi Bigger Pockets!

My name is Al-Qumar Atkins and I am currently looking to buy my first real estate investment property. 

A little about myself: I am originally from New Jersey, I joined the military and was eventually stationed in San Diego. There was a bit of sticker shock when looking at prices before moving so I decided to live in an RV, one of my best ideas because I have been able to pay down a lot of debt. 

I have a little more to go, but once it is all paid off I plan on getting a single-family residence with an ADU or a multi-family residence using a VA loan in order to househack. I will be managing the property myself in the beginning, but I know I will have to get a manager during deployments and if my duty station changes.

I am excited and have been reading, watching and listening to anything I can get my hands on. I am eager to network, help others and learn. If you have any tips or just want to say hi and good luck I'm open to conversations!

@Chris Jackson Thank you for sharing you story, I really appreciate it! I have been working on it, starting through Bigger Pockets first. It's easier to handle because I have time to think so chit chat is not as awkward. I'm not going to give up! Thanks again!

Thank you very much for these tips! It makes the situation a little less worrisome.

@Marlen Weber thank you

I'm doing the research to learn how to begin my real estate investing career. It is very evident that networking is huge and I am an introvert with social anxiety (meeting new people is not terrifying, but it's up there). Does anyone have suggestions to help with this?