All Forum Posts by: Angela Jossy

I found a duplex for $199k and I put in an offer and it was accepted! My realtor is having the inspections done this week. I'm giving them my earnest money tomorrow. One unit is vacant and one is occupied. I'm waiting to find out the story on the existing tenant. They have crap all over outside including a broken car in the yard. I'm not sure what their payment history is or household composition or lease terms although I do know that they are month to month. All of that tenant information should be communicated to me this week. 

If the inspection is OK and the sale goes through then I'm planning to move into the vacant one and start fixing it up as an Airbnb. Its a tiny studio with a storage room that is raw but could potentially become a legit bedroom. I think it could be super cute as an Airbnb. Then I will probably move into the 2 bedroom unit and fix that up, refinance out of the FHA loan and rent that out.

What advise would you give me at this stage of the game? 

@Jornel Lugo Yes, that is exactly what I was saying. The rental income the property is already getting (minus one unit that must be my primary residence) can be counted toward my qualifying income. 

@Michael Macklin and 

@Jeff Schechter : The loan I have now is an FHA so I have to use one unit as my primary residence. Since my job as a Property Manager is here in Tacoma I don't think my first purchase can be out of state.

I'm currently looking at multifamily (duplex, triplex, 4-plex) because a friend of mine who is a lender alerted me to the fact that the income from the current rent being charged in the other unit(s) will increase the amount I am approved for. I will lose my DPA but I think I can come up with 6k between my Roth IRA and some money owed to me.

I also recently almost bought a 3 bedroom house from an investor who is older and is divesting of his rental houses and didn't want to pay capital gains on it because he already sold one this year. He was willing to owner finance for one year but it turned out that he owed $180k and he decided that he didn't want to gamble on the fact that I could get financed for that much next year. So that deal didn't happen but it showed me that there are other routes to getting my first purchase. 

I really want to get to $5000 per month cash flow so I am looking a this first purchase as a strategic one. I want to scale to at least 4 doors as soon as possible to offset the risks and then grow from there. I am open to partnerships as an option too because that might be best for my education and gaining investment experience. I think that my property management experience would be a good balance for someone else's experience with renovations and financing. 

Are you still looking? I might be able help you.  I manage 49 low-income units downtown Tacoma currently. 

I met with my credit union and then I met with a mortgage broker.  If I wait until next year when my credit rating is 700 and I have a few more debts paid off then I can get a zero down conventional loan from my credit union. If I want  to buy something now, the mortgage broker got me pre-approved for $155k and downpayment assistance (if you new and don't know what that is, its is a secondary loan that becomes due in 30 years or if you sell the property).  

I asked the mortgage broker what it would take to get approved in the 300k range and she said I would need $6000 a month in income. I'm at about $3,300 right now. I'm looking into creative ways to increase my income like taking in a foreign exchange student, doing side jobs, etc. I'm already driving uberEATS 2 days a week for around $500 extra income per month. I also do websites, graphic design, logo design and social media marketing but I haven't been doing a lot of that type of work lately because my day job as a Community Manager takes a lot of mental energy. The uberEATS driving turned out to be a great stress reliever! 

I checked my local real estate listings and there is not a lot in the 155k price range that would give me the ability to get rental income. Since this has to be my primary residence, I don't want to just have a two bedroom with a roommate. That's a little too close for comfort and a lot of eggs in one basket. I was hoping for a 3 or 4 bedroom so I can have some flexibility and do things like airBnB and roommates. The only properties that I found like that were foreclosures heading for the auction and I don't think I can buy at auction with this type of FHA loan. What I actually wanted was to buy a multifamily like duplex, triplex or 4plex but that doesn't seem possible for me unless I seriously increase my income. I was also considering single family homes that have a second unit like a mother-in-law apartment or a tiny house or something but I haven't seen anything like that in this price range.

I am willing to wait a  year and save up more money so I have some safety net and capex but a friend pointed out to me that that would mean one whole year of pouring my money down the rent drain. 

Am I missing something? What advice can you give me? 

I have been trying to figure out how to get started and do my first deal. Househacking was my main focus but in the process of investigating that something happened. A friend of mine flipped a house her parents had been renting to a family friend and now she sold it and has money to reinvest. She was thinking of doing another flip but I showed her this triplex in her neighborhood and she put in an offer to buy and hold it but the seller took it off the market. Now she's got the itch like me but unlike me she has a lot of cash. 

I also have a relative that is going to sell her house and move in with another relative so she will soon have money she could invest. Would it be a good idea to pitch the idea to them that we all go in together and buy an apartment complex? How would the proceeds be divided? Should everyone buy and hold together or should I do a BRRR strategy and buy them out when I refinance? Have any of you ever tried this kind of deal before? Is it too complicated for a newbie investor? (I am an experienced property manager of a 49 unit tax credit building).

@Christopher Brainard - Thank you for breaking it down like that. What you said makes a lot of sense. 

@Bill Goodland That's funny you said that because I literally just downloaded that book this morning! I like your idea about the Airbnb business. I'm going to give that some thought. The one thing about wholesaling that deterred me was that it really felt like learning an entirely new profession. Its not that I can't do that, as you can see from my background I've mastered many careers in my life, but right now I just kinda want to focus on being the best property manager and real estate investor I possibly can - while putting away as much money as possible. 

I was thinking earlier that if I wait one more year, my IRA/401K will have 10k and I can probably save at least another 5k from my various side hustle jobs. At that point I think I could probably get into a househack situation with a duplex/triplex/quad. Maybe I should just spend another year learning, looking at properties and running the numbers so I get a good sense of what's out there. I remember someone saying that if the deal is good enough, there's always someone who will fund it for you. Maybe if I keep looking that will end up being true. I wish I had a friend who was currently doing BRRR on small multifamilies so I could just kinda ride along and learn by watching and asking questions.

@Myka Artis Yes, I was speaking of Loftium. I had an email exchange with the founder yesterday. I did not know about the furnishings but that is really cool if they do that too.  

@Christopher Brainard My goal is to have $5000 a month cash flow in the next 5 years.