All Forum Posts by: Jeffery Griggs

 I gotcha ya. Tell me about the apartment that you brought at 18. That's impressive action at a young age. 

Kristin the other reply's all gave good advice. I'm curious as to why you would buy something without having a solid idea of what the rent would be. This seems pretty risky to me.

I've not dealt with H-1B but we do have a tenant in place that had no credit history. We had a family member co=sign and accepted 6 months rent in advance. He has been a great tenant. In fact we just collected the rent for the next 6 months in advance.

Hi Alex,

We bought our first (and only rental so far) via FSBO. We did not use an agent at any point. Not having to pay the commission helped make the numbers work for us.

If you're planning to make an offer it makes sense to plan on having a contract on hand. If they agree you want to get this signed ASAP. They could change their mind...

We have not used an entity for our SRF. The mortgage is in our name and does not transfer to the entity. If we moved the the house to an entity the bank has the option to call the mortgage.

Good luck!! Let us know how it goes.

Hi Jacob!! Welcome to BP.

Congrats on overcoming the fear to post. That may seem like a small first step but it is important to take some type of action. You can build on that. 

First of all the general idea of a small multi and using one unit as your primary is a great idea. Something I wish I had known about or thought of when I was your age. I don't know anything about your local market...I'm still trying to learn more about mine. But a 250K mortgage will have a monthly payment in the 1200 - 1400 dollar range. Rents are 18000/month that only leaves 4 - 6 hundred left over and we have not even discussed taxes, insurance, vacancy, or maintenance. I would look for a better deal. 

Think about what you have going for you. You are at the start of a good career and your young. You definitely want to get started and take action but you have time on your side. Take the time to find the right deal not just any deal. In the meantime you will have increased your savings and maybe paid down some of the student loan. These are positive things.

Continue to learn, listen to the podcasts, ask questions, and learn your market. If you are persistent and consistent you will find the deal that works for you.

Good luck and let us know how is goes!!!

Matt I live in Pelham, AL a suburb of B'ham. The market here has been very good. We are just getting started but it has worked well. We are about an 8-9 hr drive from you or a short Southwest flight. I really like to over the Mountain area south of B'ham.....good neighborhoods.

Welcome to BP!! This is a great site. I suggest you check out the forums, free books, and set up keyword alerts for topics you are interested in. 

Just curious but it sounds like you are looking to provide hard money for investors...is that correct?

Welcome to BP!! There is a great deal of info available. I suggest you start with the podcasts and the free books.

Good luck!!!