All Forum Posts by: Barry L Hohstadt

Hi Loan experts, newbie with a question about obtaining an FHA, which may be my first strategy for investing. Here is my situation:

I currently own no real estate. I have enough money to put down on a moderately priced property, say up to $200,000. The only debt I have  a pretty high car loan. I just lost my job but had it for 14 years. I have been in my current rental for six years. In January I was released from CH 13 (Which was due to a divorce in order to pay alimony). My current FICO is 604.

We are planning to move to a different state soon. When we get there I would like to buy a property to live in, to start. I may or may not be employed at the time. What would be my chances of obtaining a FHA? I do know that 580 is the FICO requirement for 3.5% but I am sure there are other factors. Any advice on improving FICO or anything else I should be doing? Our move is about six months out.

One last question, can an FHA be used to buy a condo?

Thanks!

I am currently in Seattle but moving to Kona in six months or so, and that is why my profile lists Kona as my location. I just lost my IT job that I held for 14 years and after 20 years in Seattle we are ready to leave the gloomy skies and crowded city. My wife's father is a long time resident of Kona (25 years) and my wife has previously lived and worked on Oahu. I am 58 years old so I have my eye on retirement, but do not have enough savings to retire comfortably. I do not see much in the way of IT work in the Kona area so I am not sure if I can get an IT job or not but I am looking at real estate investing to start creating income and take us into retirement on the island. To my surprise there is practically no information on BP about Hawaii investing, especially the big island. I have made two post inquiring about it and have received 0 responses. It makes me wonder if it is a difficult place to succeed in investing. I would love to hear comments from you about it.

Thanks

Hi I posted this question in the local Hawaii forum and got no replies, so I thought I would try here in the general forum.

I have found little to no information on investing on the Big Island, the Kona area in particular. A search for "Kona" on BP returns nothing useful in the way of forums or blogs. This seems odd considering the huge vacation rental market there. Does anyone have any thoughts about why this is? Is Kona not a desirable area to invest in? Are there no Big Island investors on BP (hard to believe!)? It seems to me that investing in Kona may have some peculiarities due to the nature of the area as far as tourism, retirement, condos, etc. There also seems to be an inventory shortage of affordable properties. Any comments would be appreciated.

Hi,

I have found little to no information on investing in the Kona area of the Big Island. A search for "Kona" on BP returns nothing useful in the way of forums or blogs. This seems odd considering the huge vacation rental market there. Does anyone have any thoughts about why this is? It seems to me that investing in Kona may have some peculiarities due to the huge condo market.

A little background about myself: I am currently living in Seattle with plans to move to Kona in six months or so. My wife's father is a long time resident, so we do have a local connection there. I recently lost my job in Seattle of 14 years, and I am wanting to leave. I am 58 years old and planning that real estate investing in Kona could carry me into retirement. I am an IT pro here in Seattle but there does not seem to be much in the way of IT jobs in Kona. I am a newbie just starting my education in investing.  Thank you to anyone who cares to comment.