All Forum Posts by: Charles W.

Thanks for sharing this. As someone still learning this thread has shown a number of things I had not considered.

Lets instead then assume that the HELOC was canceled. Wouldn't that be the equivalent of calling it? I do not have a HELOC but that is what I have been told about them.

As I understand it, another thing to keep in mind if using a HELOC for a downpayment is that the lender may call the balance of a HELOC at anytime. If for example you have a 50k HELOC and the lender decides that they are reducing your HELOC to 25k you would owe them the 25k right away. For the reason I would avoid using the HELOC as financing for any kind of long term investment unless you are able to cover the balance through other funds if necessary.

There is a lot of helpful advice in this thread. I wonder if maybe you are looking for more directed advice... For me personally part of staying motivated is first and foremost the knowledge that if I can stick with it I can reach my long term goals, but what really helps with the day to day is to sit down and break that longer term goal into many short term goals.

Make a list of what you KNOW you still don't know or need to do to move a step closer to your goals. For each of those items, make another list of what steps you need to take to learn/accomplish the item. Everyday make sure that you at least work towards one of those items. For instance, your goal today to be to make your lists. Knowing that you accomplished something to move you closer no matter how small that something is will help to keep you on track.

If you dwell on the longer term goal (your first deal) instead of noticing the little progress you make everyday towards that goal it is much easier to become discouraged.

Seeing posts like this really help to keep my motivation levels high. Congrats on your initial successes.

Thanks Mitch!

Hello BP Community!

I've only just discovered this forum last week, and can't believe the wealth of knowledge and sharing that I never knew existed! For months I've been reading BP articles and never noticed the forums...

I am 27 and lived in Maryland for two years now. My wife and I own our own home and since last fall I have been seriously looking into getting into REI. Since then it has been a burning passion. I have learned a tremendous amount about the business from J Scott and his blog (which eventually led me here!) that I've been reading regularly ever since. My long term goal is to do buy and hold investing, using fix and flip to raise capital along the way.

I have not actually purchased my first investment property yet, but I am learning what not to buy. My very first offer in September was written on a condo unit in a building that all units had been foreclosed upon :oops: . At the time I was incredibly depressed the offer was rejected, but knowing what I know now I know it would have been a nightmare had the bid been accepted. It is amazing how much I now know I didn't know, and how much more I realize there is to learn.

I looked at properties for months in Baltimore city, only to realize that for my strategy Baltimore city is not where I want to be. Baltimore is incredibly anti-landlord, and only seems to get worse every time I read a new article. I've re-scoped my target area to Frederick MD, and am focused on learning the neighborhoods and valuations. I expect our first deal to end up being a 3/2 town home on the southwest side of town.

I'm also looking for contacts: a good local REI group, a REI CPA, Realtor familiar with the Frederick area (and willing to submit many offers), wholesalers, and other investors in the area.

I'm very excited to be joining the community and looking forward to sharing my experiences.