All Forum Posts by: Benjamin Aaker

Nicholas, welcome to Bigger Pockets and thanks for posting. Keep learning and determine your long term goals. Best of luck to you.

Hi Usman and welcome to BP!

That's a big question. Tenant screening is a big task and extremely important. Read Landlording on Autopilot by Mike Butler to get started. Make sure you create a screening policy and don't deviate from it. At least do these things before marketing your house.

If you are working with a Realtor (TM), they will have to follow the NAR rule to sign an agency agreement with a buyer before showing houses. That agreement will set a compensation that is negotiable. Most likely you will need to factor this into your purchase price when making offers.

Buy a duplex, triplex, or quadplex with an FHA loan and live in one unit. Rent out the rest. It's a great way to get started.

This is not unusual in the retail real estate agent world. The agent puts a lot of time into finding and showing you potential properties. This is a way to ensure compensation. You don't have to sign the agreement, though some state laws require an exclusive contract. If you don't sign, it's likely the agent will bring you less or no deals. If you do agree to sign, you can (at least in my area) specify in the contract that it is just for a particular property, or a particular location, etc. 

Hi and welcome to BP. I think the BRRR strategy is a good way to get started. I usually recommend house hacking a 4 plex. Make sure you spend a lot of time reading, learning, and meeting people before making the first investment.

From your options, #1 is a big sink of cash and I can't tell how much that increases you rent. #2 is a no due to cash flow negative. #3 is the way to go. HOAs cause a lot of headaches for investors as their mindset is usually different. That's another reason to sell.

Hi Shayvonne. Welcome to the forums! best of luck with your investing.

Assuming you mean 75% loan to value, looks like you'll need to close with $97,285 after closing costs and points. As Ko Kashiwagi says, we need to know more, such as rate, amortization, term. It would also be nice to know what you plan to do with the property once it is built.