All Forum Posts by: Holly Baldwin

Hi @Stormy Hollingsworth

This link to the HUD website might help you with FHA info.

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/buying/loans

Also, you mentioned you are finishing high school......I am assuming you are 18 yrs old? In order to be an eligible borrower under FHA you need to be Legal Age (18 or older) or married.

There are also maximum allowable loan limits that are set by individual counties. You should be able to find your county from the website above and see what the loan limits are.

You also will need stable income for at least the first 3 years of the mortgage. (documented and continuous work history in order to qualify)

FHA is only for 1 to 4 unit structures.

With FHA you will have an upfront mortgage insurance premium (UFMIP) and then monthly mortgage insurance after that as well. But the premiums decrease monthly as the loan balance decreases. And you can request that the MIP be removed once you reach 80% of current market value (requires an FHA appraisal).

I hope this stuff doesn't scare or overwhelm you, but helps you understand it better.

Good luck and keep on learning!!

@Lync Jones

I really like the advice that has been given so far. So thanks for asking your question! :)

Speaking from experience, being "house poor" is the worst! I would echo all the other advice!

Being a woman, and a wife and mother, I can totally understand where your wife is coming from. :) But you can tell her that I have done both (larger house with more space and storage vs. smaller home with lower payment). I wanted our "forever" home and thought the grass was greener there in the bigger house.

I have to say, the years we were in the larger home, we were house poor and unhappy. We ended up moving to a smaller home just after 2 years of dealing with the bigger house. The smaller home has been great. We are less stressed because finances are no longer tight. It has been so good that we even purchased our first SFR in Phoenix last year!

So the grass was already green under our feet....we just needed to recognize it! In fact, I am always dishing out advice to the "young bucks" to never jump into your "forever" home" because it will just keep you "forever in debt!"

So from this lady to yours......good luck!

Welcome @Josiah Halverson !

Glad to hear you are already listening to the helpful podcasts! I have enjoyed them as well.

I am just north of you in Layton, UT and will be joining the SLREIA soon. I am taking my real estate sales state licensing test tomorrow afternoon so I am soon to be a Realtor.

I have one buy and hold investment property so far in the west valley of Phoenix, AZ.

Looks like you have a ton of experience already that will help you achieve your goals. Good luck in the future!

Welcome @Lync Jones !

keep being active in the forums and you will learn a ton too! Good luck and we may cross paths sometime.

@Deion Alaei

My opinion is that incurring debt would NOT be the way to attack it. Save up and pay cash.

Financially speaking, interest is only your friend if you are collecting it. If you would have to PAY, stay away!

I am assuming you are wanting to do real estate to better yourself financially. Who doesn't?! If you focus on steering clear of paying interest, especially in regards to consumer debt, you will start off on the right foot to achieving financial greatness!

Gotta work smart!

I completely agree with @Robert Leonard. I am currently in the process of getting my license right now, but it is costing me about $2500 by the time I am done....and that doesn't include the monthly fees (MLS, etc.) that I will be paying once I am licensed as well as the member dues to the national and local Realtor associations that I will pay yearly.

The difference between me and you right now is that I have excellent credit, I have a low debt to income ratio, I know where every penny goes in my monthly budget and I have cash reserves. If I didn't have all that, there is no way I would have gone for a RE license just yet.

You have got to get your own finances in order before you do anything with RE. Otherwise, you will get burned and will just give up. Trust me, I've done that already. Don't make my same mistake!

So, create a monthly budget and get your expenses lower than your income. Here is a tool from Dave Ramsey to help:

http://www.daveramsey.com/mobile/gzbudget/

Start paying off your debt and start saving.

Build up an emergency fund for yourself (6 to 8months livings expenses)

Then build up a fund for RE cash reserves. You are going to need it! (I spent $4,000 in repairs on my rental last year for an unexpected repair....it just happens and you need extra $ for that kind of stuff!)

While you get your own finances set right, you can continue to learn and learn and learn.

Then I would say, "Yes, getting your license can provide many benefits in your RE investing, although it isn't totally necessary to be successful."

Wishing you the best year ever!

Welcome @Joel G. !

There are more and more members from Arizona coming to this site. I used to live in the West Valley of Phoenix....miss it terribly! We still rent out our former home there. Hoping to visit sometime soon.

Don't hesitate to stay active in the forums. I find that I get a lot more out of the site by doing that. And have fun....there is so much knowledge to gain!

Cheers!

Edit:

I meant, "You do not have to sign a buyer agency agreement."

Welcome to BP!
@Alexander Lommel

@Alexander Lommel

I agree with @Roy Schauer . I would ask a sales agent to do a free Current Market Analysis (CMA) to give you a ballpark idea. It is NOT an appraisal, but should give you a range. You do not have to sign a listing agreement with the agent if you choose not to. If the property isn't listed on the MLS, you obviously won't have as much competition, but if the numbers work you should move quickly. You can put contingencies in your offer that will allow you due diligence time and that will allow you reject the deal. So no need to put undue pressure on yourself....sometimes when we do that, we end up paying too much or something else because emotions get in the way.

One way is by doing what you just did and posting a question and letting other know what you are looking for. :)

One of my keywords is "Arizona" so your question popped into my email. I used to live in Peoria. My husband and I bought our first home there in Surprise, AZ in 2000 and lived there for 2 years and then moved to Utah. To make a long story short, as of Jan 2013, we acquired this home back again and have just been renting it out since.

The hubby and I have been talking lately of having an agent there in AZ do a market analysis for us. We live in Utah and haven't seen our AZ home for almost 12 years now! We have a property management company running it for us, but we are so out of touch with the market there.

Feel free to send me a private message and let me know what would you be willing to do for us as far as a CMA? What fees would you charge?