All Forum Posts by: Robert Cook

@Derreck Wells thank you! I forgot the mention my mother actually took care of the lead paint recently! 

@Russell Brazil yes sir! A triple deckah in Woostah! Haha

Hi there,

I was looking for advice/ seeing if anyone in the Central MA area had any experience with 203k loans.

My mother currently owns a 3 decker in Worcester and is looking to sell it to me in May of 2016.

This was my home growing up, my family lived on the first floor while my parents rented the top two floors out. My father passed away 7 years ago and my mother decided she no longer wanted to deal with tenants, so she rented the floors out to my two older sisters and their families for cheap (she had no problem paying her mortgage, but she charged my sisters practically nothing for apartments worth easily $1100 each).

She eventually stopped putting the necessary work into maintaining the home and although a lot of it is in great shape, there are still a few renovations that need to be done, some of which could get costly. 

The home needs a new roof, updated plumbing and an exterior paint job. Besides that it is in pretty decent shape to my knowledge. I have not had it inspected yet but these are the updates I already know need to be done.

Each apartment has 3 bed rooms, beautiful hardwood floors throughout and a lot of character. I am certain I can get $1000-$1100 for each floor (I plan to live in the first floor apartment with my Fiancé' and kids). I would like to update the appliances as well.

Now back to reason I started this thread!

This will be my first property ever, let alone my first investment property and I would really like to go into it with as little money as possible.

I started looking into 203k loans because of the work that needs to be done, I thought having the repair costs included would help me out considerably.

Does anyone have experience with 203k loans in my area? Or in general?

Does the loan cover updating appliances?

Could this be a good idea for my situation?

I appreciate any and all info!

- I am also very interested in meeting up with experienced investors in my area, so if anyone would like to get together for coffee one day so I could pick your brain, that'd be great!

Congrats Josh and BP!

Thank you for the tip! I unfortunately have prior commitments tonight, but if there are any other events coming up, please let me know! 

Thank you! 

Great! Thanks for the info! @Mike Hoefling

@Mike Hoefling Thank you! Yeah the first property I plan to buy is a triple decker in Worcester. It's currently owned by my mother who no longer wishes to own it and it's actually my childhood home. It's in great shape and she's giving it to me for a steal. My fiancé and I plan to live in one apartment and rent the other two out. 

I read somewhere that with some loans, my mother could essentially "gift me" the down payment. Do you have any knowledge of this, or could point me in the right direction? I appreciate the tips!! 

Hi there, 

I'm Robert Cook from Worcester MA and new to the game. I'm 22 years old and work as an IT Technician. I've wanted to become a Real Estate investor for as long as I can remember, and plan to purchase my first multifamily in Mid 2016. 

Right now I spend almost all of my spare time learning about investing and becoming financially free. I very much enjoy reading and learning about investing and am very excited to get started. 

I would really enjoy possibly getting together with some Investors from the Worcester/ Central MA area to chat with and hopefully find some experienced people who are willing to share their knowledge. 

Please let me know if anyone would like to set up lunch or coffee one day! 

Thanks! 

Hi there,

My mother currently owns a historic 3 decker in Worcester MA. She's owned this property for 25 years or so and is finally ready to move on from it and plans to sell it in the next year or so.

This was my family home growing up, so there is an emotional attachment, but I also see an opportunity.

The house was built in the late 1800's and has nice hardwood floors, 10ft ceilings, and a lot of original craft work. Each apartment is in reasonably good shape, besides some cosmetics (paint jobs, refinish the floors, etc). It has 3 bedrooms, large kitchens, large dining rooms and living areas, as well as a walk in pantry on each floor.  

Unfortunately, it has an old slate roof that needs to be redone (I know that can get expensive!), an external paint job, and the front porch and back deck need some love (good structurally, just needs a paintjob and a few new stairs).

My whole life we have lived on the first floor with random tenants on the two floors above us. After my father passed away, my mother decided she didn't want to put the effort into being a serious landlord any more and rented the floors to my oldest sisters for cheap.

Well the time is nearing and my mother plans to hold onto the house for another year, two maybe. She suggested I buy it from her, renovate what needs to be renovated and rent out the apartments for $900-$1100 each floor.

She plans to sell the house for around 170k.

I see a lot of opportunity but I also see $$$. I am 22 years old and new to all of this. I have very little money to put down (none realistically), and my credit needs some work, but I do have a year or so to save and fix my credit.

Any advice? Any idea how I can get this done the cheapest way possible?

This will be my first property ever, let alone my first rental property.

Help!

@Josh Mitchell @Mark Nolan @Andrew Syrios

Thank you all very much! I am excited to start this new journey.

Hi there, My names Robert and I'm 22 years old from Central Massachusetts. I currently work in IT but for years I've wanted to get into Real Estate Investing. My goal is to own at least 2 rental properties by the age of 25. I am also interested in buying/ flipping houses. More so lately, I've developed a passion for homes. I find myself constantly driving around looking at beautiful homes and always looking for a good deal. I have little knowledge about real estate investing and hope I can get some insight and guidance. What are some steps I can take to start preparing to buy my first rental property? My fiancé and I are expecting our first child and will need more space soon. I've considered looking into multi family homes and living in it while I rent the other half. Is this a good idea? How can I do a lot of this with little or no money down? I appreciate any and all help! Thank you!