All Forum Posts by: Carlos Valencia

Hello Tara not sure what area you live in but I would recommend financing a multifamily property with FHA. This will allow help you with paying as little to no money on your mortgage as your tenants will be paying the majority of your mortgage. Once you move out and rent out your unit then you'll start having cashflow. Continue to save up for your down payment of 3.5% of the purchase price. That's how my colleague @Matthew Kwan  began his Real estate investor journey. Now his getting ready to buy his second multi family property. @Matthew Kwan feel free to share more about your experience with Tara on how you purchase your first multi family with FHA. Hope this helps Tara 

@Albert Bui

Hey Bonita like many people said 60K is a good chunk to start investing. I would also recommend FHA for the least down payment possible unless you can do VA that loan offers zero down. Depending on the market your targeting you have a good head start. If you love sales try looking for a high paying sales job theres many out there as commission job has no ceiling on how much you can make. If you dont like wholesaling I would look at what other careers in Real Estate have high paying income or any other industry. The key is to find a sales job with high commission payout to help get you there faster.

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan

Thank you for sharing these tips for new investors like myself. It helps to pay attentions to all these areas to analyze a deal. I will consider these steps when looking for a deal in the future.

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan

Yes I'll keep you updated for February

Hi Paulina I'm in Orange County Ca south of LA. If you are not too far from Tustin Ca you should come to a RE investor mix tonight at 6pm and make new connections. Who knows you might meet your future mentor or just other like minded people. This group that meets is all experience levels new, seasoned all types. If you like more details message me and I'll send you all the info. Hope to see you there. 

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan

Hi Jarret based on your current situation I would advise not going solar as your bill is pretty low. It really depends what area you live in and how much you expect to use. For example in my area we have Edison and it can get pretty pricey and rates keep rising. Edison also adds more restrictions on your usage when you can run your AC in the summer. In southern California the majority of the homes would benefit from solar due to all the restrictions and high utility bills. Plus we get a lot of sun. Make sure you dont have any major shade that comes over your house otherwise it will affect how much power they generate. For someone that pay $500 per month on electricity especially in the summer its definitely will save them money going solar and you also get a 30% solar tax credit. Last thing I would suggest is if you decide to go solar I recommend paying cash to save money on all the loan fees. Sometimes its half the cost. Ask for a cash solar quote so you can see how much money you will save. If you want another quote I can refer you to someone to give you more details. 

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan

Hello Mario, 

Most of the conventional financing is 45-50% DTI (Debt to Income Ratio). Assuming you have no debt take your gross income and take 45%-50% of that and put that towards your monthly mortgage payment. Make sure to give your self some buffer to include Tax, Insurance and HOA if applicable.

One formula we use to give you a quick glimpse of what you could hypothetically qualify for conventional loan is for example lets say you make 10k so take 45% of that to be conservative. Which is $4,500 payment and that should include all ofr your mortgage payment + Tax + ins. 4500/.007= 642,857 loan amount. 

As for what rate it just all depends on your credit score and doing a soft pull can help you determined what rate you can possibly qualify for when speaking to a lender. 

Hope this helps to give you an idea on how you can run rough numbers to see where you are in terms on how much you can qualify for. 

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan

Hello Amber I am also in orange county and it definitely more challenging in this market to find a cash flow multi family. Have you looked into more inland like riverside, San Bernardino county? Also if your in the Tustin area tomorrow evening there will be a real estate investor mixer if you want to stop by and meet other people in the area and share ideas of whats working in Southern California. Message me if you would like more details about the meet up. 

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan

Thank you for sharing your journey. I'm new to real estate investing and currently saving some money for my down payment. I probably wont be ready until two years from now. I guess my question for me is how do you find the best market when trying to invest out of state as I currently live in Orange County California and theres not much inventory for 2-4 units to have cash flow. 

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan

Welcome Chinita! BP community is great place to pick other peoples brains. Congrats on your recent purchase! What type of property did you purchase? Multi family, single family? What are you most excited about your purchase?

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan