All Forum Posts by: Carlos Valencia

Hi Marc, 

Having a pool is going to be dependent on the market your trying to invest in. If your going to invest in somewhere that is always sunny with good weather having a private pool will give you an advantage. I'll be honest I'm not speaking from experience but more from experience from some of our past clients that have STR with private pools have said it helps their bookings. Like everything run the numbers to make sure it will make business sense.

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan

Hi Sarah, 

Your never too late to get started in real estate investing. You just have to find the strategy that fits your lifestyle. Theres many ways to invest. If you can get a high income gig. That will help you reach your real estate investment journey much faster and give you more flexibility. There's many ways to get there. I recommend you do more research and maybe try each type of investing. Many people do begin with house hacking as its the lowest cost to get in. If your house hacking try to find properties that you can add value in order to make it cashflow like adding another unit or maybe adding rooms. Rent by the rooms to get the most rents. Hope this helps.

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan 

I would say if your using debt to help you grow your real estate portfolio why not. Thats one way to levergage debt. But if your using debt to buy stuff that does not make you money then that's a wrong way to use debt. Just make sure you do your due diligence when using debt to grow your real estate portfolio before jumping into any real estate investment.

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan

 Hi Angelo, 

if you decide to work with us that would be great! but there's no legal ties to stay with us meaning that any moment you can leave us, we hope you don't if we have earned your business. Feel free to direct message me so we can connect and discuss more in detail your scenario.  

Are you currently living in the single family? 

Assuming your not living there. You could use the leases even if by the room. Keep in mind for investment property cash out refi the max is 75% loan to value. Hopefully you have enough equity to make sure the juice is worth the squeeze. 

If you live there then you cannot use boarder income unless they are another legal unit like a duplex for example. Then you can use the other units rents as additional income but not to offset your current mortgage. Only 75% of the rental income can be used. 

But if you do live there at least you can go up to 95-97% LTV. Depending on the scenario.

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan

Hello Angelo, 

First step is to talk to a lender and get pre approved to see what your maximum pre approval is. At that point you can decide if you want to max out on your first property or be conservative and just borrow what you feel comfortable based on the payment. Then once you have your golden ticket (pre approval letter) from the lender then you can begin looking for homes with a realtor and go shopping. Here is a quick tip lenders usually lend you up to half your income. If your targeting a payment of $2300 that means that you need to make at least $4,600 per month gross or $55,200 annual gross. This is assuming you have no other monthly debt. Hope this helps in regards on where to start. 

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan

Hello Erin, 

There are some lenders that allow you to use DSCR for first time home buyers but as investment property. The lenders that offer DSCR to first time home buyers will be a bit more expensive and require a higher down payment approximately 40%-30% down payment. If your self employed have you looked into bank statement loan programs? You may qualify by using bank statement program as that program uses all your business deposits to calculate your income. If you have huge deposits from your business this can be a solution for you.

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan

Hi Delaney, 

Yes we all want time freedom lol but unfortunately it wont happen over night. The key is to be patient when investing in real estate. Look at all your options and research what type of real estate investing is the best option for you. Many people tend to start with house hacking where you buy a single family property or 1-4 unit property and live in one unit and rent out the other units or rooms if buying a single family home. The benefits of starting your journey with house hacking is that you don't need much money down as you can start with as little as 3.5% -5% down. The goal with this strategy is to have low living expenses as your tenants are helping you pay down your mortgage. Once you move out the hope is that the unit you are leaving will rent for enough money that you will come out positive or break even. Then once you move out you rinse and repeat and acquire your next property. Until you build your real estate portfolio up to what you feel is enough cashflow to live off from your rentals. The goal is to make sure you have high income, good credit score and enough assests and reserves to keep moving towards the next deal and dont max out on your first deal meaning do not max out your debt to income ratio as it can affect your borrowing power to acquire the next one. To get your time back you have to run the numbers as see how much cashflow you will need in order to be able to live comfortable from just your rental cashflow. You may only need 5 properties or 20 properties depending on your lifestyle. Advise is to get in contact with a lender that has experience in structuring these mortgages where you can move on to the next one and plan ahead. Reminder this whole real estate investing is a marathon and not a race. Be patient and before you know it you will reach your goals. 

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan

Not enough properties that make sense or pencil out. Rates are a factor as well as income and assets. Unless your making 200k + per year then you have a great chance in investing and maybe start with a househack to live with little to no monthly housing expense. Those are some of the challenges we have seen in this market. 

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan

Hi Lara, 

Its always a great time to buy. There's nothing like the present. When it comes to fix and flips the uglier the house the better. The key is to make sure you purchase your the home at the lowest cost and know what your after repair value will be to see if you will actually be able to make a nice margin after netting all cost. Make sure you underwrite your deal to what makes business sense to you. Also have your team ready in regards to whos going to rehab the property. Make sure to move fast as well because on these projects time is of the essence because the longer you hold the property the more money you lose every month. Lastly expect to pay 2-3 points in cost for a hard money loan and rates to be 12-14% for first time investor. Good luck on your first project. 

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan