All Forum Posts by: Amanda Hensley

So sorry I couldn't make it last night!  I'm very glad to hear it went well.

Welcome to BP!  My advice is to take the time to analyze deals, and don't just buy the first thing that you think might be a deal.  Heck, there's even a whole forum here where you can post the deal you think you have and get help analyzing it and feedback from experienced investors.

I like the advice you were given about the emergency fund.  Also, even if you didn't have an inheritance, it s worth your time and effort to repair your credit.  That will go a long way toward helping you leverage, when you are ready for that.  

Take your time!  Analyze dozens of deals on paper, before you pull the trigger on any one.  

You'll also want to know how much of the rent is paid through section 8 and how much the tenant pays (because it's not always the same ratio).

As to  how much to adjust?  I would get a quote for doing the work to your standards, and subtract that amount from your initial offer price.   You then have good justification for why you brought your offer down (the bid you got)

If the work that's been done to date has been shoddy and not up to your standards, ADJUST YOUR PRICE or walk.  Don't trust this person, who hasn't done things the way you'd like yet, to suddenly do a good job.  This also puts you back in control of the deal, in my opinion.

We worked and saved for the cash for our first property as well.

What, specifically, would you do with the $12000 that you will get out of your 401K.  You say get started but what does that mean, specifically?  Would you use this money as the down payment on a rental?  Would you use it to pay off some of your debt?  

If you had found an amazing deal in NC and you needed that money for the down payment, I could see that, but to me, there's no harm in leaving your 401K in place until you have a very specific use for it (like that great deal).  I would not take it out to pay debt.  That seems short-sighted.  And if you can get a loan for 1/2 and have that be 10K, yet you'd pull all of it out and only get 12K - it seems that the loan would be the much-preferred option (the loan is NOT considered income, as someone else said - here's a link that may help explain: http://moneyover55.about.com/od/preretirementplann...)

Also, if you are making a six figure income, I would hope that you could save the same about (10-12) K in less than a year.

Another point - even if you don't plan to retire from this place, you can roll your 401K over to a new job, or your own IRA once you quit. That money isn't lost to you by remaining in your 401K now.

You have time to clarify your plan, analyze deals and find a great one, and then take action. 

I wouldn't do it personally b/c it is diverting my focus from what I need to be focused on, finding real estate deals and getting those financed.

@Benjamin DeLeon , this is also what I understand.  Thanks for the responses, everyone.  I have a call into two lenders - we'll see what they both say.

Another thing that helped me was to use J Scott's SFH Rental Analysis spreadsheet and run houses through it. I lean on it heavily (seems to take the emotion out of it for me). If you go to the Resources section and and click on "Fileplace" you can find it there. It's like the 3rd or 4th file you can download. It works really well for SFH but I'm also using it for 2-4 multi-family buildings and it works OK on those too. It may not work as well for larger buildings...