All Forum Posts by: Christopher Gray

Originally posted by @Natalie Schanne:

@Christopher Gray - I'm not sure if you'll qualify for the loan but if you can, try to buy a 5/3 or 6/3 house (note they may be listed as 4 bedrooms in mls or on Zillow) and rent out the 3-5 extra bedrooms to working professionals you interview and like. Honestly they're so busy or video gaming you'll think you live alone. I bought a 6/3 in NOVA DC suburbs (250k during foreclosure crisis, worth about 400k now) and it generates roughly $4000/mo of rent on a 1650 mortgage. So you can get paid to live in your own house while it goes up in value... A lot of MD and VA don't have good multifamily options so you have to qualify for the loan solely on your income (or maybe your dad can help co-sign.) You have to be open to living with other people (but you can get rid of anyone you don't get along with). It's a win for them because it's like 30-50% cheaper than a 1 Bedroom apartment.

My credit is pretty good however I think my DTI would not work out in my favor for the 1.1 million dollar property. I'm going to start with single family homes and then work my way up to larger properties.

Thanks for you input! 

Originally posted by @Robert Bodmer:

@Christopher Gray

Frederick is a great area that is developing fast. I grew up around there! Prices are appreciating and there's good, stable income for tenants. Out of curiosity, what neighborhood is it in?

103 Linden Ave, Frederick, MD 21703 its minutes from Downtown/Baker Park

I don't know if BP will let me post outside links here, If you go on zillow and search for houses in Frederick it should be in the top result. 337k |4bd | 2ba

Originally posted by @Robert Bodmer:

Hello Christopher Gray, I agree with Alexander; no equity doesn't sound like a great way to start. The DC/MD area is very expensive but as you noted, rents match. Between the two I would go with a single family. However, it might be good to go with a single family where you could renovate the basement and make a small in-law suite. This would allow you to generate some income and get some landlording under your belt.

I am in a similar position and have a duplex in Baltimore under contract right now I am looking at house hacking.  You might want to consider going over towards Baltimore. The duplex I'm considering is on the outskirts and not in the high-crime area. 

Hey Robert i appreciate your input, that is definitely an option next on my list: Rent out the basement of single family home. Ironic that the house My dad and I live in, we are renting out the basement next month to a tenant to generate some extra income he can put towards the mortgage (Currently underwater, got f*cked by housing bubble, literally purchased house 2 years before crash) so this will indirectly give me some land lording under my belt.

I did find a spot in Frederick MD that had the basement already renovated to appeal to a In-suite rental ( separate entrance and full bathroom) i could probably install a small stove and add a full refrigerator to a property like that.

Looks like a single family home will definitely be my first buy

Alexander Felice this is exactly what I needed to hear, I really appreciate your insight. So what should be the first thing I do? My goal is to have 3-4 rental properties in 5 years. I’m not expecting quick financial gains, I understand that it comes with time and lessons learned and luckily time is something I have a lot of and would like to capitalize on it now 

With the 401k piece, to my understanding in MD there is no penalty for withdrawing from 401k to use towards first time home buying, I am a personal banker at a national bank and help clients all the time with that all the time. Not stating this to throw around my title, I’m all for learning, I just don’t want you to think I have NO financial understanding haha. Again, your  feedback is much appreciated 

Alexander Felice I greatly appreciate the input, I would forecast the 230k property would generate 400-600 cash flow per month with a tenant. Mortgage would be around 1200 and I could charge up to $1700-1900 a month for rent.  Its in a appreciating part of Washington DC, which is going through extreme gentrification and rent in the same area go for 1900-3000. Plus the construction of the home is only 7 years old, so this inst a old style home either. 

On top of that, for this option I would NOT use the NACA program and instead finance through FHA. I am able to comfortably use $7,000 of my 401k + $5000 of savings as a down payment totaling 12k down payment.

I have been doing research for quite some time and I just would like some feedback from you all.

I am looking to purchase a $1.1 million apartment complex, 3 units, built in 2019, this would be my first home..ever as I am currently living with my dad. I have found this first time home buying program called NACA (which would cover closing cost, no down payment) and yes, Multifamily properties are eligible if the owner occupies one of the units. My question is for you experienced investors, Should I peruse this option? I worry about finding tenants and not being able to find any soon enough, the mortgage would be roughly $5,000 a month and im only making 42K per year ( Washington DC area) and would not be able to cover one month off vacancy.

The other option would be a single family town house for 230,000 that I would live in for a year ( first time home buying, get experience of owning a home under my belt) and then after a year, rent out that house, generate cashflow and look for another property. Im 24 years old with economics degree

Whadup @Chavez Bowman ! I see that your local to the Prince Georges area in MD, same as me. Im new to REI as well and I'm just letting you know about the real estate investor clubs which is a gathering of all investors in the area; newbies and veterans in one place. If you google "DCREIA" the website should come up as the first result.

Plan on attending the meetings, I'm attending one next month to network with veteran investors to learn a thing or two. 

Maybe our paths will cross later, good luck bro. 

@Ryan Dossey So when you first started out, you immediately went out to seek people to network with? Also I do agree with you, I would learn more and gain experience being in the field compared to being in the books. Mentorship is honestly my priority at the moment, I would hate to make a wrong move and not recognize the mistake for what it is.

Thank you for the tip Ryan! 

@Account Closed Thanks for the reply Joe! Would you consider the expert you are working with as a mentor? and if so how did you connect with them?

I plan on attending a local REIA (DCREIA) meeting next month with intentions to network and look for mentorship but mostly to ask questions and listen.

@Karl Krentzel I've been researching and sales seems to be KEY in this industry and I'm not surprised. My skills in sales are unfortunately subpar but it's nothing I can't work on and progress with. 

I'll take a listen to the podcast and look for the book you recommended Thanks for the input Karl!