All Forum Posts by: Chris Valencia

Quote from @Brandon Carlson:

@Chris Valencia Congrats on getting pre-approved. Now that you know your buying power, the fun begins. 

Your price point will be difficult due to the areas you want to invest in. I would suggest looking on platforms like Zillow and Redfin to further educate yourself on where your budget can take you. 

I suggest working with a realtor who is familiar with investing and shares your goals. Have him/her provide you comps of recently closed properties in addition to rental comps. 

Best of luck!

 I appreciate the kind words. I definitely know I'm in for a ride trying to find something within my budget in these areas. But half of the homework is to do market research for now and see what realistic goals I can set with my purchasing power. 

I'll definitely start to look on RedFin & Zillow as well. Thanks for that! 

Hi,

I recently had the opportunity to meet a great brokerage through the Forums (OneBrokerage) and just completed my pre-approval. I'm now moving into selecting my market & finding a realtor.

I am looking to house hack my first property, and my buy box criteria are below:

Buy Box #1: CA
SFR w/ ADU or Duplex (Multi-Family)
Class B, C Areas
Price Range: Under $620K
Light Rehab or Somewhat Turnkey

Areas I'm considering:
Long Beach, Seal Beach, Anaheim, Inglewood
San Diego County

Close Proximity to Hospitals, Ability to rent 2nd Unit to Travel Nurses, MTR

1. What are the best questions to ask realtors as I begin my vetting process?

2. What are the best sites/apps that show recent sales in my target areas?

3. Any advice as I begin my journey?

I know I've been told that my areas (CA) are going to be hard to find availability at my price point. However, I'm hoping that I can find a good deal to keep me relatively close to my family who reside in LA (just became an Uncle for the 1st time). I'm hopeful that through my heavy research and network, I can land a deal that can begin my real estate journey.

- Appreciate you All

Hi, 

I recently had the opportunity to meet a great brokerage through the Forums (OneBrokerage) and just completed my pre-approval. I'm now moving into selecting my market & finding a realtor. 

I am looking to house hack my first property, and my buy box criteria are below: 

Buy Box #1: CA
SFR w/ ADU or Duplex (Multi-Family)
Class B, C Areas
Price Range: Under $620K 
Light Rehab or Somewhat Turnkey 

Areas I'm considering:
Long Beach, Seal Beach, Anaheim, Inglewood
San Diego County  

Close Proximity to Hospitals, Ability to rent 2nd Unit to Travel Nurses, MTR 

1. What are the best questions to ask realtors as I begin my vetting process? 

2. What are the best sites/apps that show recent sales in my target areas? 

3. Any advice as I begin my journey? 

I know I've been told that my areas (CA) are going to be hard to find availability at my price point. However, I'm hoping that I can find a good deal to keep me relatively close to my family who reside in LA (just became an Uncle for the 1st time). I'm hopeful that through my heavy research and network, I can land a deal that can begin my real estate journey.  

- Appreciate you All 

Quote from @Jerome Morelos:

Hey Kyle, nice to meet you. I'm a newer investor myself and bought my first deal in Feb 2022. It was a cosmetic fixer upper that I rehabbed, lived-in for a year, and now rented out to long terms tenants. I was able to extract the equity I created from the rehab and used a Home Equity Loan to convert the detached garage into an ADU. The ADU is now a MTR. I am cash flowing close to $2,000/month net. The property also has over 200k in equity. I forgot to mention that this property is in California. My advice will be more about the Mental aspect, which I think is the most important.

Don't get caught up in the "what-ifs". The more we focus on our fears, the more it magnifies. Fear feeds off attention, so you need to starve it of it's "food" by shifting your focus on the positives. You have to be able to adapt to situations and circumstances that WILL happen during your journey.  

Good luck!

 I gotta ask, where in California? 

Quote from @Doug Spence:

@Chris Valencia If I were you, I would house hack in LA first, then invest out of state. I've done a lot of out-of-state investing from San Diego (where I currently live) and it's definitely possible for someone like you to do it. 

You're on the right track by building up your knowledge and spending time here on the forums. Let me know if you have any out of state investing questions!

We're currently house hacking in San Diego using my wife's VA loan entitlement, so I'm happy to help answer questions about that as well.

 It's awesome that you live in San Diego. I recently moved back to LA after being in San Diego for 4 years. I guess I go back to pricing. During my time there, I didn't manage to find anything in the areas I was looking to buy in. And well that frankly kept me in a renters cycle. 

Now discovering the power to house hack, I def want to give it a try, but go back to thinking I can't afford it in a town like San Diego anymore. 

Quote from @Remington Lyman:

Quote from @Chris Valencia:

Hello All, 

I am a first-time homebuyer looking to take advantage of an FHA loan for my first multi-family property. I've been educating myself through BiggerPockets podcasts, reading forum threads, and speaking with investors in my inner circle. I am in a financial place where I would like to obtain an FHA loan to buy a multi-unit property and use future rent as income. I'm excited to start the journey into real estate investing and grow my portfolio by building my dream team.

I currently have a salaried job and reside in Los Angeles, CA. I've only been employed with my current employer for 1 year and previously worked as a consultant for a year after the pandemic. I know that may hinder me from qualifying, but I'd love to connect with a lender to talk through my options as a first-time home buyer. I am ready to begin my pre-approval process. I'd also like to learn more about what you need to qualify for a NONQM loan, as my secondary option. 

My Buybox: Dulplex - Class C, Class B. Near hospital (travel nurses suggested), College Towns 

Ideal Markets: Columbus, OH - Licking County, OH - Cleaveland, OH - Detroit, MI 

Any information on this process would be helpful and suggestions on good lenders & other markets to consider are appreciated! If you have done this yourself, your personal advice is welcomed. 

P.S. - I'm slightly scared to take the leap, but I believe in myself and will put in the work myself to PM the property onsite. 

P.S.S - I do plan to reside in the duplex for the first year and will relocate for the right deal. 

 Are you looking to move? I moved here from CT to Ohio in 2012

 I am looking to move. I am looking for a new area to explore and grow within. So Ohio has been top of mind, given what I've been researching. 

Quote from @Account Closed:

Quote from @Chris Valencia:

Hello All, 

I am a first-time homebuyer looking to take advantage of an FHA loan for my first multi-family property. I've been educating myself through BiggerPockets podcasts, reading forum threads, and speaking with investors in my inner circle. I am in a financial place where I would like to obtain an FHA loan to buy a multi-unit property and use future rent as income. I'm excited to start the journey into real estate investing and grow my portfolio by building my dream team.

I currently have a salaried job and reside in Los Angeles, CA. I've only been employed with my current employer for 1 year and previously worked as a consultant for a year after the pandemic. I know that may hinder me from qualifying, but I'd love to connect with a lender to talk through my options as a first-time home buyer. I am ready to begin my pre-approval process. I'd also like to learn more about what you need to qualify for a NONQM loan, as my secondary option. 

My Buybox: Dulplex - Class C, Class B. Near hospital (travel nurses suggested), College Towns 

Ideal Markets: Columbus, OH - Licking County, OH - Cleaveland, OH - Detroit, MI 

Any information on this process would be helpful and suggestions on good lenders & other markets to consider are appreciated! If you have done this yourself, your personal advice is welcomed. 

P.S. - I'm slightly scared to take the leap, but I believe in myself and will put in the work myself to PM the property onsite. 

P.S.S - I do plan to reside in the duplex for the first year and will relocate for the right deal. 

Hi Chris, since you are new, I'll be gentle ;-)

L.A. to Columbus 2,244 miles and 3 time zones

L.A. to Eddy TX 1,414 miles and 2 time zones

L.A. to Phoenix 373 miles and 1 time zone (Sometimes the same time zone - more about that later)

.

.

Did you know that in 1899 people left California, known for it's gold mining, to try mining gold in Alaska? There were no Comfort Inns and no Fast Food restaurants, it was just tough dangerous, traveling. But they were "chasing the new shiny object".

Sometimes it's more fun to chase the shiny object than it is to actually make a wise investment.

Are you wanting to make money investing in real estate or are you in it for the adventure?

Either one is fine, but there is a huge difference.

L.A. to Gold Country Alaska 3,022 miles and time zones? (Land without time) And, the sun doesn't come up in the winter.

If your goal is to make money, try to find something close enough you can keep track of it. If your goal is adventure or to make a new life for yourself, the world is your oyster.

I guess I keep thinking about pricing, affordability, and current market trends. My thoughts on Ohio have been because being in the tech sector for business, I knew there's a big movement happening out there with Intel. So that's why Ohio has been top of mind. 

I grew up in LA and quite frankly, its like shopping for a used car that has the highest sticker price and needs the most work done, to enter the real estate market. It's been a rough time trying to find something local within my budget. 

Quote from @Ryan Muska:

FHA- Lenders will love you if you use this! (they make more on it) Good for low credit scores

Pros: 3.5% downpayment, can use rental income, lower interest rate

Cons: Does not make sense if you have high credit score. Much higher upfront closing costs, only provided to owner-occupied units

Conventional- Better Option for higher credit scores

Pros: can qualify for 3% down payment, can use rental income, less closing costs, can be owner-occupied or non owner-occupied (downpayment will need to be higher if NOO)

Cons: Higher interest rates than FHA

I'd offer to help, but I am not licensed in Ohio for non-commercial loans. That being said, look for a mortgage broker for any loan over $100k or a local bank for any loan under $100k. NEVER use a large national bank (Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America). Their offers may be enticing, but the individuals do not need to be licensed (would you want an unlicensed pilot flying a plane?) and the rates they can provide are almost never competitive. 

 I appreciate all this advice! I am def trying to stay away from large national banks :) 

Quote from @Nicholas L.:

@Chris Valencia

why not house hack locally?

talk to 10 lenders and visit 50 properties

come back to us and report results.

good luck

 I guess I'm deterred by the pricing in LA right now and the availability. I've not found a duplex that has made sense here in LA given my budget. My ideal to start small and risk my savings into something where my monthly payment would be affordable. The reality of that isn't here on the West Coast.  

Lenders - This is where I need the most help in connecting with to get my pre-approval process started.  

Hello All, 

I am a first-time homebuyer looking to take advantage of an FHA loan for my first multi-family property. I've been educating myself through BiggerPockets podcasts, reading forum threads, and speaking with investors in my inner circle. I am in a financial place where I would like to obtain an FHA loan to buy a multi-unit property and use future rent as income. I'm excited to start the journey into real estate investing and grow my portfolio by building my dream team.

I currently have a salaried job and reside in Los Angeles, CA. I've only been employed with my current employer for 1 year and previously worked as a consultant for a year after the pandemic. I know that may hinder me from qualifying, but I'd love to connect with a lender to talk through my options as a first-time home buyer. I am ready to begin my pre-approval process. I'd also like to learn more about what you need to qualify for a NONQM loan, as my secondary option. 

My Buybox: Dulplex - Class C, Class B. Near hospital (travel nurses suggested), College Towns 

Ideal Markets: Columbus, OH - Licking County, OH - Cleaveland, OH - Detroit, MI 

Any information on this process would be helpful and suggestions on good lenders & other markets to consider are appreciated! If you have done this yourself, your personal advice is welcomed. 

P.S. - I'm slightly scared to take the leap, but I believe in myself and will put in the work myself to PM the property onsite. 

P.S.S - I do plan to reside in the duplex for the first year and will relocate for the right deal.