All Forum Posts by: Chad Carson

David,

Congrats on jumping in to learn about investing. Yes, it can be a confusing subject because there really is a lot to learn.

My recommendation is to stay focused in your early investing - both with your strategy and with your location to invest.

You're a carpenter, so that's a strength you should focus on and use. If you want to rehab and flip properties, your knowledge of the rehab process will definitely help.

But in addition to that you'll need to focus your study on:

1. Your local real estate market and values

2. Financing (How to get the money)

3. Marketing/Sales (Acquisitions)

I think it's easier to do learn your local values by starting in a really small area (like neighborhoods near your house if possible), master the values and trends there, and then branch out.

Financing for flips can come from private lenders, hard money lenders, a line of credit, personal funds, or all the above.

Then for marketing and sales you can study here on Bigger Pockets the many different ways to scare up leads for good deals within your target market.

Best of luck to you.

Chad

Mj,

Glad you got it sorted out.

$10,000 at 5% for 36 months is just under $300/month, so if you can afford that and repairs you'll be free and clear in 3 years! Then just enjoy the freedom of no mortgage payment, or if you need more space move out and pull in that rental income to help with the next residence.

I like your plan. Best of luck to you.

Chad

Mj,

I personally like seller financing deals better than getting a bank mortgage and certainly better than hard money. Unless terms are just horrible, I wouldn't change a thing.

What are the terms, by the way?

Are you concerned about raising the cash to do repairs? Or do you just not want to owe your relative?

If it's the cash for repairs, try to get creative with it. Invite some handy friends over for a pizza-paint-repair property, and depending upon the type of repairs you can get a lot done on the cheap. Do the essential repairs first, and then live with it until you can save up for the other repairs.

If you can scrape by and find a way to make this work, you've got a SUPER low priced property, non-bank financing, and you could eventually turn this into a rental or sell it down the road.