All Forum Posts by: Cory Dean

Thanks for the quick reply. When you say "There are several...", are you referring to SFR, MFR, or both?

The more and more I'm learning about real estate, I am finding that a really good way for me and my wife to jump into REI is to use an FHA loan and buy a multi-family and live in one of the units for a year or more.

The actual niche and strategy I am interested in investing are SF and MF buy and hold.

The questions I have - being born and raised in and around Dallas - is are their decent/good markets for multi-family properties the Richardson, Plano, Garland, and surrounding cities?

Seeing that we will be living in one of the units and expecting our first child in June, I'd like to invest my money is areas that considered safe and family friendly.

Also, if we were to have $20K - $30K saved up buy the time we are ready to buy, would going the SF route with an FHA loan be viable option for what I am wanting right now?

I would evaluate and buy the property with turning it into a rental property in mind. With that being said, I keep reading on here that the cities that I mentioned are getting harder and harder to cash flow due to higher property taxes and higher home prices because of the booming commercial economy.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

@Wes Blackwell as someone who's learning the DFW market and looking to buy my first property next year, I appreciate the links you provided.

My wife and I are buying our first house in mid 2017. This house is going to start out as a way for us get out of renting and start building equity. With that being said, I have always imagined our first house being a starter home and eventually using it as a rental property when we decide to buy our "forever home".

Now, that is what I have pictured, but I would like to know how realistic it is. Given the information below, are there any other/better strategies I should look into to be able to get into a home as well as eventually turning it into a rental property?

• Looking to buy around Richardson, Garland, Wylie, Rowlett, Plano, etc..
• Mortgage Credit Score: 750+
• Will have approximately $17K saved up by July 2017
• As of right now Debt To Income Ratio is 8%

Thank you in advance for your time and advice!

Welcome @Zamiyun Reed !

Be sure to check out local REI Meetups and try to attend as many as you can. It's great for networking and meeting like minded individuals in your area. There is a Dallas meetup 8/28/2014 in Irving at Spring Creek BBQ if you would like to attend. There are members of BiggerPockets that will be attending, including myself and you can enjoy some great BBQ! :)

The facebook group is "DFW BIGGER Profits Real Estate Investment Group" if you would like to find out more about the meetup.

Hope to see you around!

@Hattie Dizmond said it best:

"A new roof should be considered a CapEx item. If this is a long-term investment property, you don't want to pay for the same CapEx item multiple times"

I agree with this 100%

@Shree R. Welcome to Dallas!

I currently live in Far North Dallas and there are a couple of neighborhoods around me that have older duplexes. Not too sure if any of them are on the market, but letting you know that there are some built just south of where you are looking.

Good luck!

@Hattie Dizmond Great information!

How's it going everyone!

I am looking to invest in a buy and hold rental property in or around Dallas Texas with upfront expenses for repairs to be below $5,000. Being extremely new to REI, I am wondering what the ideal amount of cash in hand would be for my first investment.

I know that the answer to this question is all circumstantial. But, for those of you who are seasoned in this type of real estate investing, in this market, what have you found to be an ideal median amount of cash in hand to be?

Currently, I only have between $10K and $14K, but I feel like I need at least double that to even have a chance.

Thank you and hopefully I'll get to meet you at the upcoming meetup in Irving!

@Hattie Dizmond Thanks again!

A lot of useful information. 

We don't have a property already targeted at this point and I do want to go through a credit union for financing.

I figured before I start to look at properties, I would talk to the credit union of our choice to see what price range they felt we would qualify for. Hopefully, we can qualify for a property that is relatively turn-key.

As far as HUD Home Path, I will certainly look into that.

Thanks again!