All Forum Posts by: David Kendall

Thanks for the candid feedback, Stephanie. I was not aware of everything that you had mentioned until now, and got to read up quite a bit. I checked with my agent and it is FHA approved, but I won't be able to review the documents until we move forward (that's how it sounds anyway).

Looking at townhouses in the area. Springfield is where I work my day-job and I'd ideally like to be nearby, but maybe it's just irrational to do that for investing purposes. I'll keep looking for options as my current lease doesn't expire until August.

Good point!

It's a new game to me - I just want to make sure I don't end up kicking myself over some major landmine I may have been able to see from some crowd-sourcing and education.

@Marcy Moyer

Thanks for the encouragement, I get varied responses from individuals in this area who say to go buy up townhomes. My current salary is around 60k and my girlfriend won't be working for a year or two. I'd like to stay cheap with the condo and then graduate on to the next home.

The biggest point that others bring up is once I sell and/or rent this condo, that I will no longer be eligible for tax breaks and first time home buyer loans. I'd like to ideally get out of there in 1 year and move into a townhouse so I can rinse/repeat while the incoming rent from the condo covers its mortgage.

Thanks.

The condo I'm looking at is in the Springfield area. I'm interested in doing a buy and hold, but I'm a little apprehensive of the cash-flow. I've talked to a real estate agent who is advising to move on townhomes in the Sterling area, so I'll be looking around there too.

Edit: The house itself has increased 11% in the last 4 years - not the neighborhood.

Edit: The house itself has increased 11% in the last 4 years - not the neighborhood. 

I'm in the Northern Virginia Area, and looking at purchasing a 2 bed/2 bath condo. The condo was assessed at 235k and the seller is asking for 200k. realtor.com says the expected appreciation for the neighborhood is 4% and has appreciated 11% since last year.  Condos in the neighborhood tend to be on the low side like 220k, or higher at 300k.

There are very obvious problems with the interior, predominantly that the walls need to be repainted. I'd also like to replace the floors with laminate as the carpet looks... rough.

I'd be paying 20% down, and probably getting a loan in the 4% area. My initial plan is for my girlfriend and I to move in and rent out one of the rooms for 750$ish while putting in the elbow grease to fix the place up. Once the condo is in good condition, I figure the value will rise quite a bit. With HOA Fees, mortgage, principle, and insurance I'd be paying (1,250 - sublease rent) while I lived there, but once I'm out I would ideally like to rent the place for 1800 - maybe more.

1) Is this idea sound?

2) If we move out of the property when it is generating income for us, will that negatively impact our ability to take out a second mortgage on a townhouse or condo despite us grossing additional