All Forum Posts by: David Torreggiani

@David Torreggiani I read it like this…

“How much would you spend on your first date?”

Answer…not much! LOL

Most people who do a first deal use it as their primary residence with a VA loan or FHA. This is a great way to get your first deal and you should buy something that doesn't over extend you financially. Then you can expand from here.

@David Torreggiani My first investment deal was a duplex that I’m currently house hacking. It was right across the street from the property I’d been in for 14 years that I was preparing for sale. Using my contractor’s super connections I was able to discern that a foundation issue which had turned up in the previous home inspection on this duplex just wasn’t an issue and got $70,000 off on the price of the building! It always pays to get a second opinion.

I’d recommend staying local where you have some insight into the market. Make sure you get a solid double out of your investment, meaning you’re getting at least $200-300 per door cash flow. Depending on how your market is, a double might be twice that. If it makes financial sense and your can find a decent one in an ok market, I’d recommend a 2-4 unit simply to have more rents to cover bills with.

Also the BP rent calculator is super helpful!

My wife and I are currently closing on our first investment property (own primary as well) and we're being pretty conservative. We're in a healthy financial position but with it being our first one, didn't want to dump all of our liquid assets into it. We found something that was pretty affordable and we're looking at it as a learning opportunity. It's not going to be a home run, but think it will be a solid investment. If all goes well and we're feeling more comfortable next year, we may be ready to purchase another. 

Just my $.02. Obviously more risk = more potential reward but I think for your first one, it's better to be conservative and if it doesn't work out, it's not going to crush you or discourage you from ever being able to do it again.

@David Torreggiani why not househack in Houston and put 3-5% down?

Keep it close, keep it safe, keep it simple....

You did not give enough data to give any deeper answers...

@David Torreggiani Keep it simple on the first one. The least amount of steps required to get you in the game the higher likelihood you will get in the game. 

Use your own funds so you don't have to raise additional capital. How much excess capital do you have today? $25k, $50k, $100k? That's the amount I would spend. 

Assuming you will put 25% down you will be looking at deals between $100k ($25k down) - $400k ($100k). This could be a single, duplex or maybe a triplex.