All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

I'm working my way toward a 20% down payment for a conventional loan on my first investment property (buy & hold rental, single family home). My credit score is high and my reserve funds are adequate, but my mind is stuck on my debt to income ratio. The only debt I have is a low-to-no balance credit card and personal residential mortgage. But that mortgage is creating a high DTI ratio. Is that sometimes overlooked by lenders if other factors outweigh the high ratio?

I created a saved search on ZIllow that lists only rentals within a certain distance of my market. I like the visual it gives me on a map. I can see clusters of rent prices, hover over the price and get a quick view of bed/bath/sq ft and exactly where the price changes are between neighborhoods. It's the only method I've thought of so far, so nice to see everyone else's ideas on here. 

Welcome from Jax Beach!! The Jax REIA website lists networking for women in real estate. You should come if you haven't already.

I was just talking to someone a couple days ago about Tampa. We visited some friends there and stayed in a great Airbnb home in an up & coming neighborhood. It was just revitalized enough that we felt safe walking the streets, but still growing enough that there are plenty of properties I feel have great appreciation and rental potential. Our local friends said the same. I'm not a market expert (yet), but in my limited experience, it's a neighborhood I'm interested in evaluating more. If you're interested at all, I can PM you the area. 

My husband and I have considered St. Joe several times. It's right on the gulf. Great for boating, fishing, camping and lounging on the beach all day. It's quiet and frequented more by regular, repeat vacationers looking for a home away from home rather than tourists you would normally see in areas such as Daytona or Orlando. His family has been going since the 80s and looked at land back then as well. We stayed just last month and evaluated home prices as a possible vacation property for ourselves and they were pretty reasonable. The house we stayed in was in a gated community with direct access to the beach. There were SEVERAL vacant lots available and plenty of for sale signs around. I know you received a lot of feedback already, but if you're interested at all, I can PM you the location. 

I live in Jacksonville Beach and keep my eye on the 32233 and 32225 zip codes for those criteria.  @Eugene Kemp definitely has the knowledge. 

Great! Thank you guys so much for your input. 

Any recommendations on great tax books out there (for non-tax professionals)? Whether real estate-specific or not. Understanding your wealth, specific steps to minimize your taxes, and reducing the impact of taxing the rich to feed the poor?

This was very helpful guys. Thanks so much for your time!!

I've been reading a lot about using a self-directed 401(k) to help with funds for a buy & hold rental property. There are a few things I'm a little confused about. 

1.) Everything I'm reading says you can use a "self-directed" 401(k), which I'm assuming is NOT a 401(k) account from a current W2 employer?

2.) If so, can you roll over those employer 401(k) funds to a self-directed 401(k) and

3.) Most importantly - How exactly do those funds help finance a rental property? Are you using it for a down payment? Is it a loan you have to pay back or are you "rolling" it over into another investment account (real estate) to avoid tax penalties?

Much appreciation in your responses.