All Forum Posts by: Daniel Kim

Congratulation on your savings! Is there a reason you have chosen upstate NY or Washington state outside Seattle? Do you have contacts there (in which case they could refer someone)?

If not I would browse the forums here after setting up keyword searches of areas you are looking in and see if there are any agents that post a lot (and recently). There are a lot of good agents out there but not all are good at working with investors - understanding cash flow, showing properties through Facetime, etc.

Best of luck!

You could look for a part-time helping agents/an office with their forms, Zoom showing, online marketing, social media, etc., especially agents not comfortable with the new way of doing business.

But a lot of people find a W-2 (for example it seems like there are a ton of engineers who invest in real estate) and then use those savings to start real estate investing.

Either way best of luck!

Welcome! I'm just going to echo what Jon said. 

Househacking somewhere out east in an affordable market may get your whole mortgage paid every month not somewhere like the coast of Cali. I've househacked my last three residences and, although my roommates' rents were helpful, they were nowhere near paying the whole mortgage payment. 

Normally I would never advise anyone who has never owned a home before to start off by investing out-of-state, but these are not normal times.

I think the most important thing is to remember to buy in a neighborhood you want to come home to every night. It doesn't matter when you're buying out-of-state for pure investment purposes, but when you are going to live in the property (even for a year) I don't think making money is really worth being afraid to talk a walk outside at sunset or have your kids play in the driveway.

Good luck with your journey!

Hi all, 

Has anyone completed a refinance (cash-out or not) for an investment property in or near Los Angeles County in the last few months? I have a rental condo with about $210K in equity that I would like to cash out refinance. However the rate is at 4.0% (bought it as a primary residence) and I am afraid that even with today's low rates I won't get much better than that.

I have a very high DTI so I am looking for a lender who can work with that.

Thank you!

Yes, I'll message you her info. Did you refinance a home in Oregon? I am looking to refinance an investment property too so if you could send me their info as well that would be great, hopefully they are licensed in California.

Hi Aloysius, I am also looking at the Twin Cities area for my next rental. I have a great realtor (South of the River) but if you could share any good lenders you get referred to I would appreciate it. Good luck!

I had the same issue. I was afraid I was going to have to find someone out-of-state just for my out-of-state property and then pay two people. Luckily when I found my local tax guy (who has plenty of rentals himself) and let him know I had to file a form for another state, he let me know that he could do it. Is he an expert in that state's tax code? Probably not as someone local, but he got the job done. I guess it's kind of like an agent or lender who has reciprocity with other states. I guess it would depend on how complicated your Florida situation is though. Hope you find someone good.

First off congratulations on getting your offer accepted. Hope you have a good buyers agent who is guiding you through the process patiently and you are here for second opinions.

I know absolutely nothing about buying in New York so my opinions may mean nothing lol... Honestly where I live, if the buyer is worried something that comes up in the inspection, the buyer would have to pay for a more specific inspection. As a seller I would be like, why would I pay money for something I'm not curious about, it will probably just show more things wrong with the home any way... So if the roof worries you I would pay for the roof inspection and then show that inspection to support any request for a credit to the seller.

In my state, every mortgage lender I ever used made me get a termite inspection. The seller had to pay for it but that may not be the case in New York so hopefully he shows you that report/receipt/calls the company for a copy. I do remember back in real estate school the instructor saying that pretty much every house has some termite damage.

I remember I was so afraid to ask sellers to repair things or give back a credit. Now that I look back, what's the worst thing that can happen - they'll say no. Yes, probably roll their eyes about this first-time homebuyer worrying about every little thing but who cares, you are not here to make friends lol... Hopefully your agent will be a bit aggressive in your request for repairs and see how the seller responds.

Best wishes on the purchase and let us know how it goes!

Have you already tried PenFed Credit Union?

I think you already have some good ideas. Construction or general contractor would be good for you to be able to estimate accurately how much would be needed to fix up a property. As for full-time real estate agent you would really need to dominate your market to make enough commissions to then be able to invest.

But then again, there are so many engineers out there that seem to be into real estate for some reason. I know an accountant/CPA who got tired of helping real estate investors make money by paying less taxes so got into it himself. I know a nurse who does real estate part-time. So I guess it basically comes down to do what you love - if you get paid well for it you'll have that many more funds to keep flipping.