All Forum Posts by: Justin J.

@Ann Bellamy You're absolutely right. For the Fitchburg property, I'm looking to cash flow. This area is not a good market for appreciation. My next investment will be in a market that appreciates and cash flows. Fitchburg was initially attractive because of it's entry-level pricing in mid-eastern MA, and my goal was to find a property close to the university and proximal to where I work. I will post this deal on the deal analysis forum to get more insight. Have you owned or had relations with any property in Fitchburg before?

@Matthew Conroy Welcome to Biggah Pahketss!! I wish I had 50k when I was 20. Real estate is THE approach to utilizing that money. I'm glad that you came to bigger pockets before you went into real estate! =]

Go ahead and read the Ultimate Beginner's Guide to REI to get the fundamentals.

Start listening to those podcasts; I've found that downloading the podcast app (if you have an iPhone) works the best for interface instead of itunes. From the podcasts you'll start to learn what the possibilities are in real estate, and you might end up (like most people) with a constantly evolving plan for your real estate investing future.

I'm relatively new to BP and haven't gone to any local meetings yet. As advised above you should attend these meetings to get invaluable experience and connections, I'll see you there!

Best,

-Justin

@Account Closed That's great! The export business sounds pretty cool. I've always thought of condos as tough to cash flow because of the related monthly fees. Do you have a lot of equity in these condos? I'm currently in the process (under contract) of purchasing my first multi-family property in Fitchburg MA. My criteria for future properties is that it has to be in a market and price to cash flow and hopefully appreciate value. 

I began investing with a "buy and hold" strategy which I like because of it's passiveness. I've now come to realize that in order to acquire more properties I need to be creative. Next, I'm going to try to find distressed properties to wholesale; I figure that I'm research and people oriented enough to dig up one or two (I work in neuroscience research during the day). Then once I build up a little bit of cash I'll be able to flip a house or purchase another buy and hold. Are you primarily focused on condo investments?

Welcome to bigger pockets @Maurice P. ! Where have you invested in MA? What got you started into real estate investing?

Best,

-Justin

Hi @Carlos Asuaje and welcome to Biggah Pahketss!

Best,

-Justin

Welcome to BP @Account Closed ! It seems like you're doing very well so far! How did you first get started in real estate, was your first purchase a primary residence SF? Also, I assume you work full-time; are you managing these properties yourself?

Best,

-Justin

@Wayne Brooks Would a design such as this be a sufficient way to approach the plan? 15' back may be overkill for the wall. I was thinking that a base slab footing like this could work for holding the weight.

-Justin

=] Happy to help!

-Justin

@Samuel Maclean Welcome to BP Sam! I'm very familiar with the Homepath renovation and 203k loans as I considered these options when I was searching for my first property. It's important to know what's involved with these loans other than the renovation aspect. Most properties that I searched for on the MLS or through Homepath didn't have enough %ARV to make it worthwhile for the loan plus the increased costs associated with them (I'm not saying that these properties don't exist).

Also, choosing a lender really matters with renovation loans. Some lenders are more strict than others when determining the renovation plan and contractor selection process. I'd be happy to talk more about the associated costs, and I'm sure @Sean LeBlanc is qualified to comment as well. 

Another option to consider would be to use hard money (private money) to acquire the property and fix it up then refinance out of the more expensive private loan into a conventional loan. This would only work if you're considering being an owner occupant in this property. (

Find a good Realtor! There's a lot of Realtors out there that aren't experienced with investors and there are plenty that are. The Realtors (or people) that find deals off the MLS with be the best source of finding those renovation loan properties.

And finally, listen to those podcasts (I would recommend going in order) and read the ultimate beginners guide here: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing.

Best,

-Justin

Hi Edith,

I had the same thought when considering a renovation loan. I spoke with an underwriter and my loan officer about this exact concept. Yes you can plan to paint and do tile work yourself, but cost (ie cost of paint and tile) cannot come from the renovation loan budget. Unfortunately the lender will only disburse the funds from the renovation loan through an approved contractor. If you have a bit of money for small DIY renovations then this may be a great option.

Best,

-Justin