All Forum Posts by: Brandon Earman

Brandon Turner. Sorry, I was on the road this weekend and limited to my phone to respond, hence the short response.

I have a question regarding a 4-plex. I found what I thought to be a good deal one one at $150,000. I have some family who are real estate investors who more or less advised against a 4-plex as a first rental property. Their opinion was that it could be too much to handle as a first property.

Can anyone speak to this? It seems like the biggest issue would be that with a building of that size, any issues (A/C goes out etc.) would incur a large expense for repair.

It just seems to me like such a great opportunity. The positive cash flow from the 4 tenants would seem to outweigh the cons.

Another question I had was, what could I expect to pay for total closing costs on a $150,000 multi-unit, that I do not plan an living in?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

Ziv, I am currently working full time making $55K/yr. I started working last June and it has taken me about 7 months to save up $10K. What I meant was that right now it has been easy with no living expenses. Once I am paying a mortgage, house bills etc, I am worried about it taking so long to save up for the next investment. Maybe I'm just being too ambitious/impatient.

I like the idea of a duplex/4plex. I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for any deals.

Hello BP. Fresh out of college, I've got $10,000 to utilize. I'm currently living with my grandparents but looking to move into a place of my own.

My concern is that once I put all my money into closing costs for a house and start paying mortgage + utilities etc, it will take me years to work up to $10K again for my next property.

I've been reading a lot and it seems like the days are gone where you didn't need much cash (or any cash) to close on properties. It's been quite discouraging, but I know there's got to be a way to break into this business.

One thing I don't want to do is get into a rental/apartment and have to throw money away to rent. I'd rather buy a SFH and at least be putting my money towards equity.

Can anyone offer advice here? I've also thought of buying a small SFH (~50K) in hopes of getting ~$150 a month in positive cash flow. I'm sort of in a rut!

Thanks folks. I am leaning more towards a ~$70K property since I'm finding total funds needed to close will be anywhere from 7-10K.

Danny Day, that sounds like an excellent plan. I have a good friend/college roommate that I am going to be living with next year. I would consider having him as a roommate in my side of the duplex. Especially if I could find a duplex with a garage that I could rent out to him for his business.

Thanks for everyone's input. I will keep the advice in mind. I recently looked at a $130,000 SFH house. My lender quoted me a 30-year fixed (3.75% apr) at around $1,000 a month. But the total money needed to close was around $12K. This was a surprise to me and it will take a while to save up that much. Does $12K sound accurate?

Hello BP.

Recently graduating college and entering the workforce, I have zero debt (other than a truck payment). I'm single with little obligation financially speaking. With my current budget, I have $1800 per month of leftover income. I currently live with my grandparents while I am planning my next move.

I want to move into my first house and get some first-hand home owning experience. I was then planning on buying my first rental income property. I've been reading books and the internet, researching the field and becoming familiar with it all.

I wanted to ask the veterans out there who are older and much wiser, what you would consider doing in my situation. I could live with my grandparents even longer, to save up for a larger venture, but I'm about ready for a place to call my own.

Any advice is appreciated.

-Brandon