All Forum Posts by: Edwin Aguilar

@Tom Wagner We're definitely more on the conservative end when it comes to our risk tolerance since we're just entering the real estate process. We discussed potentially pushing our mortgage loan limit to $500k but for us it really comes down to having enough to pay our mortgage in case of any potential tenant vacancy while still being mindful of our current student loan debt. 

From my understanding, I know that there are strategies such as utilizing 10% of the gross rental income as one strategy to help cover vacancy costs but ultimately it comes down to our level of risk tolerance - which is more on the conservative end right now. I do appreciate the breakdown of potential ROI with the H1 and H2 example. I also appreciate bringing up the question of risk tolerance as it's a healthy question to wrestle with as an investor.

@Luan Oliveira  We've considered East Providence, East Pawtucket and Cumberland. My wife and I aren't as familiar with Rhode Island. Would you be able to speak to the areas to avoid (in terms of crime rate)? Thanks for the insight regarding the proportional down payment and offering workable suggestions to sellers! That's good to know! 

@Nick Riccio Thanks for the input! I think that my wife and I will definitely be going down the FHA route. We've been talking about pushing the price-point up to $500k it looks like some of the areas we're looking for are out of the $400K price range.

@Andrew Freed Thanks for the response! Regarding the FHA loan that's good to hear. Are some real estate agents just more "equipped" with finding a buyer that will take an FHA loan? Yeah, we've been primarily looking at duplexes and some triplexes. Unfortunately, as of right now Worcester is greater than the commute time that we're looking for. Do you have any knowledge/experience in the Attleboro, Ashland, East Boston, or Malden area?

Hello all, 

My wife and I are looking to invest in our first multifamily home. We're currently in the early stages of the process (i.e. haven't talked to a lender). We both have good credit scores but unfortunately due to our higher education, we also have debt. We've been in stable healthcare positions for >2 years now and are looking to utilize an FHA loan to purchase our first home. As of right now, we've been reading both "First-Time Home Buyers" and "Set For Life" by Scott Trench which has been incredibly helpful - to say the least. We've also been listening to a decent amount of podcasts regarding real estate and have talked to close friends that invest in the Worcester area.

That all being said, (1) my close friends that currently invest have told me that using an FHA loan to purchase a multi-family is unreasonable in this market - how true is this? Is conventional the only way? (2) We want to purchase a home where we'd be able to cover the mortgage costs (approximately $2,000-$2,300) in case we have tenant vacancies for an x amount of time. How realistic is purchasing a home in the South Shore for under $400,000 in this market? We've also considered Framingham, MA, and certain parts of Rhode Island too. Any advice or suggestions are welcomed!

Thank you!