All Forum Posts by: Elizabeth O.

I am purchasing a HUD home that does not have any kitchen appliances and the half bathroom on the main floor is framed and drywalled but there is not a sink or toilet installed.

I am being told by my lender and my realtor that I should have a working stove and toilet for the appraisal to pass. HUD states that I can't make any repairs or changes to the home until I own it.

I told my lender this and he said lets just wait and see what happens.  He said that if it appraises for more than the 100K purchase price (which it should) without the bathroom its not an issue and that if they require a stove to be present to pass inspection then we could always put one in and have the appraiser come back out.

How do I get around all of this?  I'd really like to get my loan.  I suppose I was silly to think i wouldnt have any problems.

Thanks for any advice.

@Mark Ferguson 

thank you for the speedy reply!

Have you ever seen the date change?  My realtor said they may have several offers from owner occupants and they are waiting for the highest and best or that they are hoping to get an owner occupany contract?

I guess my realtor will be up again late tonight.

@Mark Ferguson Please excuse my ignorance on this. 

Under bid open date it reads: 10/16.   

The list date was 10/1.  Listing period is: Exclusive  Period deadline is 10/15 11:59:59pm  which leads me to belive that I can place a bid tonight at midnight.  Is that correct?

Yesterday, homestore said the open date was 10/15 deadline was 10/14 11:59:59pm.

When can I bid on this property?

I am not very patiently waiting for an exclusive period to end so I can place an investor bid on a hud home.  The bid open date keeps changing.  Does anyone know why?

The other day it said it was open 10/14 then on 10/14 it said 10/15, but today it says that its open 10/16?  It says that it was listed 10/1. 

Today would put me at the 15 days but has anyone else seen this happen? My realtor seems to not know whats going on which worries me as she said she has done HUD bids before. She has tried to place the bid at midnight for the past two days.

I've been in the house and know its the one I want and I don't want to lose out on it due to screwing up the bid.

Thanks so much for any advice.

@Jay Helms 

 Thanks for your input.  The numbers do seem to work.            

I guess what i'm really trying to get at is..... Is my money working better for me invested in real estate or just sitting as equity in my primary residence? 

Its scary to pull money out of my home. I'm sure others who have done this would agree. 

I'm trying not to get stuck in analysis paralysis.

To finance my second rental property I am taking a HELOC out on my primary residence. I am not taking all the money I can but just enough to cover my 20-25% down payment. I went into this thinking that I would just wait 6 months and do a cash out refinance and repay the HELOC but I'm having a hard time finding deals that are this good.

I have come across a townhome in the same development as the one I rent out currently.  I may be able to pick it up for 120K with little to no work needed. 

I bought my current rental at 99K with 10% down and put a little over 15K into it to get it rented.  Currently I cash flow about $200 a month on it. 

In the deal I'm looking at, I will be able to cover the cost of both the mortgage and the HELOC at 2.99 interest only for 3 years and still cash flow. I should be able to do it after the interest only period of 3 years as well but very little cash flow.

Please give me your honest opinions.  I want to advance and grow in real estate investing  but at the same I am extremely cautious and don't want to make bad decisions I will regret.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this!

Thanks Paul Schuw for the vote!

Yes, Sue Bladek, I did check with Suntrust and they are ok to do a refi after 6 months.

I'll check again just to be sure.  Good advice, thank you

1st deal done; a buy and hold that cash flows 200$ a month after all expenses and yes, I also put away for repairs/maintenance and am also paying a property manager.

I’m getting cold feet gearing up for a 2nd deal. I plan to do another buy and hold. I have decided to get a HELOC on my primary home. I close on the line of credit on Oct 6th . I will be using the HELOC for a down payment and then obtaining a conventional mortgage.

I am very risk-averse. Even with careful planning and knowing my numbers, I still felt a little like I was rolling the dice with deal #1. Perhaps having young kids and a home I don’t want to lose is scaring me.

I am able to get an introductory offer of 1.99% fixed prime rate for one year on my HELOC. My goal is to do a cash out refinance in roughly 6-12 months to be able to pay back my HELOC.

How hard is this to do?I would love to hear success stories. Does this sound like a smart thing to do?

I am so happy that I have found a place to share and ask questions. I am used to bouncing ideas off of people who don’t know anything about real estate investing and getting a blank, glazed stare back.

Thomas, Thanks so much for your reply. I have read that its possible to use a HELOC for the down payment, then get a mortage loan for the total amount so you can pay your heloc back. Perhaps its something I need to talk to my lender about. Have you heard of this? Any advice is appreciated.

I bought my first property with a conventional loan.  I no longer have a lump sum sitting around to put down 20% on a second investment property.  I am looking into a home equity line of credit.   I have read great things about it being a way to get an investment property with almost no out of pocket costs as the interest is tax deductible up to 100k.  

Most things that sound to good to be true usually are.  

Main concern is the obvious; leveraging my primary residence.  

I was able to accomplish cash-flow with my first investment. If I do my due diligence and make sure I can cover my mortgage and then the PandI on my HELOC what else do I need to be aware of?

Will this hurt my credit?

Is this truly a way to get ahead if you are cautious on your investment and don't just have big piles of cash lying around?

Thank you very much for reading this and I look forward to reading any and all responses.