All Forum Posts by: EDWARD M.

I am looking to finally purchase my first property. I am from the North Jersey area and I'm not sure if I should purchase with an FHA loan, or do I have any other better options/alternative.

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Shawn,

Where should I begin? I'm not sure whether I should first find the perfect property to buy, and then look to see whether I can work with an FHA loan, or should I look for an FHA loan first, then look for properties that qualify for it? Are FHA loans available through a certain lender or do all banks, etc. offer FHA loans?

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Hey Erik!

I, too, am new to BP. I'm 22 years old living in North Bergen, NJ. I'm graduating May 2014 and looking forward to enhancing my RE, which is exactly why I joined BP. I see you've already gotten your foot in the door for REI. I'm working on my first purchase, still not sure what it might be or how to start. But, it's always good to see people who made it happen. Just goes to show how well hard work pays off!

Good luck to us both on our new journey!

Ed Mauricio

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Originally posted by @Eric Black:

Hello Edward and congratulations on being close to graduating and for getting the RE bug!

My first word of caution would be to be extremely careful if you decide to buy a place with your friend. This can be a very good way to ruin a friendship. Will you be moving out after a year/year and a half or just purchase another property? What will you do if your friend decides he wants to move in 1, 3 or 5 years? Will you be able to buy him out or will you have to sell your property? If you have to sell, will you be able to and make your money back? (That's a rhetorical question because you don't know) What if you decide you want to move? What if one of you lose your job and can't pay their share?

I'm not trying to be negative or suggesting that your friendship will not last. There are just a lot of things you need to think about and a lot of "what if's" you and your friend need to discuss before buying something.

What about buying a duplex? Would that be a possibility? Then either you could each live in one side and if one decided to move you could then rent out that side, or you could live together in one side and rent out the other to help cover your mortgage. Just an idea.

I'm not a big fan of condos personally. Most of them have very high HOA dues (if they're a good complex in a good area and they take care of the place)and you never know when you might get hit with an assessment that may not even benefit from whatever the work is that's being done.

Best of luck!

Hey Eric,

Thanks for the input! You're probably right about all of that. However, the reason I thought of a condo unit being my first purchase is because I didn't really want to deal with any maintenance issues, etc. I know that I would definitely have to research HOA's financial standing when looking for a unit to buy in order to avoid those special assessments. I wouldn't know whether to stay in the first unit I buy or move into the second when I purchased it because I've read that it's much more difficult to get a hold on a mortgage loan when you're purchasing as an investor rather than someone who's going to actually live in the property.

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Originally posted by @Jon Holdman:

I've done deals with a close friend. Its a bad idea. When things go wrong, and they inevitably will, it can be hard to agree on a course of action. They say "the only ship that won't sail is a partnership." Just save until you can do it on your own.

Hey Jon, I've been told on several occassions already. I'm leaning more toward just working on my own. Just felt like I needed to partner with someone in order to rush for downpayment and have something a little sooner.

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I am 22 yrs old, graduating May 2014. I have been saving up for the past couple of months and looking to purchase a condominium unit sometime after July 2014. I may be purchasing with a close friend. Should I do it on my own? I only intend on living in the unit for about a year, year and a half, before purchasing my next property. Where should I begin?

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All Forum Posts by: EDWARD M.

EDWARD M. has started 32 posts and replied 46 times.

Post: My First Rental Purchase

Post: Buying My First Property

Post: New Member from New Jersey

Post: Buying My First Property

Post: Buying My First Property

Post: Buying My First Property