All Forum Posts by: Emily Shirk

Hello!

My husband and I are first time buyers and new to the area (San Jose).  We met with a realtor who I found on zillow with high ratings and she instructed us that because the housing market is so competitive here, it is important to have all of our underwriting completed and our contingencies as small as possible.  She explained that she has a close working relationship with a mortgage consultant at WellsFargo who underwrites for all her clients and gives them priority.  I have been researching first time home buying and read that its important to speak toh multiple lenders, however she made it sound as if he handles all her clients and in order for the process to go smoothly we needed to go through him as well.  Is this normal?  After speaking with him he said to expect a 4.2-4.5% interest rate on a conventional loan with 5% down.  What are your thoughts?

Buying a smaller home and expanding it is a great idea, I will definitely begin look for candidates. Do you have any areas within San Jose in mind that that are not as competitive and might work with VA loans?

Hello everyone,

My husband and I are new in REI and just moved to San Jose. We are looking for a home to hack (flip while living in it) but are limited to a $655,000 budget due to the loan cap on a traditional loan with 5% down. We had intended on using a VA loan but learned that in this marketplace most sellers won't give offers using a VA loan the time of day because of all the contingencies that come with them. Because of that we are scrambling to pull together a 5% down payment before the inventory is off the market again. I am struggling finding single family homes that seem like good investment deals. I have been using the 70% rule to quickly search the MLS but inventory is so limited it seems like nothing is hitting close to the 70% rule. Does anyone have any experience in flipping in the SJ area? I could really use suggestions on the best areas/neighborhoods to focus on with our budget. Our end goal is to raise enough capital to buy investment properties but for now a flip seems the best option for us.