All Forum Posts by: Felipe Ocampo

I have heard the same thing. A lot of people lose their houses because they can't pay for the mortgage, so the rental prices/demand increases. 

Make sure you listen to both podcasts. They are an absolutely great source of information. Also go through the forums. You will also learn a lot by reading through the ones that you are interested it. 

@ Michael Dunn It usually takes two years of continuous rental income for that money to count towards your own personal income  from lender's perspective. 

I do not know of any low money down conventional loans for investors. Is there any way you can live in the property? Then you can use an FHA loan /FHA 203K loan for the purchase of the property and any repairs needed.

You can also use Homepath.com, which is the Fannie Mae equivalent of Home Search.

Yes. I believe you can get in touch with the seller's agent directly. In fact, he will likely push your bid ahead of other people's since he will get all the commission for himself. Usually this commission is split between the buyer and the seller's agent. 

Hey Nick! 

I agree that there are not many multi-plex units in this area(MD/VA). I have found a few in the Frederick County area(MD), but take a look at loopnet.com to find multi unit listings.

Here are my recommendations(and I am also new to real estate investment so take my recommendations with a grain of salt): 

1. The strategy seems good if you can find a good deal on a multi family unit. Just make sure the numbers work. Sometimes the numbers on a single family home are better than those on multi units. 

2. My understanding is that with an FHA loan you must have the intent to stay in the property for 1 year, which to me means you could theoretically move out earlier if something unexpected occurs. Also, remember that if you get an FHA loan, you will be paying mortgage insurance!

3. I do not have experience with converting single family homes into multi units, but again if the numbers work and you can get all the required permits to do so, then I do not see why not. 

4. I do not know much about umbrella loans, but it seems like they are more for debt consolidation. If you have multiple credit cards/loans you can get an umbrella loan to pay for all the debt and make a single payment to the umbrella loan. I do not know if you can buy properties with one of these loans. They seem to be used more during refinancing. 

Hope that helps, 

Felipe

Wow. All these issues people have had makes me not want to rent to pet owners. Having to rip up carpet, tile, hard wood floors, and so on seems like a huge pain for a tenant that might only stay one year.

Thank you @Stephanie Dobbs. I would love to be part of that meet up and meet like minded people. 

Thanks @Simone Henry. I will definitely check that group out. 

- Felipe

Hey Nick. I am in Montgomery county Maryland and I am also new to bigger pockets/investing. I would also be very interested in finding REIA's or meet up groups around this area.