All Forum Posts by: NA Ben

Hi everyone - 

I purchased my first condo in Long Beach, CA a couple years ago and have since realized that speaking to actual residents is incredibly valuable. Had I done this before purchasing my current home, I may have had more leverage in my negotiations (poor HOA performance, poor property management, etc).

I'm a software engineer and get excited by problems that I think technology can solve, but I'm not sure if this is one of those problems.  I whipped together a proof-of-concept that allows me to:

1. Type an address
2. Fetch all mailable units
3. Send postcard invitations to residents that welcome them to take a one-minute survey RE the performance of their property

I tested it out against my property and received one response out of 20 postcards - a very low conversion rate.  So now I'm brainstorming.  Here's a sample "report card":

My question to you is: would this (or any variant of this) help you?  I plan to use it the next time I purchase a condo, but I wonder if there's some other obvious pivot or application of this technology (easily mailing residents of condos with postcards) that could serve the community.  Thoughts?

@Kenneth Mooney Do you know if it's possible to refinance a fixer-upper (first property) in GA before the 6-12 month mark using a credit union?

Thank you very much @Kenneth Mooney.  

@Matt K. Yes, I intend to live there and rent out rooms.  Thanks for the perspective.

@Andrew Ashby thank you - that's what I'm trying.  It looks like maybe some parts of my original post aren't showing up.

> I'm currently renting a room out of a single-family-home that has four rooms with the homeowner living in the unfinished basement; I'd like to do something similar to maximize cash flow (sacrifice comfort in the name of earnings).

>  Take advantage of my solid credit and employment to finance an investment property that I can use to generate cash flow and (maybe) live rent-free.

Those are my goals, though I've asked a few questions about how to go about defining the type and location of property I should be considering (or at least how to start thinking about it).  I'd like to know what you would do and why if possible.

Hey guys!  I've just paid off my student loans and - after dumping about a year on travel - I've finally saved up enough to start considering investing in real estate.  I'm currently renting a room out of a single-family-home that has four rooms with the homeowner living in the unfinished basement; I'd like to do something similar to maximize cash flow (sacrifice comfort in the name of earnings).  I'm struggling to decide where I should invest, how much I should invest, and what I should invest in.  I'd like to learn what you folks would do (and why) if you were in my situation.

My finances: 

 - 30K available for a down payment

 - no debt

 - excellent credit, income, employment (software engineer)

My goals:

 - Take advantage of my solid credit and employment to finance an investment property that I can use to generate cash flow and (maybe) live rent-free.

My preferences:

 - A 1 or 2-car garage attached to the house

- No HOA

 - Warm weather year-round

My questions:

1. - Where would you shop and why? I love CA (Long Beach, San Diego) but from what I understand, the investment value is much lower in that region than in locations like Dallas, Tampa, or Orlando (lower CAP, job growth, population growth, higher entry costs). I'd prioritize earning potential over weather.
2.  - With 30k at a 3.5-5% down payment, I can finance a ~$600k property.  I've seen guidance that suggests starting small, but I'm attracted to the idea of maximizing my cash flow as soon as possible so it can more quickly snowball into real wealth.  Is this an unwise position?
3. - What would you invest in and why? I like the idea of replicating what my current landlord has - a SFH with 4+ rooms and then renting rooms through a combination of short-term and long-term.

Thank you for reading!