All Forum Posts by: Frank Avallone II

Hi Ron, glad to see you are eager to get into real estate investing!

I think all these different options you mentioned are great and usually will tie into each other. 

Depending on your current situation a house hack might help you achieve your goal of quitting your job because ultimately reducing overhead would also make that more feasible. I would love to hear more about what you are looking to do!

@Jake Hill, looking for meet ups in your area is always a great idea. Once you find one you can talk to people about other meet ups and it will snow ball. Usually along the line you'll stumble across someone who can offer some sort of mentorship naturally. 

Obviously on here is another great place to learn and connect with people. 

Tons of videos and forums on other places as well.

If you ever have any questions feel free to reach out!

@John Dersoe, Hey, honestly don't know much about how child support works. However, is it possible with write offs from real estate expenses and such you could shelter yourself from both of those expenses you are bringing up?

HI @Tyler Shoaf, great job on your first house! 

It's no secret that real estate investing can be extremely lucrative and rewarding. With that being said it is also super important to do it in a way that you and your family are comfortable with. I do think this is possible. 

Starting slow is always a good idea as you will learn more and be able to better asses the situation to evaluate if it is something you want to continue with. Might be a good idea to research and watch some podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. with your wife so you guys can learn more about the facts of the matter together. Usually when people start seeing all the benefits they are inclined to at the very least learn more!

Hi @Serge DuLaudAllemans, I think it really depends on the situation. However, there seems to be a lot more pros than cons to it. I personally do not have it because I am a mortgage lender and have realtor partners that I work with. 

If you had the time and money to get it done I don't think you would be unhappy that you did so. Even just having that extra access to the MLS could be worth it. You'll also be able to go see any house on your own time and won't have to worry about someone showing it to you. Finally you'll save money on each transaction.

Hi @Cody Turner, 

I think everyone mostly hit the nail on the head hear. 

Honestly doing a few things at once to set the stage as most mentioned will really help.

Getting a grasp on what your financial situation looks like or/needs to be. How can you improve that? How can you set yourself up for the future to make scaling easier? Can easily do this buy talking to a lender like myself. As @Nathan Gesner said, setting your self up financially is a huge part of this. You want a strong base, decent income, capital to invest, great credit, and a great team around you. This is going to make the process that much easier and profitable.

The team is going to be a big part of it. I always recommend to people investing that they should really try to work with realtors, lenders, attorneys, that are investors themselves or at least extremely nonweldable in that space.

Always be trying to learn more, constantly read, watch videos, watch podcasts, and most importantly talk to people in the space.

Once you have all this set up and sorted out a bit I would start to look at property online daily so you can learn your market. 

Get good at running numbers on properties. 

Get some goals inline, make a plan, and pursue it!

Hi @Adam Pervez, depends on the size of the rehab. If it is smaller projects I will usually use a credit card just to take advantage of points haha, but knowing I have the cash on hand in order to avoid paying any interest. 

If you do not have the cash on hand and it is for something bigger there is a few other options you can look into. A lot of times if you have owned the property for a while you can tap into equity of the house to pay for project. This would be in the form of a cash out refinance or a heloc/heloan. 

If this is for a house that you did not buy yet and you anticipate rehab costs, then you can look into obtaining a renovation loan so that you can finance these costs into the purchase.

Hi @Abner Sanchez, typically you can indeed use college to satisfy the 2 year work history requirement. However, most lenders are going to a need to take your income earned over those past 18 months and find the average income earned. Depending on where you are looking to buy a 20k a year income may be pretty difficult to qualify you for a mortgage especially if you have any debts in your name at all.

Is there anyone else that can help you guys from a co-signing perspective?

Hi @Sarah Lev, glad to hear you are entertaining the idea of getting into real estate investing. I do think when done right it can be extremely worth it!

One of the main reasons people suggest the house hacking is because it allows you to enter into real estate investing in one of the easiest, most beginner friendly ways.

You'll have the benefit of using an FHA mortgage which you could put as little as 3.5% down. Also, you'll be living there so it will be easier to learn how to manage the property. Then after a year or so you could move out and keep it as fully rented rental property.

If you don't house hack and you want to buy something as a straight up investment property, financing typically requires you to put 20-25% down on a multi-family property. Being from the northern NJ area and having tons of friend in NYC, I know 20-25% down can be extremely difficult in the beginning. This is why house hacking tends to be one of the first moves an investor will make. 

I also agree that out of state investing while can be great for a ton of people, it may be a little more difficult for someone just starting out.

Hi @Nico Ferreri, sounds like a nice idea!

If you are able to take a look try to bring a knowledgeable contractor with you so he can help estimate the true cost of rehab.

Depending on your financial situation you may have a few different options here as far as financing.

One option to consider is a renovation loan which could allow you to finance part of the property and all of the renovation costs. Doing it this way will help you position yourself for having it as a rental after it is fixed up.

I'd love to hear more about your situation and long term plan!