All Forum Posts by: Garrett Woetzel

That makes sense. It has been a challenge trying to get solid information on FHA loans, as it seems like quite a bit of policy is left to the discretion of the lender. Looks like my strategy will revert to an old-school one!

Do you hear that silence? That's the sound of the wind being taken out of my sails...

The ideal scenario -- revised upon this new and disappointing revelation -- would be to have my wife take out an additional FHA loan in a year (she will not be a co-borrower on this first loan), so I think this scenario would at least allow for two simultaneous FHA mortgages.

Assuming this scenario is feasible, I am still wondering if aiming for the higher end of the price spectrum might be a good strategy for these low-down payment loans. 

Hello, BP. First thread posting, so don't be too hard on me! 

I am looking to invest in my first real estate property in the next few months, and I hope that this property will be one of many to come. My plan is to use a few FHA loans on duplexes over the next few years, until I am tired of moving once per year!

My original target price range for a duplex was about $150k - $225k, but because I was having some difficulty finding properties at that price level that I was interested in living in, I began to up my search to something in the $300k range. I was initially reticent to moving up my price range, but as I began to think about it, I realized that I will only have 2-3 opportunities to make 3.5% down payments on properties, and as such, it may make sense to make this low down payments on expensive properties. The 16.5% delta (between a 3.5% down and a 20% down) on a $150k purchase vs. a $300k purchase is quite large. 

So, my question is this: what are the downsides to this strategy? Might this severely impair my ability to attain financing in the future? The obvious upsides are that I have a better living situation, I am building more equity through a more expensive property -- both through equity pay down and likely appreciation, and I am likely setting myself up for better tenants in the future. 

I'd love to hear some thoughts/critiques on my thought process here. I want to make sure I am not missing something fundamental. 

Thanks in advance! Aaaand sorry for the long post. 

Hello, BP! I wanted to introduce myself to the community, and this is quite clearly the place to do so.

I am moving to Minnesota (home) from Los Angeles for a new job within investment management. I am seeing this move to a more affordable area as a great way to begin investing in real estate. I am generally new to the concept of real estate investing, and have been quickly compelled as to its many merits. 

I intend to acquire my first property this summer, likely a multi-family in which I will also live, and intend to scale from there. I am living abroad for a few months, before starting in the new job, and am trying to use this time to build up as much knowledge-capital as possible. So, here I am! 

Garrett