All Forum Posts by: Huzaifa Ahmad

Hi everyone, I am 32 and think I am finally ready to buy my first property (mentally at least.) I’ll be moving to DC in the fall and will be living there for around 3 years. I’d like to buy a property with a separate unit (eg basement unit) that I can rent out at the same time while living there. I’d plan on renting out my unit when I move out. But I’d love guidance on how to find out if it’s a good idea to buy in DC, how to know if the property will cash flow, how to find the type of property I’m looking for etc. I do have a lender I’ve started talking to to find out what I qualify for. I’ll be making between $250-$300k, with some credit card debt I’m hoping to get to by August. Any guidance would be appreciated!

My cousin recently started medical residency in Springfield, IL and the houses there are cheap enough that I can buy them in cash (which is important for me since due to religious reasons I can't get a loan/deal with interest.) I'm considering buying my first investment property there (I live in CT) since I have someone on the ground there who has offered to be my "man on the ground" and will be there for the next 4 years. She's willing to go to open houses and has let me know that her fellow residents live in duplexes and which areas are up and coming etc. 

I haven't really run the numbers yet (because I'm still learning how to) but if they're favorable would investing here be a good idea? How do I find out if Springfield, IL is a good place to invest? Per Zillow there is 4% appreciation of houses over the past year. Additionally, I'll have relatively stable tenants from the hospital as well with turnover every 3-4 years.

New to real estate investing and trying to avoid using leverage/loans involving interest due to religious reasons. My wife and I have another married couple friends in the same boat and we thought let's partner and pool money to cash buy and then flip a house, start off cheap like a $100,000 house, flip and sell and use profits to buy a $200,000 house, repeat and rinse until we can afford a 4 unit multifamily to rent out. Ultimately goal is to generate passive income through cash flowing properties without using interest loans. Does this seem reasonable or is there a better strategy with creative financing that does not depend on loans? Thanks!