All Forum Posts by: David Fields

@Ash Patel, I don't know if that's an option for me because I might be locked into my wife's FHA loan on our current house. I would love to do the plan I hear where people buy duplexes/4-plexs through FHA and live in one unit, then refinance it a year later and move into another, but I don't know if it's an option for me.

@Lisa Hoover, We live in a 3/1 house in the Woodlawn area which my wife was able to acquire through FHA. It is only listed on her credit, but I'm signed on the agreement even though it isn't reporting on my credit. We've been here since October of 2015. I don't know what you mean by fully employeed, but I'm considered self employed since i get paid through 1099. My wife is unemployeed and in the process of going back to college for a degree towards Cancer Registrar. I don't mind sharing openly on here because I've been quite the introvert since the last real estate crash and I need to reach out and make some connections. Any guidance is appreciated.

@Adam Johnson, thanks for the reply. I too was interested in getting into real estate around 2007, but the banks were no help and I had some bad experiences with hard money lenders, so my wife and I decided to go the way of stability and worked on getting ourselves back in financial shape. We rebuilt our credit scores, bought a home through FHA back in October 2015, and I had to get our car because I work as a courier driver and I needed a dependable newer car with decent gas mileage. Our credit utilization will be almost 0% in a couple months, I just know that 9% and less is the best place to be credit score wise. The medical bill is already in process of repayment. We try to live below our means, but with 3 young children, that's easier said than done. About the money. I have already analyzed a few deals and I find good deals it seems every other week. Properties (some already rehabbed) that should cash flow well even if they're managed by a property management company. I'm a firm believer that if you do the math, the math will tell you what to do. I can't pull the trigger on these deals with my current situation, so what would you suggest on those? It's so maddening to know how to spot deals but not be able to benefit from it.

I feel that I am a good everyman when it comes to the average beginner in real estate investing. I've read a lot of books that most accomplished investors have (mostly the Rich Dad series), but have no experience in deals made over time. I feel that you learn more by doing than reading. I think that most of the books are more guidelines and advice than actual functional knowledge.  So I was wondering if there is a real "soup to nuts" guide for beginning investors that are looking to buy and hold rental properties when they are starting from $0 and have no wealthy friends or family to rely on for non-traditional investment loans. 

In my case, this summer I will have a credit score nearing 700 (650 right now), Debt to Income ratio around 40%, 11.5k in available credit (over 5-6 different accounts) with less than 9% utilization, no accounts in collection, one old public record for a medical bill. I make around 30-40k as a 1099-self employed, and I have a car loan around 14k. Right now, I only have a few hundred in savings. As you see, although my credit is at an upward trend and I have very little debt not counting my car, my capital is very small and has no velocity other than the monthly contributions after expenses. I think many people just beginning in real estate are at this point or are even worse off than I. 

This is where I think it would be beneficial to start a plan of achieving acquisitional strength, but a plan that has the wisdom of hindsight guiding it. 

Immediate Questions: 

-What steps should be taken now? 

-Keep saving and wait till next year when capital and credit are stronger? If so, where's the best place to park the money for maximum growth? How much would you say is enough for single-family and/or multi-family down payments in Cincinnati?

-Try to find a private lender (not hard money)?

-Try to partner/birddog deals found till independent?

In summary, if it was you, where would you go from this point?

^ Also interested in this. I plan on investing in rentals soon and do not wish to manage them myself as I am always on the road. If so, what rates are they charging in rents, do they charge a placement fee, or renewal fees?

Hello Sylvia, Its nice to see another Cincinnati investor on here.

I'm a big fan of Robert Kiyosaki's books and Dolf De Roos. They're more about cash flow investing than flips and even though alot of their educational stuff is outdated now, their principals remain the same and they always advocate operating under updated information. Hope to connect with you around town. GL

Welcome to the site Patrick. My good friend Thomas just graduated from UC and went into stock trading. I might see you at some REIA meets. GL.

just updated my profile. I live in Cincinnati, OH.

sorry about the multiple postings btw, my internet explorer was frozen and I was trying to refresh it...