All Forum Posts by: Jacqueline Floyd

The link to the TAR form doesn't work anymore.  Does anyone have a current working link to the TAR 1503 form?

@Zach Wain Thank you for the reply! I have considered the idea of buying a place, living in it, and then moving to another place and renting out the former one and generally like it.

I think that my concern is that the home I would buy to live in (3bed/2bath with a yard) would likely be different than one that I would buy to rent out (think, 1-2 bedroom condo or townhouse). 

Wouldn't I look better to lenders if I invested in the condo rental first (because I have no other real estate debt)? And then when I go to finance my personal home, lenders would look more favorably on my rental debt as an investment (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).  If home prices fall significantly in the next year, it wouldn't hurt me if the value of the rental fell as long as I have a paying tenant in the same way that being underwater on my personal home could hurt me.  

I'm currently renting a single-family home that is $1740/month that I've lived in for several years and luckily my landlord hasn't been raising the rent on me much since I moved in.

I've finally saved enough to put a substantial downpayment on a home (20%), but the median home price in Houston is around $350,000.  And even a cheaper home at $250,000 will have me paying closer to $2200/month.  I'm not looking forward to higher monthly house payments. Andwith everyone saying that the market is going to nosedive in late 2023 or 2024, I'm afraid to put my money toward something that could lose 10-20% in value and make me feel trapped in the house. 

I'd like to also start investing in rental properties as part of my long-term retirement plan. Would it be better to put that downpayment money toward an investment property and keep renting?  My concern about buying a house to live in first is that my monthly home costs will slow down my ability to save for investment properties, whereas investing first could increase my monthly income.  Any suggestions about a strategy?