All Forum Posts by: James Lawler

Thank you for sharing your background and goals—it’s great to see your determination to build a diverse investment portfolio and dive into real estate. Regarding your strategy, house hacking can be an excellent way to begin, especially given your circumstances.

On the loan options:

FHA Loan: This could be a good fit, as it allows for a lower down payment (as little as 3.5%) and flexible credit requirements. However, keep in mind the mandatory mortgage insurance premiums, which could add to your costs.

Fannie Mae Loan: If your credit and financial profile are strong, this might be better for avoiding private mortgage insurance altogether, depending on your down payment. It also offers competitive interest rates but requires stricter qualifications. I’d recommend evaluating your savings and income to see which aligns best with your goals.

As for your exit strategy and portfolio growth, the BRRRR method could be ideal for scaling over time. Once you've built equity in your first property, you could leverage it for refinancing and use those funds to invest in your next property. Being methodical in your search for undervalued properties and maintaining a solid cash flow will ensure smoother expansion.

If you need help with narrowing down properties or diving deeper into loan strategies, feel free to reach out—I’m happy to assist as you begin your journey.

Wishing you success,

Raffi

Thank you Raffi, I appreciate the advice! I have a pretty strong credit score, therefore I think as you said the Fannie Mae Loan may be a better option in my case to avoid the mandatory mortgage insurance. Now would you recommend a duplex or should I consider purchasing a single-family and room-hack as I would have a broader selection in terms of my first property. Thanks again for the advice though, I greatly appreciate it!

0 Votes

Warwick, Rhode Island

Hello everyone,

I wanted to give you some background about myself to help guide your responses to my situation. I’m 22 years old and graduating this coming May. Starting in July, I will be making $80K per year in my full-time role, and I also currently work as a waiter on the side, which I plan to continue while working full-time. Additionally, I currently have around $50K invested, which I intend to leave untouched as I continue building my stock portfolio. My goal is to diversify into real estate while maintaining a solid nest egg in my investments.

With that in mind, I’m looking to get into real estate investing as quickly as possible. I’ve been researching different strategies, and it seems like house hacking might be the best fit for my current situation. However, I’ll be working in Rhode Island, so I’ll need to focus on properties either in RI or near the MA/CT borders.

After browsing sites like Realtor.com, I’ve noticed that most duplexes in Rhode Island are listed around $400K+, which led me to consider whether it might be more practical to buy a single-family home and rent out rooms (perhaps to people like college students or other renters). This approach seems like it could be more financially feasible in my case, but I’d love to get feedback from those of you who have experience with this strategy.

A few additional questions I have:

Loan Options: Given my circumstances, would an FHA loan or Fannie Mae loan be more suitable for my first purchase? What are the pros and cons of each in my situation?
Exit Strategy for Future Expansion: I’ve heard of the BRRR strategy and I’m curious about how to apply this to my future growth. What are the best ways to purchase a second property once I’ve paid down the mortgage on my first? Any insights into the process of expanding a real estate portfolio would be very helpful.

I’m eager to start my real estate journey and would greatly appreciate any advice, resources, or recommendations. I’m open to hearing about any other strategies that might be worth considering.

Thanks in advance for your time and expertise!

Best regards,

James

0 Votes

Warwick, Rhode Island

All Forum Posts by: James Lawler

James Lawler has started 1 posts and replied 2 times.

Post: Seeking Advice on Real Estate Investing Strategy: First Property Options (RI)

Post: Seeking Advice on Real Estate Investing Strategy: First Property Options (RI)