All Forum Posts by: Jeff C.

Greetings Bigger Pockets Members, I'm a newbie to this group.  Sure wish there was a group like this in the 90's.  But that would've meant meet ups at Denny's.   I'm excited to learn, grow and share with you all!   Full disclosure, I've stayed in the lane as an Agent helping buyers/sellers, Buy, Sell, Invest or Relocate all while forgetting to build my own real estate empire.   But, hey, it's never too late to get started, right?   Now that I know, I need to shift into 4th gear to build my retirement portfolio which will allow me to work for fun!   Hope to learn from you all!   Respectfully,  Linda your Golden Girl ready to move a bit faster  *Please Like my page 

Hi, my name is Parm, I'm looking into investing (in Bakersfield, CA area) by reading forums, books, and listening to podcasts. I was confused in the beginning on where to start but after finding Biggerpockets I feel like it has put me on the right path. 

I wanted to get some opinions and advice regarding my first deal. 

Currently, I own a one bedroom condo in Bakersfield, CA. I bought it at $104K, + closing costs + renovation = we are about $120k into it. It is currently in escrow at a selling price of $138k. 
I'm looking at a new condo (2 bedroom 2 bathroom, $195k) around the same area as the current condo. I am currently in escrow for this condo with the accepted offer of $191k + closing costs with 20% down + 5% commision. I initially thought I'd be getting $8K as profit from the sale of my current condo, but I didn't think about the closing costs on the new condo. Now it's looking like I'm just going to break even.

My question: Is it worth selling my current 1 bedroom condo and buying the new condo with nothing out of pocket (what I'm currently thinking of doing), OR should I not buy the other condo and hold on to the current condo in order to either sell or rent it down the road. Both have their pros and cons but from a financial point of view, what is the better decision, in your opinion?

I'd love to hear your responses and your reasoning. Thank you in advance for the advice and help, I appreciate it. 

We are looking to buy a property that we are planning on house hacking and want to get in for as little up front costs as possible. The seller has a number they want to get for it. Would it make sense to add an extra 10k on to the purchase price and stipulate  that seller pays all the closing costs? Would I be able to get into the property for just the down payment amount without the additional closing costs, as long as costs do not exceed 10k?  I am going to be using traditional bank financing.