All Forum Posts by: Jessica Sheppard

@Darren Budahn, @Kyle Penland, @Amy E.

First I want to thank everyone for their responses to my question. I guess I worded the question incorrectly. I was thinking more of a blanket loan to cover several properties with one loan. Like I stated, I am new, but really would like to get started.

Currently I rent, in my area rental rates are extremely high and I also plan to live in one area for at least 2-4 years because I have young children. I am looking to buy a fixer upper with some equity as an owner occupant residence to decrease my cost of living and increase savings for future investing.

On the other hand I also want to try obtain a rental property or two, fixer uppers as well. My husband can do majority of the work himself.

I am just unsure of how to go about it. I do not want to buy an owner occupant and have to wait an extensive amount of time to obtain a rental property under financing.

I know these questions may sound stupid to the experienced, but I am just trying to get some different ideas and see what other investors have done in the past when first starting out.

I am in the process of getting a pre-approval for a conventional loan with 5% down.  

If I am approved for 150k mortgage and I find 2 or 3 homes that I want to purchase that are under or equal 150k is that possible? What are my options?

If I am going to use one as an owner occupant can I do 203k loan? Should I get a 203k loan for the owner occupant and conventional for the others? Can you do that?

I would love the idea of house-hacking a duplex or triplex, but there is not a lot in my farm area available comparable to my family size that make sense.  

Any advice, comments, or suggestions would really help.

Thanks in advance.

@Sam Steadman

Sam,

I think that if you have the time and extra money to put towards getting your license it can not hurt your situation. Again, I do not know your current situation. For me it made since, I have been interested in Real Estate for over a year and in  the past 4-5 months I really started to get more focused and take some kind of action. I was not aware of all the fees associated with becoming a Realtor at first, but since I work a full-time job in a different field I was able to cover the fees with out too much trouble.

I do really like the fact that I have access to the MLS and I can look at what is available in my area. Another thing I like is the fact I can get familiar with sales prices and what homes are selling for in my area. Another perk for me is that I have met new people in the field and I have other Realtors that I work with that are able to help and assist me while I am learning the ropes.

Good luck to you too!

Sam,

I definitely agree with @Dan Amstutz. I have been interested in investing in real estate for over a year now. I have decided to take action and I am working on the things that I need to get set in place before just rushing to buy my first investment.

I recently just got my Michigan Sales Real Estate license. I took an online course, which required 40 hours of log-in time and you had to pass a final the end. I then was able to register through the Michigan licensing board to scheduled my exam. It was fairly easy to get my license, but there are fees associated with actually becoming a licensed Realtor. I had to pay around $100.00 for the online course and roughly $165.00 to take the exam. Once I passed I had to find a broker to sponsor me as an agent, which was fairly easy too, but then you have more fees you have to pay for the local Realtor association in your area and fees for the MLS. When it is all said and done it costs roughly around $1200.00 per year. It can cost more depending on your sponsoring broker's fees, area etc.

I did it to learn and get some experience first before jumping right into the game and for the reasons Dan mentioned. 

Best of luck in your journey.  

@Daniel Mohnkern

Thank you for taking the time to lay this out. It really does make better since once you laid it out there. You're absolutely right, I should not have to pay for anyone else's mistake. So, thank you for the advice it is greatly appreciated.

@Matthew Cole

That is awesome. I am very impressed and inspired. I first got interested into real estate over a year ago, and at first thought I was going to be able to do things easily by listening and paying for a guru. I was on my way to riches...Was I ever wrong. Finally I found biggerpockets a couple of weeks ago by chance and I just can't believe the amount of free information at my finger tips. It has totally changed my thinking from being rich quick to actually being able to obtain wealth over a longer period of time.

I hope to in the near future purchase my first buy & hold...I think once I accomplish that I will really gain the confidence to continue.

Any tips for a newbie in the Westland area?

I am looking to buy and hold, not flip or resale.

Doug,

Thanks for your insight. I do feel like I definitely need to look into the situation deeper and find out actual numbers to see if it is even a deal I want to get involved with.

Do you know why most say it is bad idea to do "Subject To" if the property has no equity or underwater?

It is only about 15k underwater from my research online about 10-15 min. I have not consulted any real-estate professional or appraiser at this point. I really just found out the owner at this point wants to break even on what he owes and wants to sell, seems motivated since he offered. I really right now am trying to educate myself, I'm currently in an online program to get my realtors license. It just seemed too surreal, I'm taking action and trying to gather information from seasoned professionals.

Thanks again everyone.

@BrandonTurner

Thanks Stuart! That is why posted this...I heard no question is a dumb question when you are a beginner. I appreciate your input.