All Forum Posts by: Jesse T.

With the caveat of being properly licensed, I think it is a good option for beginners.  The real estate agent market overall seems saturated, but 95% are focused on sales.  If you are properly licensed you can even get commission on a renter if you find them another place.  If you are properly licensed - a rental open house could really set you apart from the competition.

It also helps for investors since getting a property rented can be one of the biggest challenges in getting started with real estate investing.

A house built in 1979 with a thin cash flow would make me nervous.  I think adding a partner would make it even riskier.

I would recommend each buying separate properties and helping each other out with them.  If you both like real estate investing and the assistance with the properties works well, then I would consider going in together on another property.

Part of the reason your credit score isn't great is that 2 of your credit cards are nearly maxed out.  If you really do have about 1K/month, I would put it toward the Saphire card until that was wiped out.  Then I would work on the other credit card with a balance.

 Sometimes the best response is to inch up if get no movement in a counter.  However if the numbers are good at the 5K increase, then it is a good deal.

 From the article:

The loans would be allowed only for fixed-rate mortgages on single-family homes that would be the borrower's primary residence and would require full documentation of the ability to repay the mortgage, said officials from the two firms and their regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Sounds like it could provide a reasonable boost to the starter home market which seems to have been rather flat in terms of appreciation.  The danger would be if the private market starts to offer looser terms to compete.  

It looks like the paint is in good shape - I would go with those who say leave it as is and paint if you aren't getting interest.  We had a room that was painted blue for my son's room.  The paint was in good shape, but a huge pain to paint over.  It would have been a lot better to use that time/effort on other small fix-ups.

@Zachary Martin - agreed some of the condo fees around here can be brutal.  

I think the best opportunities around here are probably the smaller townhouses. They end up very close in cost to condos due to the lower fees.

Welcome to the site.  

Fairfax(especially Reston) is definitely a tough area to find investments.

Are you in a position to rent your residence out and buy another one?

I think the trend is towards mixed development vs. work areas/shopping areas and residential all being generally separate.  I think areas that are set-up this way or can be adapted will see the most appreciation.  

The overbuilt outer suburbs seem likely to be the worst prospect for appreciation.  Not to say the McMansions an hour plus from job centers will be torn down, but the trends seem to prefer other housing.

Rural decline has been happening for a long time.  The ability to telecommute could reverse this somewhat, but I think rural areas will need something besides just being rural to be attractive.

One area that is interesting is the inner suburbs.  Some of these are urbanizing and offer a lot of opportunities, others seem to be getting a lot of the urban problems with fewer of the benefits as urban cores gentrify.

Having said this, things will depend on local factors as much as national trends.  Also just because a market is bad doesn't mean there aren't opportunities.  Conversely there are chances of bad deals in areas with a lot of potential.

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