All Forum Posts by: John K.

@Diante Lawrence

Someone mentioned the other day in another post city-data.com. This website is awesome. You can find everything you need about a particular area including crime. Also sometimes when I use trulia it shows a map of crimes located near the house and the date.

Congrats! I hope when I do finally start my investing that I come across a similar situation. I know at times it can be rough but I am sure a rough start will throw people off and perhaps give up. Although I do not see myself giving up I am sure it will make it tough to stick it out. Well anyways that is awesome hope everything continues to go well.

@Renaldo Barbini

Well that is a situation similar to mine. Considering the time frame I want to start investing my online income will be the G.I bill which is not the bank does not count as income. With some research I have not found much hope.

Options that I am looking into that you might consider is a partner, and or someone to co-sign. People with say be creative but I do not know how far you can go since conventional loans our pretty much out of the question with no income.

@Stephen Davenport

Welcome to BP I am also in the military and overseas. I do not know about you but I am ready to go back to the great country of America!

Anyways when talking about an LLC you can find tons of information on BP to the point of confusion. I am also in the same boat, and did plenty of searching just to make it worse.

Pretty much being a new investor mortgage companies are not going to lend under a new LLC. You may be lucky I hear, but it is very unlikely considering the risk and they will need a personal guarantee for collateral. That is my understanding. Also you can transfer the title to an LLC but run the risk of due on sale clause. I also hear this is not likely if you are loyal and make your payments, but it sounds like a big risk to me.

Others have mentioned getting an Umbrella policy to cover you. If you have a PM manage your property you really run little to no risk in being sued as they will more then likely be responsible.

I am new so I might be a little off on what I am trying to say so please if anyone has anything to say please add or tell me I am wrong.

@Hayden Gamarra

It is good to see another young investor on BP. Welcome  to a wonderful website/community with everything you will need to learn and get started.

A few have already talked about house hacking. On BP house hacking is talked about a lot, and is a great way to get your feet wet. Like mentioned above you can use an FHA loan with a low down payment which I believe is 3.5%. Also as I am doing my research I have found you can use a 203k loan which is very similar but can used for any required renovations. Both of these loans require the owner to occupy the property.

Personally I would not like to house hack considering I will have to live with the tenants right next door. I mean this all depends on the quality of the neighborhood and tenants I guess, but I have had heard some stories that didn't always work out for the better. Like building a team you can also look into have a partner who can help finance and manage the property. This is what I am looking to do, but then you have to consider his thoughts and feelings instead of your own. Well wish you luck

@Benjamin Allen

That is a really good quote, and I feel I pretty much live by that when it comes to my budget. My friends and family always seem to make a joke or call me cheap, but this is because I have a goal that others seem to not understand.

I do not dig to much into it with using a program or spreadsheet. I pretty much think and look at my money everyday though so I guess it is similar. I will sit down and set a goal for approximately 6 months and then a year. Then I break it down how much money a month I will need to save and how much I can spend. In the end I don't spend anything and I save everything. My wife hates it but I tell her one day it will pay off, and you and the kids will be thanking me. Well seems like you got it all figured out now wish you luck on your savings.

I am no expert here, but I might be able to share some advice as no one else has. Personally I do not believe you would be in the best situation to start investing. You claim to be filing for bankruptcy also have a child and one child on the way. It would probably be best if you slowed down and figured out a plan for you and your family to survive. So far I have noticed investing in real estate can go great but it can go bad. With no back up plan you will just dig your self deeper.

I hope I did not offend you in any way. Either way wish you the best of luck. Keep on pushing something is bound to come your way.

I am not to far from you guys, and also very new but eager and willing to give it my all to start this adventure. If you guys are willing to travel a little you can look upstate a bit such as Mahopac, carmel, lake peekskill, Poughkeepsie, Newburgh. Luckily I live in Putnam so I am in the middle of several cities including Westchester.

@Brittaney Woods

Just like someone else has said search BP for LLC you will find tons of information. I am in the same boat trying to learn what is best, and even with all the information provided it is still hard to understand everything.

Many will say yes it is the best way to go as you are protecting yourself from any potential mishaps in the future. Also some will say you can do just fine with a umbrella policy or just do both.

The thing with us new investors it is near impossible to get a property financed under a new LLC. Simply because our lack of knowledge and credibility. With that being said if you do purchase the property you can later transfer the deed over to the LLC, but you run the risk of the banks due on sale clause. Again I am still learning my self, but you can look it up and find more on that.

What confuses me is people still say it is a good idea for new investors to stat an LLC for protection, but how does it protect my assets if the property is not even under the LLC to begin with...

@Michael E.

I am in the same boat as you. Right now I spend a lot of time looking at websites like you have mentioned. If you save or add them as your favorites on trulia you will usually receive emails of new and sold properties in the area. I actually get a few emails a day showing new properties in the several cities I have looked at including maryland.

Also Like many will say start networking with others. I physically can not do this yet considering I am out of the states for six more months, but I am already starting with BP and other social networks. Although I have not got much responses yet I feel it is a good start.

On a side not I have read a few times that the zestimate and what not on these websites are not entirely accurate. Personally I think it is a good base to start with, but what do I know. Good luck!