All Forum Posts by: Johnson H.

FannieMae likes to see HomePath being used for their properties, it is a positive to have that in your offer. Properties right out on the market you can negotiate a bit, with properties more than 90 days on the market you can negotiate a whole lot. Just start low, the worse that can happen is that they counter at list or reject your offer. If they counter at list, just increase your offer a little bit, sometimes they are just faking it and will negotiate with you, they are just testing you. Also, when they say there are multiple offers on a property on the market for a long time, sometimes they are faking that too. For FannieMae properties, they can pay up to 2% closing costs so you can play games with that. Instead of offering $100k, you can go up to $102k with 2% closing costs.

For example, one property was listed at $150k with 90 days on the market. I offered $100k last week. We went back and forth and I got them down to $139 with 3% closing costs, which he shouldn't have offered the 3% as he can't. It was their best and lowest and I walked away. Today, the property is listed at $139k. Maybe next week I'll put another offer on it.

Find a lender that offers HomePath and get preapproved now so you are ready to put an offer on something.

I am in the same position as you. Just turned 26 this month and I am on my third rental property. Take a look at FannieMae foreclosures and utilize HomePath loans with 10% down for investment properties that are SFH. Don't ever stop asking questions. Don't always take everyone's word. People don't always paint the whole picture for you. Whatever you think your expenses are to bring something into rental shape, add 50% to be safe.

Find areas in great school districts and they will rent all the time. Get multiple bids on everything, call multiple PM, call multiple mortgage brokers, call multiple insurance agents, you will be surprised how everything is negotiable.

A buyer's agent will work with you if you are serious and they know you are looking for multiple properties. My agent bends over backwards for me as he is also my PM and knows I am looking to buy more.

Last thing, take it one property at it time and don't make it emotional! Look at the numbers, look at the area, if your gut feeling is bad, walk away, there are plenty of properties to choose from at great prices. Good luck!

Welcome to the forums Johnny! You may want to also take a look at Richmond, Emeryville and Dublin. I think Fairfield is a great place with the Air Force base too. Good luck with your search!

Thanks to everyone for writing their experiences. I will definitely keep this to a minimum at work.

There is no doubt the prime rate will increase. Economist forecasts have the discount rate increasing at the end of the year or early next year. If the economy continues to pick up at its current pace, we will see rates increase sooner than later.

I would try to get the cheapest largest fridge you can get. I dont want potential tenants to pass over my SFH just because I went cheap on the fridge. The wife will just turn it down and leave because of it. My area could be a lot more competitive than your area though. You may want to view your competition and see what they have in their rentals. If they all have 18's, you may want to spend the few extra dollars to one-up them. If they all have 21's, I would not make the mistake of buying an 18.

Sounds like you live in the bay area which I do too! I chose to invest in Phoenix last year in rental properties and I am doing well so far. Its a two hour flight down there but its not a big deal since I already travel 70% for my job. It's very easy to buy a $120k house and rent for $1200 a month. $110k for $1200 a little more work, $100k for $1200 even more and $90k for $1200 difficult but still doable using MLS listings and leverage. These are houses in good neighborhoods and school districts. Your money can go farther if you take more risk, but thats not my style.

You can always buy notes, lend hard money or money long term that is backed by real estate, or partner up with someone.

REITs in an IRA are great right now in my opinion. Especially those that own apartment buildings in metro areas with vacancies falling due to the economy and people getting foreclosed on. High dividends and a great chance to earn appreciation over the years.

If you do want to lend long term, let me know!

That is horrible David! Exactly the type of thing I want to avoid. I work hard at my day job and I expect to paid accordingly!

Thanks for your replies everyone. I appreciate every one of them.

Seems like the consensus is that letting people know that I invest is a good thing and can be a great networking opportunity depending on the audience but I should stay away from numbers unless its from one investor to another.

I like to work hard, stay humble, and under the radar. Seems like I need to scratch the third one to be successful in real estate.

Hi All,

Last year I purchased two SFH as rentals and I am looking for more. I sought some advice from a few coworkers whom are knowledgeable in the RE field but were big talkers and word quickly spread about my investments (my mistake). I'm in my mid 20s and people now think I'm rich. In reality, my property's are financed with little down, I live at home, and save about 90% of my income. I am getting tired of all the comments and I hesitate now when people ask me what I did over the weekend (flew to X to view homes or something else related to RE). Only my close friends and family know about these investments and I wonder should I limit this or just tell the world? I am a pretty transparent guy, so it's difficult for me to keep things in, but hate some of the comments people bring up.

I am curious how BP members who are passive investors and have full time jobs, how they handle this and the comments?