All Forum Posts by: Josh Mitchell

They can be great investments, but watch out for HOA fees. Those can eat into your CF and they are adjustable year-by-year at the juristiction of the Home Owners Board. If you have a low HOA assesment, then you could make it work. Just run your numbers beforehand.

@Christopher Salazar 

Welcome to BP neighbor! I actually went to North Central (Go Cardinals!!!)

My advice would be, if possible, ask your parents/grandparents for a gift. This doesn't need to be alot. If I were you I would convince them to loan you the money, and then buy an on campus house and rent some of the rooms to your friends. While you live there, and fix it up (get them to help you) and have them pay the mortgage for you.

That being said, you will need income in order for banks to lend you money. The ability to repay is a must, otherwise you need to find someone who will lend you the entire amount and then pay them back. Be careful with how you go about raising funds, you can't just hit the streets and ask for money. Best of luck!

@Matthew S. just be careful of Elgin. There are alot of ups and down depending on where exactly you are. I would say that if you can go South Elgin, close to St. Charles area, you will be better off. Just make sure you screen tenats and run background checks. Elgin ranks 42/100 in safety rating, and the schools aren't the best either, but again, different parts bring different results. The last 12 months have brought good appreciation to the homes there however. I would say overall, could be a good place if you research exactly what part of Elgin you are wanting to invest.

@Michael McDermott I think @Curt Davis is correct in telling you to leave FHA and put your funds toward new home. Just keep in mind, you can only have one FHA loan at a time. I would get that FHA loan below 80% to have PMI dropped. If you have been living there for 5 years, it should be close to that mark by now. That will just allow for more CF coming in and seeing as you are living pretty frugale right now, might not be a bad idea.

@Chris Stromdahl glad I could help! Good luck!

Usually anything that can CF $100/month or more is a good deal.... You have to make sure you account for all costs, but overall, I would say you are in good shape if you are CF $100-250 on a home......

@Chris Stromdahl yes the closer you are to 80% LTV the less PMI % you were pay. Your credit score is also another determinate banks use to put you in a category. Basically, they have a columns ex: 720+ credit score with 85-90% LTV = x% of PMI. So the better credit score, and lower LTV, the lower the PMI will be monthly for you. It will automatically drop off at 78%, but make sure you call bank when you reach 80% to request it be taken off!!! Hope this helps!

@Tanisha Blakemore in the city, again depending on where you are wanting to be, I think the MFH would be the way to go. (Option 1) Live in and rent out you could do an FHA loan as well if you plan to be there for a little while. Could get the loan for 3.5% down.

@Anant B. these areas could be a good area to get into if you find the right deals. They renters you get might not be able to pay as high as rents as if you were in Naperville and parts of Aurora. I would tell you its all about how you market your properties and where they are located. Oswego will probably provide you with a little better housing and tenants, but the right place in Montgomery could as well. Make sure you are crunching the numbers and making sure that they work before you purchase a property in these areas.

@Tanisha Blakemore the obvious choice for me would be the Lincoln Park/ Lakeview areas, if your budget can afford that. These two areas can provide the best renters but you may pay for what you get. The Edgewater/Rodgers park area on the north side of the city is a good area, and provides some opportunity. On the west end, Logan square could be a good area to find a deal as well. Are you looking to get another MFH??