All Forum Posts by: Lance Middleton

It'd be nice to view them on the mobile app too though and be able to see up to date comments. It just seems kind of surprising that BP hasn't implemented this functionality yet? We can follow forum posts but we can't save blog articles? Maybe I'm just being lazy...

Hi BP Community,

I often come across great articles that I would like to come back to, but I can't unless I save the URL. I was just wondering if I was missing something or is there really not a way to save articles to my profile/account?

Thanks ahead of time!

@Tim White @Gorden Lopes I think you are right. I'm getting a little ahead of myself. I think just talking to a local agent and loan officer got me a little antsy to buy something soon. I understand that's how bad deals happen though. I think for now I am just going to keep studying and saving for the first purchase maybe at the end of the year or beginning of next or whenever I find a good deal. I have however decided to go ahead and take a real estate license course in the meantime. I think the cost/fees associated with becoming a real estate agent will be worth it for access to MLS and just to have a better idea of the local market. Also will be nice to pay myself a little something when i do purchase something.

@Anthony Wick thanks for the reply! You are probably right that it will take some considerable time to actually find a deal and close on it(assuming I actually find something and have the highest bid). With the properties I am looking at, most of these foreclosures are in the $100,000 range so I'd have the money to close on something in a month or so using a %3.5 FHA loan or a 3% conventional loan. The two years of occupancy I was referring to was so that I could have the option to sell the property without paying capital gains taxes which I believe is two years. I might keep as a rental depending on how the numbers work. One of the reasons I feel rushed to get into something is that I am not sure how long I'll actually be living in the city of Huntsville, AL. My long term plan is to move closer to family in Texas. I'm going to keep doing research and try and work with my leasing company in the case that I do find a deal before my lease ends. Maybe they will let me off easy if I'm friendly enough with them.

@Nick Barber I do I just checked. But I have a feeling that i wont have much luck finding anyone since the complex itself is having a hard time staying above 80% occupancy. I also have the option to terminate my lease but I'd have to pay every month that they can't find a replacement tenant and I assume that means ill just end up paying the full 12 months since they have such a hard time keeping occupancy up.

Hello BP community,

Here is the situation. I'm really itching to get started with an investment property. I'm looking to buy a HUD/Fannie Mae forclosure paying 3.5% down. The issue is I'm only 2 months into a 12 month lease. I'm paying $600/month for my current apartment. I want to take advantage of the owner-occupent low down payment and option to do a live-in flip which requires me to live there for two years. I'm in a good market and would hate for an owner-occupant bid opportunity to slip by me simply because I was waiting for my lease to end. Anyways in the next few months I should have enough cash to have the option to buy something and I was wondering if I'm completely crazy to attempt to purchase anything while still paying rent for my current place. Based on some properties I've looked at the mortgage/insurance payment would be about $500-$600 so combined with my rent I'd be paying around $1100/month. I know this question depends on a lot of different factors but I just wanted some opinions from the BP community. Advice from a local loan officer said I'd still qualify as an owner-occupant even if I am still paying rent. I make a decent wage from my job and live pretty frugally so I could afford it while still have the ability to save/use my earnings for repairs/rehab.

Thanks guys!

Good advice @Zachary C. I understand that Huntsville/Madison area is great for families and with the gowth in the area I don't think I could go wrong with a SFH. I have debated on the whole roommate thing for years, but I truly do love my privacy and having a place of my own. For me, roommates are not worth the headache. I have always liked the idea of AirBNB a room but just didnt think Huntsville attracted that kind of tourism. But there are tons of hotels in the area and seeing that @Tim White has had success with it I will consider it if I do end up purchasing a SFH. And as long as I factor in property management into my calculations, the possibility of me renting it out as a long distance rental shouldn't be too much of an issue. But the decision of renting vs. selling is a long time away and I will make that decision when the time comes. At this point, a SFH purchase in about a year seems like a very safe option as opposed to a duplex or quadplex. I'm also still debating on pursuing a RE license but that's a whole other discussion 😅.

Thanks for the response @Tim White. It's nice to know you like Huntsville and bought a house down here! I've only been here a couple of weeks and it's growing on me. After more thought, I think I will plan on purchasing something within the next year. I also hate the idea of throwing money away. Do you mind me asking how you found the foreclosure? Do you recommend any agents? It be nice to start a relationship with someone early on. On a relevant note, do you know any good local banks I can befriend? Sorry for so many questions!

@Chris Ellis @Kris Reeves I guess I didn't completely consider that option. I think I just need to consider my timeline in more detail. I probably won't have the liquidity to purchase anything for at least a year and if I do find a property worth hacking I just assumed it would take a few months to get it ready to rent/live in. And at that point I'm already 1.5 years in and would be starting my job search in Texas. I'm also about 30k in student debt(~6.4% interest) and if I were to follow @Scott Trench's advice it might be wise to focus on just paying that off first before entering the RE scene. Although I know that 6.4% is not all that high. I'm interested in buy-and-hold simply because of the cash flow so if I'm only able to house hack for 6 months to a year is that really worth it? I know I'm not considering any forced appreciation, but what scares me is becoming stuck with a half rented property that is stuck on the Huntsville AL market while I'm starting a new life in Texas. After writing all this I think it's obvious that I'm over thinking a lot of this and should just jump in with a house hack and see where the future takes me. Who knows, I could be in Huntsville longer than expected. Thanks for the feedback guys! And for what it's worth I'm a SINK(single income, no kids)

Hello everybody, Been on the RE learning train for about a year now and I'm excited to get started with it. Here is the situation: I recently graduated as a mechanical engineer and got a good job in Huntsville AL. My entire family is in Texas so I definitely plan on moving back down there in a couple of years so I'm a little torn on how should alter my real estate investing strategy. Ideally, buy-and-hold rentals makes the most sense to me but I'd like to avoid buying long term properties in Alabama knowing I won't be here long. Long distance investing scares me. I know there is no right answer here but I'd like some feedback on whether I should try and get my feet wet with a live-in-flip(this might be a worse idea than buying a rental property) or just keep saving cash to safely increase my liquidity for a buy-and-hold strategy when I settle in Texas. In any case I KNOW I won't be in Alabama for more than three years, possibly as little as 1.5 years. My initial thought is to just save save save but I think it would also be good to jump in with something even if it doesn't align with my precise buy-and-hold rental goals. Any feedback appreciated! Lance