All Forum Posts by: Lara White

@Shakeema E. Romero and @Blake Dennis brought up a great point, if you stay with a local bank that will keep the loan in house, they have a lot more flexibility on their lending parameters b/c they aren't trying to resell/package the mortgage for sale on the secondary mortgage market!  I've had clients (divorced wives with no work experience) get mortgages at local banks with just a substitute teaching job.  

@Shakeema E. Romero I have to say I agree with @Myres McDougal and @Bruce Woodruff it's going to be a lot harder to get a traditional loan with no W2 income (disclaimer - I am also a realtor, and small business owner, not a lender).  Most of us had at least one job when we were starting out in order to get income rolling in (in our household we have 3 full time jobs between the two adults!).  But the goal is not to stay that way!  The BP forums are a great place to start learning, set up some key word alerts to help you learn about things you are specifically interested in.  What has caught your interest so far?

@Addison Brown I know a good foundation guy. He's not the cheapest, but that's not all bad! lol What part of the city are you looking in particular? Are you going to build a SFR, duplex, etc?

@Jessica Ponder I'm also here in OKC.  I'm curious what course you are taking?  To manage other properties for people, you have to have a license, but to manage your own you do NOT need any type of license.  @Kiera Underwood Hi!  Are you a full time investor here? I'd love to meet up with yall if you have coffee!

Set up some good key word alerts to help you learn what people are talking about in the forums (for example: Spain, long-distance investing, Florida, St. Pete, multi-family, wholesale, etc...)  Find a niche that piques your interest and dive into that!

@Jake Stone Awesome! congrats! Definitely post your updates and questions along the way. The BP forums are such a great wealth of information.  Set up some key word alerts on things you are interested in (for example: permits, kitchen rehab, countertops, old houses, Iowa City, Iowa, load bearing walls, kitchen gut, etc.. you get the gist of it!)

Hi @Justin Megna Welcome to the BP Forums!

I agree with @Scott Mac start with understanding everything that is in your state specific purchase contract (what state are you in, someone might be able to send you a link - it's usually online).  Practice filling them in and see what kinds of questions you have when you don't know what to put in a particular blank. That's what I did.  Read the landlord/renter law for your state (Landlord Tenant Act, etc)  LIke @Grant Davenport said, most mentor/educators can't go into specifics b/c each state is so drastically different.  Find out what your state requires for writing a contact, do you need to use a licensed agent/broker, can you do it as an individual (for your own properties)? And just b/c someone knows how to write a contact, doesn't mean they will understand if you are getting a fair deal on  it. You'll find lots of real estate agents that do not know much about investing (there are some great agents on here).  Interview them, and find one that is investor friendly for sure. I have lots of co-workers that don't like working with investors!  (they are crazy b/c they don't know what they are missing! lol)

Final thought: set up some key word alerts on the forums here to get notified of conversations/things you are interested in (for example: your state, any location you are interested in, rentals, contracts, newbie, wholesale, property managers, lawyer, etc....)  

@Jake Stone Congrats on taking the first step!  Share some pictures of your project!

I think you would benefit from asbestos testing (you don't want to be living in that - easy to abate, but you do need to know)

If I'm reading this correctly, you have already closed on the property ?  What kind of inspections did you get prior to closing/during the inspection period? (I don't want to rehash things you've already taken care of). Electrical wiring, plumbing, and maybe a sewer/septic scope (see if you have lead pipes or any roots in your lines). Those things can be really costly if found to be needing replacing, and the sooner you know about them, the better.

Yes, you will definitely want to see what kinds of permits you will need, easier than having to tear down anything you do, and start over.   

@Colby Valladares The list is long... lol First Time Homebuyer is a good place to start, then maybe David Greene's BRRRR book, and Craig Curelop's House Hacking (if you are interested in that). I find that I like to listen to books/podcasts best...but I often forget about key things they say, so I end up buying the book. But if you are disciplined enough to take notes during the audio, that's really what you are striving for (retained information).

*There are several book lists here in the forums too! https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

(Some of my other recent favorites: Vivid Vision, Think and Grow Rich, The Richest Man in Babylon, Rich Dad/Poor Dad, Finish (Jon Acuff)  Whatever you pick, just don't get caught up in trying to put off action b/c you think you have to learn more. The best teacher is action IMO.  Learn the basics, then ACT!

@Bryan Salvador -  Welcome to the BP forums!  I agree with @Rob Lee  - get a BP book (either from here or from a local library) and go through it, pick something that you find interesting and really dive into it, try to understand not just skim over it.  keep a journal of things you don't understand and do forum searches here (or Youtube).  Attend some of the BP webinars that they offer for FREE each week - they aren't trying to sell you anything, it's just really good info.

Also, set up some keyword alerts on here so you get notified when something you find interesting is being talked about (try: newbie, Texas, investing, financing, rural areas, rookie, first steps).  Welcome again to the world of real estate investing! Keep us updated on your journey!

@Colby Valladares Welcome to the BP Forums! This is definitely a great place to start learning; I always recommend setting up some keyword alerts for things you are interested in (examples for you might be: Washington, SFR, foreclosure, short sale, Oregon, rentals, Dalles, Goldendale, out of state investing, newbie strategies, forced appreciation, landlord friendly states) What books have you read so far?

@Account Closed  What areas in Oklahoma in particular have you been checking out?