All Forum Posts by: Marc Spagnuolo

@Jeff White Thanks! I'm excited to make it happen. The more time I spend on here connecting with folks like you and having these discussions the more momentum I gain.

I actually was wondering about this approach. Either find a single family home that already has a mother-in-law apartment or possibly find one that has an opportunity to maybe add one. When it comes to properties that already have one do you find there are many such types available?

While I would prefer a multifamily property, my main goal is to stop paying rent and start building equity while also reducing one of my biggest expenses. If I have to do that with a single family home and renting rooms out then that is what I will do. It's just a matter of what sort of options are achievable for a first time home buyer.

After doing a brief search on the site look like it is kind of like a multi family property only multiple single homes? 

What do you mean by detached homes? 

Hello BiggerPockets Community!

I am interested in getting into a multi-family property for my first buy. I am wondering if this is a do-able goal for the Aurora/Denver area. It would be owner-occupied and I would be looking to use first time home buyer programs to get into it. 

How competitive is it for a first time home buyer? Should I focus more on a regular home or is there good deals to find out there that I could potentially get into as a newbie?

Trying to decide on a strategy to focus on. I know I want to house hack and I know I'm going to be using first time home buyer programs. Any input or advice in regards to helping me fine tune my focus would be appreciated. 

Thanks for the info guys! @Bill S. In way of cutting down on my unnecessary expenses, there certainly is some wiggle room there. The responses to my question have made it pretty clear I need to double down on my efforts to boost my credit score, observe and control my spending as well as find some ways to bring in some extra money. If I am going to reach this goal this year it is going to take some more effort on my part.

As for paying off CC and getting a deal on some of the debts in collections @Anthony Bellesbach , I'm glad you mentioned this as I totally forgot about this approach. Haven't had enough extra money to consider that but I do still have two debts in collections I could try that with. Unfortunately, I've already paid most of my collections off through payment plans in the past year. Luckily overall between what's in collections and what I have on my valid lines of credit only totals about $800 left. Which I will have eliminated within the next few months. Maybe sooner.

So I'm not in the worst position. I've heard stories of folks doing it with less. 

@Dawn Burwell All that matters is that you stay committed and continue to take steps every day to mover forward.

Also, there are a lot of folks on this site who invest in locations at a distance. I have no idea what the logistics of doing that are but if making that trip is a problem then it may be a good idea to look into what that takes. 

@Marcus Auerbach , thanks for the great response! As for my credit score, this time last year it was about 510. So it is definitely improving. It mostly jumped up pretty high at first and now is just barely creeping up. So yes, I should focus more on boosting that up higher. I'm just getting to a point where I can open new lines of credit. I'm just a little apprehensive to do so.

I have considered a side hustle as well and have some ideas percolating to address that.

@Colin E Stevenson This is exactly what I would like to do. A duplex would be the ideal situation for me to house hack and a loan structured such as that would be one way to help make it happen.

@Dan Mackin I would love to check those out. Also, would be awesome to attend one of those sorts of classes in the future if there are any in the Aurora/Denver area soon.

All in all, it looks like I'm going to have to step up my hustle a notch to get to where I want to be. Thank you all who responded. 

@Chelsea Mastin Awesome job! Looks great! 

@Luke Miller will do thanks!

I'm almost out of debt. My credit score is hovering at around 610. I don't currently have anything saved but between tax returns and some insurance claims, I should have at least 1k in the bank soon.

Once I eliminate my last few debts that will be an extra few hundred dollars a month I could start saving as well.

I really want to get started house hacking. I live and work in Aurora CO, which is where I will be looking for my first property. I'm an avid believer in that there is always a great deal to be found and I am confident I can find one. 

I guess to get to my question I am wondering if it is recommended to use first time home buyer programs/grants in order to get into my first property. I will be taking the necessary class to qualify for the FHA loan next month and am searching for other programs out there that can help me get into a property sooner rather than later.

I am open to any possible avenues to accomplish this goal and am concerned that my lack of down payment may slow me down. I don't want to wait any longer so I am in turn asking, how can i come up with the necessary down payment sooner rather than later? More specifically what loans, products or services are available to help grease the gears so to speak?