All Forum Posts by: Maritza Pedlar

@Erica Gordon YAYY so glad you found something, and we're neighbors lol For me the most important part was if there is room for rent to rise (via market, upgrades), and when both units are rented I am making the profit I envisioned.  

Congratulations again!!!!

@Erica Gordon Hi!  So their current rent doesn't cover everything. I kept the existing lease agreement with the tenant I inherited, however, I plan to raise it in the future since the unit can yield and extra 100-200 a month (which would cover the entire payment).  But even with coming out of pocket a bit each month it has allowed me to save substantially more and plan for my next investment.

@Erica Gordon Thank you!  Also, I would also adivse to look at how quickly units get rented out in the areas you are looking at if you are debating whether or not to go all in on a property.  I would go on apartment search websites and see how long units were listed, proportion of inventory that was occupied with renters, etc.That helped me make some decisions as well.  My rationale was, just because buyers were competing didn't necessarly mean that renters were prioritizing a duplex-type apartment when searching for housing.  

Happy searching, and look forward to seeing you settle!

Hi @Erica Gordon I purchased a duplex 19140 at about the price range you are interested in using FHA 3.5% down.

It took me about 3 months to find my first duplex, but I did put in about 3 offers until I landed with one! I viewed about 3-5 properties a week, but only if the numbers made sense. But I did a deep dive on the numbers for about 10 properties a week.

For my duplex, the seller listed it for a really fair price anticipating a cash buyer.  So I put in a offer with a 5k escalation clause which ended up working out.  I ended up not having to escalate the price, which was great so my original offer stood up and was accepted despite there being multiple bids. FHA did drive the seller crazy, and he almost wanted to pull out of the deal...but we made it!  

The escalation clause really worked out for me since I noticed my previous offers were typically beat out by a a few thousand... but I hated the idea of coming in too high for an offer just due to competition.  My only word of advice is to not be over zealous due to a competitive environment. I still drive by properties I liked and bid on, and think "what if." But honestly, what BiggerPockets taught me was to stick to the numbers and not get to emotional about things...this is NOT my forever home. 

This duplex checked all my needs vs. wants, and I have not had an issue with the house at all during my first year!  Tenant pays on time and every time (even during COVID), and this home is serving its purpose of relieving financial burdens through house-hacking & getting my start in real estate investing :-)

Thank you @Hai Loc and @Alan Blitz for the feedback!  I think those are great points and I think spending less out of pocket makes the most sense. I was getting confused regarding the value of doing a higher down payment in this situation.

Thank you both again!

Hi BP community!  I am closing in on my first duplex in Philadelphia in the 19140 zipcode.  I will be house-hacking.  I've been living in Philly for 5 years and I'm cool with the area, I like North Philly!

I'm purchasing a home and currently have 15k in down payment assistance available to me.  Using this assistance I can do 3.5% down on the home and not come out of pocket at all on this purchase.  I originally planned to put 10% down using a combination of my assistance and funds.  

This is an investment property- in the future I would not be living there and I'd have the entire property rented.  WITH ME NOT LIVING THERE in the 3.5% scenario cash flow (not accounting for expenses) would be about $725 and and in the 10% scenario cash flow would be about $785 per month.  I do plan to buy and hold, and since it's an older home I'm thinking about 30-25% per year would go towards vacancies/upkeep.  I understand I'll be a little negative while living there, but it still will be cheaper than rent-so that's not an issue to me.  I also am not going into this with hopes for appreciation in the future, if it happens it happens.

My questions are:

1) Which scenario would be more beneficial in the long run?

2) Should I do a lower down payment so I enter with more money in my reserves for upkeep/vacancies?

3) What's the benefit on a higher down payment if I am not eliminating PMI by reaching 20%?

I was trying to get advice from some people but most people I know are looking to buy their forever home and are not thinking from this point of view.  So in my circle this is unconventional.  So I was hoping the BP community would be able to share their opinions based on experience.

Thank you!

Mari

Hi I am a new member from Philly looking to get into real estate investing.  I  started my search off with duplexes but then shifted my focus to condos as my first property. Something that I can buy and hold in the following zipcodes 19130, 19131, 19128, 19119.  I plan to live in the unit first as I get my life together and then have it be an investment property in the future.

I'm hoping to learn more here as I continue to invest over time.