All Forum Posts by: Mark Ito

I'd like to preface with an apology. This is half rant, half asking for advice. People always say to surround yourself with people who share your goals and visions, and those that are living the life you want. There are approximately 0  people in my circle that have the passion for real estate that I do. Co-workers, friends, family, not even my wife. I have looked for meet-ups in my area, and traveling/overnights are not really realistic for me. Aside from Bigger Pockets, I feel so alone. It is so incredibly disheartening to be so all-in, and then not being able to make any moves because your other half isn't comfortable with it. I've talked numbers, I've talked futures, I've talked about setting our children up for success, but it makes me want to give up. I won't of course, because most people here understand that the passion can't be quelled so easily. 

Has anybody faced a similar situation and overcame it? Anybody have any advice in general? Anything helps.

Hello all! If you are a General Contractor or know of anybody you'd recommend in the Dayton area, please drop me their info in a PM! I have upcoming work there and would love contacts to team up with. Thanks and happy investing!

Congratulations! So glad to hear it went so well for your first investment! What were some of the biggest mistakes you made along the way that you learned from?

Some things you didn't mention; routine maintenance, holding costs, capex, and turnover costs are all things that can factor into a deal. Even though that smaller/cheaper/older house may look great for initial analysis, a deeper dive may show it's not worth it in the long run. Ultimately, find a team that works for you with the expertise in areas you're lacking (i.e. agent, inspector, GC, lender.) That is your best course of action to avoid negative cash flow. Hope this helps!

 Hey Amie, just sent you a PM! I look forward to connecting.

Hey Juan! Active duty military here also. A couple questions I had when reading your post was; How long have you been in the home with the VA loan and, how far do you plan on moving from that home? The biggest gray area around these terms for the VA and FHA loans are intent. The question they will ask when you break the time condition is, "was their intent to live here for the required timeframe of the loan in question? Did they have legitimate unforeseen circumstances that caused them to move?" If you can answer yes, then you're clear! If not, then that opens up the doors for them to ask questions in the realm of fraud. 

Specifically for the FHA loan, active military orders will excuse you 99% of the time (the other 1% being blatant circumstances that show negligence or ill-intent from the borrower which is not your case.) My only concern for you is actually with the VA loan, not the FHA. Depending on the length of residence and location in relation to the duplex, fraud could come in to question if its near your current SFH. The thing on your side is that it's hard to prove fraud in this case. I just tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to these things and avoid the question altogether.

 Hey Ryan! For clarity, are you only looking for creative financing for your first deal? 

Hey @Pasha Gorky! For sure have a purchase agreement drafted by a professional, and work through a title company. No agents involved, and you're only paying the flat fees. 

Hey Abe! My biggest question/concern when reading the post is: would your rental still cashflow if you pulled all the equity out in a cash-out refi? Make sure to take into account capex and operating costs, not just PITI.

@Tyrek Brown nailed it with identifying your goals. What do you want to do, and get out of real estate investing? There are so many ways to make money, and what works for others may not work for you. Identify your strategy and create a plan to make it to your end state! 

Paying cash, DSCR loan, creative financing (sub-to/lease-to-own/seller finance), HML. Just a few to mention!