All Forum Posts by: Matthew A.

 @Jenna

@Jenna Estefan

Congrats!

I am interested to know how that 8k commission works because my girlfriend is in the process of getting her license, and we are under contract on our first home. Does your broker not take any commission from the 8k, or what? Any details would be very appreciated. 

Thanks!

Matt

I'm buying an old 1900 Duplex in CT and we settled on $230,000. 10 Units for $130,000 sounds like you're either going to get shot at collecting rent, or spend $500,000 in renovations and still get shot at collecting rent. 

Invest in some good body armor. 

Good luck!

Matt

Absolutely understand that Thomas. I'm an accountant, and work with numbers all day long. I have budgets on top of budgets to know where I stand with all my monthly payments and what we could afford. I actually would never buy a house in the mid 200's if it were a single family at our current combined income and debts. However, this providing an additional income makes the living situation much easier, and if we decide to leave should at the very worst, break even on the expenses associated with the property. 

Actually, once the PMI goes away, or if we can refinance out of that sooner we will be in great shape to clear a few hundred dollars each month.

Thanks,

Matt

@Jerry Padilla @Stephanie Medellin

Thanks for taking the time to respond guys. The FHA calculator was extremely accurate as opposed to bankrate, smartasset and other calculators. Stephanie, you were correct in what we were approved for. Well above what I was expecting in the 300+ range. All I was concerned about was getting approved for at least the 239k asking price, but gave me some peace of mind knowing I could go much higher if need be.

We also have excellent credit, so we were told it would be a maximum 3.75% interest on a 30 year fixed. I would like to assume since the average is around 3.33% right now we could get it a little lower. 

That right there saves almost $50 a month interest payments.

We put an offer in yesterday as well, so wish us luck. This house is in such a nice area, it's almost too good to pass up! 

Thanks all, 

Matt

The duplex i'm putting an offer on in CT is .25 miles from the water in a very wealthy, white collar area. They put a new tenant in already and the floor she's occupying does not have a dishwasher. It's one girl living by herself, so she didn't seem to be bothered by not having it. If we get the place, i'll offer to put in a dishwasher for her if she wants to pay a little bit more. However, no dishwasher and no disposal in a high end area. I would be fine without both, it's a convenience thing, but not totally needed. However, I think washer/dryer is a must in a nice area, considering we don't have washer and dryers around the area I'm looking at.

Matt

My cousin recently bought a Jaguar F-Type. Had the money in cash, but they asked him how he wanted to pay for it, and he said can I do my credit card? Sure enough he walked out with over a thousand dollars back lol. Paid off the card as soon as it posted.

Hello Friends, 

Finally found a house in CT that me and my girlfriend want to put an offer on. My mortgage broker who was working with is basically gone for 4th of July so I figured I would ask a couple of questions here first. 

How accurate are online home loan calculators that decide how much you can afford? I used the FHA calc and it said around $270,000 max, but then I use smart assets, bankrate or some others and its SIGNIFICANTLY lower.. like, now we wouldn't qualify for the house asking $239,000 lower. Lower like... freaking telling me I qualify for $200,000?? huh?

We easily pay our $1,400 rent right now with flying colors and each save a grand, but I can't afford basically the same amount in a mortgage with taxes etc? Doesn't make sense to me. 

Are FHA debt/income higher than conventional loans, because it seems like that's the only one that gives us a much higher amount?

Also, will the other unit that will be rented after we buy count towards that? It would most likely put us far far in the clear if that's the case. 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

PS $94,000 combined income on W2, $12,000 extra if rental income is allowed, $1,370 combined monthly debt (student loans, cars etc.. blahh) house is asking $239,000 we would probably do 5% down, P&I $1,052, Taxes are $380 a month, Insurance $170 a month, PMI I think is about $160.

Thanks Folks,

Matt

My grandmother lives in Gramercy park in NYC, and she's been rent controlled for 40 years and even before then, when her father lived there obviously (program started in 1943 - 1950 I believe). I believe she pays $1,600 or $1,800 a month, but when she dies the owner of the apartment complex will without a doubt charge over $8k which is fair for that area, and her place. Might be the same application here. She's been milking the system for years, but I wouldn't blame the owner if he increased it to 10k and she had to move. That's a lot of money lost each month.

-Matt

@Alison Koenig

My girlfriend just started her classes at The Connecticut Real Estate Institute in Stratford, which is said to be the better place to go. You have one in Norwalk, and yes it will help vastly. Even if it's used as a tool just to buy and sell properties on your own, i'm sure you will make back the money it costs to maintain your license, office, MLS etc. My best friend says he sells about (2) $200,000 homes on the side and that covers everything for the year at Century 21. Imagine when you want to look up a house in MLS or schedule a showing for yourself and it takes a minute vs.. hold on let me find my realtor or a realtor and wait for them to get back to me. I have missed out on a few extremely good properties because he was busy for a day or two.

Go get it, it will help.

Matt

18 with no money, no credit, no past REI experience and i'm assuming no steady income? I would save up over the years, build up some credit and research more and more before trying to get a loan with none of the above. I think the only way is for a friend or family member to loan you the money. Good luck though!

PS.. while doing that, you might go through another market correction which could benefit you greatly. Most parts of the country have come back and or come back strong. I'm having a hard time in CT right now with over bidders, cash buyers and nothing worth getting into. Seems to be my only option is to buy land and start new construction at this point. 

Matt