All Forum Posts by: Melissa Barnard

Hey @Austin Guzman, I would form an LLC with the friends that want to invest and all get pre-approved. That way you guys can all be on the loan and put the house in the LLC's name. Sometimes it is difficult to invest with friends so whatever you do, make sure you have everything in writing for each person's contributions and stake/role in the company.

Hey @Todd Shawn, this depends on a lot of personal details. A couple major questions would be if you are investing by yourself or with others and how much money do you have to invest? If you have the purchasing power or other investors in the mix then looking into the commercial side would be very beneficial. If you're just starting out and investing alone then I would start looking into something you can house hack or a single family home. If you are needing more money to start investing then you can try the wholesaling route or build up your cash by doing some flips. 

Hello @Maya German, welcome to BP! I am a real estate agent and investor here in TX (Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex). I would definitely recommend investing in Texas rather than California due to purchasing power and the rate TX is growing. There have been projections that Austin will be the next LA so if you get in early then it can pay off drastically in the future. 

@Nathan Vaught You can look up the owner's information on the County's Appraisal District website. I'm not sure where you are located but here in TX I can just type in the property address and it will give you the owner's name and mailing address. Hope this helps!

Congrats on your first property and welcome to BP!!

Hey @Sheryll Bauman! I live in Texas so the laws may be different but hopefully I can give you some insight. If you go to your county's courthouse then they should be able to provide you with what houses are in foreclosure and what date they will be held at auction. In TX, the auctions are held the first Tuesday of each month at the courthouse steps. There are also certain websites you can pay for that let you know what houses are in foreclosure and sometimes you can bid for them online. It is hard to know for sure if you have a good deal since you cannot walk through the property prior. Definitely do as much homework as you can and make sure you have good exit strategies if needed. It is good to know about your states foreclosure laws so you know about all of the risks that could potentially happen even after you purchase a property. I hoped that helped some. Good luck!

@Matthew Aubert In Texas it is free for a buyer to use a Realtor since the commission is paid by the seller. Since that is the case I would suggest to just use a Realtor so you save yourself a lot of time and hardship. You never know what could come up legally or roadblocks you may not have thought of which a Realtor would already be taking care of or forewarning you. Best of luck either way! 

@Dylan Thomas Hey Dylan! My first thoughts were to suggest looking into house hacking but I see that was already thrown out there. I just wanted to mention that $10k is a good number but it may not cover all of your closing costs. If you get with a local realtor they can give you guesstimates on what to expect for closing costs, down payments and your monthly payment for whatever price point you're looking for. This will give you a better idea of where you stand in your market. 

@John Lee Hey John! This question will also vary by city and state. It is still a hot market and interest rates are low so you can think of it as a trade off for a lower payment. A lot of investors are just riding the wave of high prices and still having to offer at market value or very close. However, this strategy will not work for everyone so just make sure the numbers work out for you. 

@Derek Herbst First things first, I love ambitious couples! I would search for investor-friendly agents on BP in your area and just start talking with them. This will allow you to ask questions, weed them out and find a good fit for you. Here in Texas, I have a lot of difficulties with my clients trying to house hack with FHA because sellers shy away from that type of loan. This is just something to keep in mind. It's great you guys don't have debt but make sure to try and leverage your money as much as possible so it ends up working for you in the end. Keep listening to podcasts and browsing the forums for information! Good luck!