All Forum Posts by: Michelle Sanchez

@Jaron Walling thank you very much for your input. I appreciate it! 

Need to pick your expert brains. I am a newbie… I find myself in a unique situation where I work in Los Angeles(12 days a month) and have an apartment here(insane rent)… but spend the rest of my time back East(where my family is). I have never owned a home or property(and pay nothing back East) so given this and after some thought I feel like a house hack would be the best way for me to start my REI journey. Since I am paying rent in LA(and will be working here 5+ years), I'm thinking that getting a duplex/triplex etc and living in one unit and renting out the others, living mortgage free, or as close as possible, is my best bet to start. This also always me to free up more cash to save toward another investment. Given this what are you thoughts on

1: Getting a great agent( currently talking to a few, but if you are one or know one feel free to message me) finding off market slightly distressed multi-family up to a 4plex.

2: Taking a FHA 203k loan so I can take advantage of rates and low down payment since you all know RE in LA is ridiculous(creative mortgage brokers feel free to message me as well) and yes it would be my primary residence and I would be occupying one unit

3: Rehab and rent the other units and STR my unit for the part of the month I'm on the east coast adding to cash flow

So all that being said and understanding that I do know LA is a tenant friendly city and not the best for landlords, and that my intention is to actually do most of my investing back east

1: Do I have to wait a year to cash out refi out of the original FHA? Or can I cash out refi earlier

2: Would a heloc be a better option in this case?

3: Would you use wholesalers for the first purchase being a newbie or definitely go with a agent in LA

Thank you for any advice and I look forward to hearing what you think.

@Ned Carey thank you so much! I look forward to getting much knowledge from this community. 

@Dan Guenther thank you so very much for all that sound advice! I appreciate it! Lately it feels like I’m on this site day til night :) it’s a wealth of knowledge and I am definitely trying to network as much as possible. I will definitely reach out if I have any questions. Again I appreciate your time and definitely love this community and am learn a substantial amount everyday! 

@Account Closed btw my friend I never said I was a travel nurse. I am in fact a Cardiothoracic ICU nurse. I said I live on the East coast and work on the West Coast and travel between often. Everyone knows nurses get paid 3x’s more in CA then they do on the East Coast. Just an FYI! Again thank you for your advice and I will definitely look into the 4-plex idea.

@Account Closed nah just save lives for a living so I guess that made me think I could walk on water lol! Anyway thank you for your amazingly sound advice. I like the 4-plex idea! Have a great day! 

Thank you again for you advice. I do appreciate it. When not at work I spend all day and night on here. Reading investment books, trying to understand the numbers. I can without a doubt believe it can take years to figure this all out, and yes I am certain in that time many good/great deals slip through your hands. I am without a doubt trying to network and meet people. Unfortunately I am in LA a good majority of each month so it’s hard to find meetups in PA that work with my schedule but I’ve been on here and also on FB groups. I thank you again for your advice and your time!

Hi @Sheryl Sitman thank you so so much for your response and your honesty. I am also a believer in being up front and honest about situations especially where potentially losing money is involved :) Thank you for informing me of the STR rules in Bethlehem. I definitely did not know that. So my question to you is, what would be your advice on the best way to start this wonderful works of REI?

I really don't want to get into STR at least not in the Lehigh Valley, I really want to build a portfolio of rental properties that cash flow well(everyone's goal I know lol). My reason for mentioning the STR is because I'm in the unique position of having my primary residence be in the Lehigh Valley but being gone for work months at a time. So my initial thought was to purchase a multi-family residence with and FHA and renting out the other unit/s for cash flow. However since I'd be gone for periods of time for work I wondered if I could STR it, but also didn't want to inadvertently commit any mortgage fraud as I know you must live in the residence for a year. I hope this helps to explain my thought process and again I both welcome and appreciate the honesty and any advice.

Hi Josh thank you so much for reaching out. I am looking to invest on the east coast right now. I am not opposed to investing in LA, however I am looking to make my way back east sooner than later so would like to invest there right now. If the right deal came along here I would definitely consider it. I also would love to just network with anyone who has knowledge in the industry so I am happy to gain any knowledge and advice you have, and I appreciate your guidance thus far.

Hi I am new to the BP community and am looking to get started. I have been specifically looking into fix and flips and multi-family rental properties via the beloved BRRRR method for cash-flow. A little about myself, I am a nurse who travels between the East Coast(PA and NYC) and Los Angeles CA. I have never owned a home or property due to my travels so I would technically be a FTHB. I am looking to invest in the Lehigh Valley Pa(Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton) area as well as Philly. All that being said I have some questions on how to possibly get started.

1: Since I have never owned a home I was thinking of house hacking a multi-family with an FHA as my intro to REI. My concern with this is I travel for periods at a time for my job. Although this would be my primary residence I would be in L.A. for a portion of the first year requirement. Would I be able to STR my portion when I am away. I am clearly concerned with inadvertently committing any type of mortgage fraud, but also don't want an empty unit that can be generating cash flow for me when I am away.

2: Would it be wiser to get a few fix and flips under my belt via HML/Private Lenders to build liquid funds and then use that to start investing in multi-family rentals via Brrrr

3: Lastly, do many of you use HML for your initial purchase of a Brrrr property? If so have you found it hard to get lending without holding the property in an LLC(or other holding entity) and without experience? I ask because most(that I've researched) residential lenders will not cash out refi on property held in LLC. And I have found that many HML prefer your property be in LLC and that you have investing experience.

I thank you all in advance for any guidance and advice and I look forward to learning from and hearing all of your experiences. I am also very interested in networking with agents, mortgage brokers, contractors and other investors in the Lehigh Valley/Philadelphia area. So please feel free to message me.