All Forum Posts by: Misti DelMar

Misti you didn't say where you live, therefore; we cannot know what your local market is. Are homes for sale and for rent scarce? Is the local economy good? What type of loan will you get? 

If money is tight you don't want to be far from where you are, because if something goes south you won't be able to get to the property to deal with it. If you can't afford a house on a lot, maybe there's opportunities for a manufactured home? A condo? What's the Airbnb business like in your area? 

The devil is ALWAYS in the details. Doing a deal just to do a deal isn't good business. You want to find a deal that makes sense. Look at all the options. What CAN you do with what you have to work with? 

Investment properties usually require 20% down as a minimum. You can find properties with what you have saved, but they may not be in areas with low crime, good schools, economic growth, etc. Be very careful. 

Have you gotten pre-approved with a lender? If so, you know what you can afford. Look for properties that are less than that so that you can bid over if needed. 

If you buy as an owner/occupied, you don't need as much down. Perhaps you could afford a multi or even a rentable accessory apartment. After a year, you can move on to the next one. 

Even if it takes you awhile to get your investments started, you're still doing better than most Americans. Stick with it! 

Quote from @Misti DelMar:

I'm buying my first investment property this summer and I've been watching everything in real estate pretty closely (through Bigger Pockets and social media)....

When I'm ready to buy this summer, I'll have 20-30k saved up,  that still won't leave room for having 50-100k liquid on the side to pay over asking price, like so many people are doing. 

*Do you guys (realtors?) out there think I even have a chance? I'm open to buying anywhere. 

*Will realtors even want to work with me if they find out I don't have tons of cash on the side to pay over asking? How bad is it really out there?

(If crypto goes on another run, I will have a lot of $$$- but that's no guarantee)

Thanks for any honesty or encouragement. Trying to mentally prepare.

masking over asking price is a “thing” only in some markets (the hot ones obviously). If you’re really open to “anywhere” then you should do some research on other markets where the frenzy hasn’t reached yet but still have good potential for future growth. As you’ve been told above, limit your “anywhere” to markets you have actually researched and decided are good for your criteria. 

As for the cash situation, the easiest way to handle it is to house-hack it. Find a 2-4 units property in a market you’d like to live in and your $20K + FHA loan for first time home buyer can get you a good size investment you can afford. 

Good luck!

Hi Don't be discouraged, $20k-$30k will definitely allow you to buy, especially given than you are open to location.

If you are planning to owner occupy you can do 5% down with a conventional loan, or 3.5% down with an FHA loan, which gets you anywhere from $400k to over $650k, which leaves you with tons of options. If you are planning to rehab, you should look into the FHA 203k program, which will allow you to also finance the rehab costs, while still only putting 3.5% down, I did one of those myself. There are more hoops to jump through, but it is definitely possible.

I don't like bidding over asking as it doesn't suit my personality, but one thing to know, just because you bid over asking doesn't mean you need extra cash. The loan will still have the same downpayment requirements regardless of the fact that you offered over asking, as long as the property appraises.

There will be plenty of realtors happy to work with you so don't worry about that at all. Some markets may not work for you, but usually the properties that go over asking are the nicest ones, but since you are looking to BRRR you want the less attractive properties anyway, just look for properties that have been on the market for a month or more and you shouldn't have to worry too much about having to over bid.

Keep up your spirits and good luck! Keep researching and learning, you are on the right path.

When searching for properties on the MLS, I use a filter that only shows properties that have been available for more than 14 days. This will help you from wasting time on properties that are going for multiple offers. The residential buyer that will live in the house can usually spend more money than an investor. Houses that have been on the market for more than 14 days usually are overpriced or have some repair that needs fixed. You will want to keep emotion out of it and buy according to your formula for ROI and start a relationship with a contractor. Good luck!

You seem to have a ton of replies here, but I'm not sure if anyone mentioned Turn-keys. These properties are often off-market so there is no bidding up, you just need to be on their email list and reserve the property first. If you want to be connected to some vetted turn-key providers. Let me know. Happy to help. 

I have never paid over ask on an active listing. It can be done!

Bird-dogging off-off-market properties (not listed, marketed, or any agent involved) would allow you to offer before there's even an ask.

At your level of savings, if you go conventional or commercial financing, there are a few markets that come to mind for a cash-flowing single-family or maybe a duplex. They are in the South and the southern part of the Midwest.

@Misti DelMar saw you said you want to BRRRR a property near a hospital for travel nurses. There's an episode on the podcast about that. Also, you don't need a realtor. Just a little cash and a solid hard money lender. Yeah you need to zone in on where to invest, but once you've done that, along with market research, you can dive in head first. One of the R's in BRRRR means rehab. You can find an off market property that needs work, come in BELOW asking, and negotiate from there. The object is to have the least amount of money left in the deal after the final R is complete. The best way to do that is go after properties that wouldn't be on the MLS.

@Misti DelMar

Hi Misti!

You certainly have gotten a lot of really great advice here.

While I agree that in order to learn and move forward, you actually have to do something, I personally wouldn’t recommend spending all of your capital and taking on a ton of debt just to do it. You seem very motivated to get going, so at a very minimum, I would reserve some cash in case of unforeseen issues that inevitably pop up when it’s least convenient.

Also, your network is going to be SUPER important, especially because you will not be living near your property. I badly underestimated how important this was and learned the hard way. The best advice I could give is make sure you have workers (handy man, electrician, plumber, etc.) that you trust before getting started.

It sounds like you have a lot going on and would like to diversify your income - that’s a really great move. If it’s helpful, I would be happy to walk you through some of the things I have done to diversify. My property portfolio is pretty unique - ranging from single family homes in other states to local commercial properties - I have a small collection of a bit of everything. It’s still pretty small, but I have learned a ton. I’ll shoot you a message 😊

study and find a spot you understand and make sure it has strong economic and demographic fundamentals.  strong fundamentals beat swift appreciation imho.  i find places each day in the Houston market.  not the prettiest of properties, and many folks are only looking for home runs every time so they're not buying anything.  offering at levels that make sense for your model is the only way to go.  airbnb is very big here (and many places around the country).  yes - everything seems expensive, but stick to your own metrics and you'll end up with a solid realtor/property advisor next to you that can help you acquire repeatedly.  turnkey single family here is very tough to acquire, but they do pop up from time to time.  adaptation and patience will serve you well.  the property markets will not be this hot forever.