All Forum Posts by: Naoise M.

Hi all,

Thank you so much for your input.

You are correct @Ryan Dossey it is a DTI hurdle.

@Chris Mason I have heard of that "coaching". Definitely no intent to commit fraud, but luckily in this case it is a requirement that these 'affordable' units are for owner-occupants to even be considered and cannot be rented. I appreciate your insight on the increased income being able to be 'counted' right away.

@Charlie MacPherson you are correct, they are capped at 3% annual appreciation. Definitely not as much as the rest of the city, but I see it as a great foot in the door to start.

@Sean LeBlanc I do qualify for conventional, the DTI hurdle does not qualify for enough to purchase. And the issue with using a co-signer is that they would have to be considered an applicant for the program, subject to all the requirements and we would exceed the max. income limit.

Greetings all!

Quick background, my name is Naoise McDonnell.  I am 28 years old, born and raised in Boston.  I have spent the past 5 or so years  dabbling in real estate, finishing my school degrees and working full time for a non-profit providing credit counseling services to people across the country.  Currently, I live with my family in Boston, but I am looking to buy my first property.

The Reason I Am Reaching Out:

I have identified a newly constructed 3bd/2ba condominium unit, built in partnership with the City of Boston, located in Roxbury.  The unit is one of the city's few available 'affordable' housing units.  It has an income restriction for qualified buyers, and is also deed restricted.

I have excellent credit, and significant savings, and meet all other qualifications to purchase, however due to the non-profit nature of the position I have worked for nearly the past 5 years, my current income levels do not qualify me for enough to purchase conventionally.   I am set to graduate from school later this month, at which time I will immediately be able to work more hours at my current position. However, as hot as this market is, I am sure this property will be gone at that point.

The asking price is $273k, I have approximately 30-40k to put down, and a 750+ credit score.  I am asking if anybody would know stones I could overturn to find a private mortgage lender for this situation to purchase the property? 

Thanks BP!

Yes definitely will be disclosed upfront.

I am not affiliated with an office yet, just got license finally this week, but I have been in contact with a few so far trying to find the right fit in terms of being able to make this first purchase my full priority and not any of the other responsibilities/distractions that come with being an agent right now.  So this is next on the check list.  If anyone knows or affiliated with any broker like this that would be great as well.

But thank you @Nick Foundas that is exactly the kind of win-win situation I am trying to create 

Hi all,

I am looking to make my first purchase after saving like crazy the past year.  I am looking to house hack, live in one unit and rent the others.  In the process of saving and scouring the market, I acquired my RE license to help facilitate this purchase and help make it the best, foundation-building investment that it can be. 

The license for right now I just want to use as a tool to negotiate a lower purchase price, however, since this would be my first purchase as well, I am having a little trouble wrapping my head around being both the buyer and the buyer agent and how that might make things easier for the seller.  Im in MA and the market is on fire right now, so any advice on how this might be spun as an advantage for the seller or any potential pitfalls to watch for would be greatly appreciated!

@Rick H. You are correct sir.  My apologies to the people here, I misspoke, this is not quite yet a "deal" but it is a lead.  A great lead in my opinion.  I might add sir, that you are in no way interfering with my dreams from Carbon Canyon, California.  I appreciate your perspective.

The reason I made this post was to see what knowledge I could extrapolate from the awesome BP community about how to turn this lead in to a deal.  In the 24 hours since I made this post I have made connections that I needed to make a profit.  I know the neighborhood and market the property is in very well and as long as there are no weird things going on in terms of title, liens and documentation then there is definitely value here and profit to be made.

I am serious about this and I have been an avid reader of books and articles here and the podcasts for the past few months.  But that won't get me experience in deal making.  That is the next step for me, I will do that by taking action and reaching out and talking with this particular owner.  If you or anyone else has any advice about how a young novice investor might approach an owner that would be greatly appreciated.

Everything that has ever been created was fantasy or a dream first.  Then action was taken.  And that dream/fantasy can become reality.

Thanks everyone.  No the property isn't listed for sale nor were there any for sale signs posted.  I was going off of the signs that the property is distressed and therefore the owner may be motivated to sell.

I haven't contacted him yet, but did find his information through public recs.  From my understanding my best bet is - if he is interested in selling - find out his situation i.e. equity and any debts owed, write up an offer contingent on further inspections (of the physical property and its records), and if that is accepted either find a partner w cash and rehab exp or find cash buyer/lenders to wholesale the deal.

Am I missing anything?

Thank you all!

So what Im gathering is that I should have my financing lined up or at least an idea of where it would come from before I approach the owner.  I was hesitant to make an offer without the funds for that very reason of creating a bad rep. 

@Peter K. I appreciate that advice.  Would you suggest I go thru a realtor first to get the property profile or try to get that info first from the owner?

@Mindy Jensen thanks and I got a lot from your podcast episode this month

Being a newbie and being that this would be my first deal, do you think hard/private money lenders would be willing to fund 500-600k and have patience throughout the necessary renovations? (property is currently assessed at about 700k)

I was out "driving for dollars" and I come across a nice looking brick multi family in a decent and improving neighborhood.  Clearly it is a distressed/vacant property as the mailbox was full, no lights on, empty vacant windows and permit flyers posted on the front door.  They read: roof repair, interior wall repair, gas and pipe repairs.

Looks like it has great potential for fix n flip or buy, fix, rent.

As a young newbie investor I probably wont qualify for much of a mortgage and I don't quite have my private money network lined up just yet.  So what can I do?  And How can I approach the owner in this situation? (I haven't contacted the owner yet)

One of the articles I read here on BP suggests that one way to overcome the lack of experience beginners face in terms of actually analyzing and making an offer on a property is to make an offer and go through the process up until the point of closing in which case you can rescind if you actually don't have the funds and at least you gain that experience even if you don't get the property along the way.  Is this even possible without a pre-approval or proof of funds?

Will the owner even be bothered to show me the property at this point or should I focus on getting financing lined up?

Any advice or insight is greatly appreciated.  Thanks!