All Forum Posts by: Nicole Brites

Thanks @Suzanne Player, that's great advice.  We've discussed whether to do this with homes in South Jersey, where prices are significantly lower. Maybe something to revisit.

@Michael C Williams I've generally followed the thinking that appreciation can be very hard to predict, so better to buy for cash flow first, and any appreciation is a bonus on top.  That is awesome to hear you've been able to do this with properties in California.  Unfortunately, I would guess those markets near me would be areas we wouldn't be thrilled to live in yet or further away from NYC.

I should also mention, we're estimating 1.6% of our annual gross income for maintenance/repairs.  On an older home (built between 1920-1940), we have no idea if this is a decent estimate.

Between that, and the higher mortgage costs because we're putting less down, we're typically looking at $250-$400 cash flow per month.

Thanks @Evan Polaski.  We are wanting to get into real estate for the dual purpose of buying a home for ourselves and starting to build a portfolio of cash flowing properties.  While we don't have 20% down, we are setting cash aside for things that will make our offers more attractive- things like appraisal bridges, covering inspection fixes up, etc.  A key struggle we're having is estimating maintenance and repair costs. Many of these homes were built from 1900-1940.  In our current analysis, we're looking at 1.6% of the annual rents  Between that and the low percentage down, it often brings the cash flow amounts to $300-$400 / month, and I'm not sure that's high enough.

@Suzanne Player We are outside of NYC-north jersey real estate (bergen/union/essex counties).

I'm struggling to decide whether to get started now with lower capital, or wait to put 20% down.

Prices in my area are so high, most 2-families don't cash flow. 3-4 family units are typically 600,000 or more, and barely cash flow a few hundred dollars per month.  Between the high prices, multiple cash offers, and bidding wars-I'm unsure of whether to start now with a small down payment, or wait to start with a conventional loan?

Curious how others in higher priced market tackled this question. And the minimum cash flow numbers you'd want to see to invest.

Hello,

I'm a new investor and my husband and I are looking to see how much mortgage we can actually afford on a primary residence duplex with an FHA loan.

I have filled out at least 4-5 pre qualification forms, and each one results in the bank asking us for a hard credit check without giving us a pre-qualification letter.

Where can I get a real pre-qual letter, instead of getting pushed to the next step? My husband and I want to shop around and have an idea of our price range before getting our credit dinged.

Best,

Nicole