All Forum Posts by: Noah Thacher

@Aanu Jibodu, great to meet you and welcome to the BP community! DFW is a great place to live and personally I think house-hacking with roommates is the best way to start your RE investing journey. I definitely understand where your parents are coming from and think that there is value to knowing an area before you make a long term decision. I will say that if you have the right local agent who understands your goals that they can really point you in the right direction. The other thing to think through is that if the goal is to turn this into a long-term rental then that should be your primary driving factor. You should be thinking less about purchasing your dream home and more about how the rental will perform long term. Thankfully a great long-term rental should also be a place that you are excited to live in. There is absolutely risk in investing in something long distance but with the right agent and a long term perspective, I think you could go for it and start your investing journey!

@Jovanpreet Singh, that is an exciting place to be! Buying your first home is a BIG deal, whether you are purchasing a personal residence or as an investment. My best advice would be to do both at once! My guess is that you are currently paying rent somewhere and you have to factor that in to your investment strategy. The best first step would be to get out of the hamster wheel of paying rent and start building equity. If I were in your shoes I would buy a larger house with at least 4 bedrooms, occupy one of the rooms and rent the other rooms out to friends. If you play your cards right you could potentially cover your entire mortgage with the rent from roommates, then you can put all the money that you would be paying in rent towards your next property. Another strategy would be to purchase a duplex/fourplex, live in one and rent out the other units. In my opinion, this is the best way to start in real estate investing because you are able to kill two birds with one stone. You have a place to live, so that you are no longer paying rent and you have other people to help cover your mortgage.

@Eric Boshart, I feel like relationships are the key to any great business. I recently had a lender experience where a certain lender had the best rate but were not able to deliver on their promises and burned everyone in the process. I would much rather work with someone that I know I can trust and is going to deliver consistent results than just finding the best rate. Hope this helps!

@David Sohn, just sent something to your BP inbox with his info.

@David Sohn, I love the creative thinking!

1. I spoke with a lender friend here in Dallas and he said that there should be no issue with your parents gifting you funds from a HELOC. You could then get a conventional loan and potentially something that lumps in some renovations.

2. If your parents were up for it, you could also get them to co-sign on the deal and would probably improve your buying power. The nice thing about working with family is that they tend to be more forgiving and flexible than other potential partners.

3. I think this sounds like a great plan! If your parents are on board then you can build wealth from their equity w/out asking them for any liquid wealth.

Let me know if you would like me to connect you with my lender!

@Joseph Barthelemy, Dallas/Fort Worth is a great place to be looking! The unique thing about Dallas is there are not an abundance of small multifamily such as duplexes or fourplexes. They definitely exist, the East Dallas/Junius Heights area is a great place to start, but they are few and far between. There is definitely opportunities to invest in larger multifamily properties, but it is hard to find deals that cash flow right now. DFW appreciation is amazing right now and rents are sure to follow, so you might have to get creative initially to make a deal work but if you can find something it is bound to pay dividends down the line!

@Jermaine Johnson, that is exciting! House Hacking is such a great strategy particularly in the DFW market. I would ask around for some lender recommendations and start having some conversations. A great lender can help you navigate your options and help you get a plan in place to accomplish your goals. All the best, reach out if you need anything!

@Brighton Munjoma, welcome to the BP community, you are definitely in the right place. I recommend the agent finder feature on Bigger Pockets. It does a great job of linking you up with local investor friendly agents!

@Juan Campos, I did an online education through AceableAgent, highly recommend! I am with Ebby Halliday here in Dallas and have really enjoyed the experience. The new agent onboarding is top notch!

@Marcus Norman, Congratulations! That is awesome that you are working towards your first flip. I would tend to agree with everyone, an inspection is always a good idea to get a baseline idea of any potential issues so that you can determine if it is a project you are ready to tackle. Also a great tool for any negotiations!