All Forum Posts by: Olivia Umoren

Alex Deacon Thanks Alex! Would you recommend talking to different mortgage brokers to get different perspectives or do people usually stick with one?

Hi Everyone, My name is Olivia, I’m a 24 year old college grad (Penn State ‘16) and like most of my classmates I have student loans ($45,000). I am trying to prepare myself to purchase a property for househacking in the next year or two (location TBD). However with my DTI ratio being unbalanced, I think get approved for a mortgage will be difficult. So my question is for those of you with student loans (or any other significant debt) how were you able to finance your property purchase? How did you prepare yourself? Just some additional info about me: I work a full time and part time job, I have a 6 year credit history, I’ve never missed a payment and I have a good credit score. Thanks! Olivia

@M Marie M. I would definitely want to house hack but I'm just not trying to share the same space with roommates (bedrooms on same floor, sharing kitchen, bathroom, living room). A property with a basement would be ideal for me, I don't mind sharing a property with someones, just as long as they have a separate unit for themselves. My sentiments come from having 11 different roommates in college (from undergrad to law school students) and dealing w/ the lack of respect for the living area/other roommates was enough for me to be opposed to having roommates again.

Having said that, I think the type of people chosen would be very important and I think I could be a lot more particular about what I'm looking for in a roommate if I decided to go down that route. The temporary roommate situation sounds like a good idea to me though and it would probably be easier for me to deal with. 

As far as carving out legal basements, have people found this to be difficult? That would be something I'd be interested in if I was unable to find a property that already had a basement. Thanks!

@Mike Hurney That's very useful information, I'll definitely look in them. Thanks Mike!

Mike Hurney My degree is in nutrition and my career goal is to be involved in global health research and field work. Right now I’m basically working in the medical field just not in my specific field of interest. I work in a hospital and they provide tuition assistance (max $2,000) but they don’t pay for degrees unless it’s a specific degree from a school they have a relationship with. I know they offer many scholarships so I’ll be looking into that this year. Thanks!

Shadonna N. My absolute max would be $300k. I know that may not be enough for DC proper but I’m open to other places

Mike Hurney In 1 year (by fall 2019) Id like to purchase my own property and house hack. In 5 years I’d like to own 3-5 multi family homes or 2-4 unit properties. In 5 years I should be in my professional career so I’d want to hire a property manager for the properties. I’m applying to masters programs for a fall 2019 start so if I get into school here I would buy here or if I go out of state I’d buy there she plan to stay and work there for a few years

Josane Cumandala thanks for your comment! I actually just finished reading RDPD and have started Cash Flow Quadrant. Right now I’m trying to build my education foundation but I also want to have a plan for myself so I can start meeting goals. I think I’d do well with creative financing but I just have to read a lot more before jumping into that. Once I fully understand the financial aspects of REI I think it’ll be easier for me to make a decision

@Cassidy Burns Thank you! That's definitely a great suggestion but for me personally I'm definitely looking to live completely by myself. I've had my fair share of roommates and I just couldn't bring myself to share a space with other people again. Do you know if there are a good amount of single families that have a basement? I would be interested in looking at those while living in the home itself and renting out the basement.

@Russell Brazil Thank you Russell, this was very helpful!