All Forum Posts by: Penny Brown

Atlanta is still warm...just not blazing hot anymore.  But a long way from cooling.  Steady rents, good jobs, and good schools make this a good bet for the long term.  

Yes! Love seller financing...it works!  I agree, the price may be slightly higher, but it does not reflect on your credit or hurt your dti when you go to refinance.  You get the equity and benefits without the liablities showing on your credit report.  Make sure you close with an attorney you trust and read your security deed/promissory note carefully before signing.  Hope this helps!

Atlanta! Great market and I can help there. Montgomery is another town where you can find small multifamily units that you prefer and I have a few contacts there to help you! Best of luck!

Word of advice...when renting by rooms, keep it all one gender.  Holds down confusion.  Sandy Springs may not be a rent by room neighborhood, have you tested the market to see if room rents are working there?  I'd focus getting the right property  in the right area before I drill down into capex and maintenance. That can lead to analysis paralysis.  Walk a few homes in Sandy Springs with a realtor and get your feet wet! Happy House Hunting!

Depersonalize your rehab ideas.  Make them generic and similar to like properties in your building or subdivision.  Once you start rehabbing for yourself, the budget is going to get bumped up due to emotions, personal likes and dislikes.  So if you already know it's a short term stay, go generic.

Mind sharing the numbers and zipcode? That would help us guide you.  It's easy to say back out and start over, but it  may be hard to find another one and then you're left with nothing.  So look at the numbers closely, include contingencies and make a wise decision.

Heloc all day, my friend.  Keep it, put a tenant in it and rent.  You get the best of both worlds.  You get cash in hand by tapping into the equity, but with a heloc, if you don't use it, you don't pay.  Whereas if you get a lump sum thru a refi, your monthly payments start immediately.   On your  rent analysis please add management fee, vacancy, and utilities until tenant takes over.  

Rehabbing a 1930 bungalow and boy was it a learning experience! Love the charm from that era, pretty arches, cute built in nooks, but look out for the small closets, structural issues behind the walls and subfloors, roof issues.  A good contractor and inspector is highly recommended. By the way, think of digging the crawlspace out and making it additional living space. Since it's already large, dig down and enlarge it more.

Not sure if they are race based, but Invest Atlanta has great first time homeowner programs where buyers get up to $20K towards their down payment.  Hope this helps!

Remember, since this one is owner financed, it's not showing on your credit to affect debt to income ratios. You have the option to disclose or not.  If you do not disclose, you can get your next property as a primary residence and get better rates.  Then once you close, decide which property will be a rental. Hope this helps...