All Forum Posts by: William Murrell

I wouldn't totally eschew real estate investing entirely to focus on paying off that debt.  I think a better route is somewhere in the middle, where you're trying to aggressively get out of student debt but at the same time investing.  Maybe you would just be focusing on the lower end of the price range.  If it takes you, say, ten years to pay off that loan, whatever investment you (safely) make now will probably have grown into something nice by that time.  That certainly takes diligence and sacrifice, but most things worth doing do.

Well, one of the things working against you is that student loan.  The debt service on that loan is pretty large I'd imagine, and will be counted in the ratios they use to qualify people for loans.  However, the loan for your parents place won't show up unless your name is on the mortgage which is nice because whatever portion you pay on it now won't be counted as part of your debt service.  Judging by the fact that they are upside down and previously filed for bankruptcy, I'd start seeing if I could qualify on my own for a house of my own.  However, if you intend to still help them out by paying part then you'll want to make sure you can afford your contribution, plus all existing debt service, in addition to the payments on whatever new house you find.

I recommend you find a lender nearby, perhaps a community bank, and start trying to form a relationship.  Be upfront, tell them your position and ask what you would need to do to get to where you want to be.  They can quickly tell you how much you're able to prequalify for based on income and debt, and then you know what range to look for.  Buy, live in, move out, rent, rinse, repeat.

Personally, I'm a huge fan of the google apps suite.  Being able to share, collaborate, and integrate everything in one place has been a big help for my company.  I particularly like being able to do a google hangout, discuss with everyone in a video conference, and all see and edit one spreadsheet for example.  Also, they recently added the option of pretty much unlimited cloud storage which is nice.

+1 to staying in the same field being fine.  They will definitely want to be able to get the warm and fuzzies that you'll continue to have income for debt service.  As for reserves, they will definitely want to see some capital on hand, but I'd call and ask a prospective lender what their requirements are.  Most of them are pretty upfront regarding what they expect in order to lend.

Good luck and welcome aboard.  If you haven't already, check out the podcast.  There's a little bit of everything for everyone on it.

I actually like the name way better than we buy ugly houses.  I have always thought "who looks at that and thinks 'hey, I have an ugly house, I should call them.'?" I imagine most people who actually have an ugly house would be more apt to think of it as "has character" or "scrappy" so I think you're on the right track.  Also, the site is very clean and welcoming.  You feel like you're dealing with a real person, not just some large company that doesn't actually care.

Hmm, good points.  I guess I will keep trying and see if I have any luck.  As I said, the high bids have been great deals but they never get selected as "winning bid" due to reserve restrictions and it kind of discourages you.  I also don't like that last second bids add time to the clock.

I participated in two auctions for two separate properties nearby. The price at the time was great, and though I didn't win, someone got a great deal on both of them. But neither met reserve and then a week later, they just relisted the properties as if nothing ever happened. It seems like they might just have the reserve set somewhere up around FMV (which I don't think any person trying to buy at auction is really eager to pay) and just keep running them over and over.

Has anyone had success with Homesearch or is it just a waste of time?

Better late than never.  Welcome to the forum!

@Matt Redden , likewise on the well-wishing.  I appreciate the warm welcome.  I'm familiar with your area: wife went to grad school there and my sister and brother-in-law live in Winterville.  I've long thought there's some good opportunity up your way.  Same offer to you if you're ever down here.