All Forum Posts by: Sebastien Beauboeuf

I'm planning on buying my first property in Chicago next year when i have enough money saved up. By that time I'll have enough money to put 20% down on a $200k property plus renovations. My plan is to buy and hold either a single or multi family house (30 year fix). In either cases, me and my gf will be living in the property which should get me qualified for an FHA loan. I want to find an under market value property that I can fix up a little and then refinance it a year or two later to get funds for my next property. My question is should i go FHA or Conventional?

I know depending on who I ask i can get either one. Below are some of the pros and cons I could come up with.  What are other things to consider? Which one makes more sense for my situation? (I have good credit)

FHA pros: low down payment, i'll be able to keep more of my savings, pay low or no mortgage when i rent other unit(s)

FHA cons: I'll have to pay PMIs, higher mortgage if I can't rent other unit(s)

Conventional pros: lower mortgage payments

Conventional cons: less money available for other deals, less money available if something goes wrong

@Dennis M. Thanks a lot. I'm definitely planning on going to open houses this year. Just like you said, i really think that'll give me a better understanding of my  market.

@RJ Reynolds Thank you! Will do.

@Mark Robert I signed up for a couple meet ups and hopefully I meet a realtor at one of them like you said.

@Michael T. I understand. Thank you so much!

@Michael Kiley Too bad you're not licensed here :( . But thanks for the advice!

@Chris Mason That makes sense. Thanks. 

I'm new to investing and planning on buying and holding a single or multi-family home (in Chicago) in the summer of 2020 when i have enough money saved up. One of my goals this year is to be great at analyzing deals. Is it ok to get in touch with a real estate agent now even if I won't be seriously looking for a deal until next year? I know I can practice on my own by going on sites like Trulia, Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com, Craigslist, etc but I don't know if the MLS have more options or if an agent has off-market leads he can tell me about. The reason I'm hesitant about contacting an agent is because I feel like I'd be wasting their time. Like I'll be using them to "practice" and not because I actually want to buy anything this year. (your feedback is appreciated)

@Chuks Erinne You make a good point. Thanks. Most people seem to think the same thing. I'll focus on learning the investing side of the business. 

Wow. Thank you everyone for responding. I actually wasn't expecting an answers anytime soon given that I'm so new.

@Bob Okenwa I'm planning on buying and holding (single or multi family home). I can see how it'd be better for house flipping. And i understand the advantage of being able to see a property quickly. I guess in my case (a beginner) that won't be something i'll worry about too much.

@Joe Villeneuve noted! Thank you.

@Jay Hinrichs I understand. I'm starting small and probably won't look at anything over $300k. When i get more experience and doing more/bigger deals, i'll revisit that option. (really liked your BiggerPockets podcast!)

@Frank Wong yikes. Thats not cheap. Thanks for the advice. Im definitely trying to be better at evaluating deals. Since I'm not planning on buying this year should i look for leads on my own (trulia, realtor, redfin, zillow, craigslist) or should I look for an agent and ask him/her to send me leads base on my criteria?

@Rik Patel Thanks. Based on everyone's advice I think I'm going to try to find an "investor friendly" agent for my first deal and see how that goes. Once i get more comfortable and understand the business more, I'll be in a better position to make a decision on if i should get my license or not.

@Brandon Sturgill ok thanks. It seems like (i might be wrong) for what i want to do (buy and hold) it's not that critical to get my license right away. Like i said to everyone else, I'll wait to be a bit more knowledgeable in the Real Estate world and make an educated decision then.

I'm planning on starting my real estate investing career by buying my first property in the summer of 2020 when I get enough money saved up. I'm new to real estate investing and I want to learn everything I can in the mean time. One of the things I was planning on doing this year is getting a real estate license. Not because I plan on working like a typical realtor but because i'm thinking that the classes I'll take and the information learned could give me an advantage as an investor. I'm specifically asking the agents out there, is it worth it to get my license or is it unnecessary for what I'm trying to do? (Thanks in advance for you time)