All Forum Posts by: Robbie Fontova

You need to provide much more info, such as loan term, interest rate, and PMI. But if you have those, you can just use the mortgage calculator here on BP.

Also, don't stop there when analyzing if the deal works. You need to calculate expenses and such.

I'm not one of the regular experts on this site, but those are the questions they are going to ask. Good luck.

Though it seems like it's a stock answer, the best advice I can give you to learning is to click on the link above titled "Learn" and click onto the Beginners Guide. After that, scour he Podcasts, and pick out a few that are within your niche. Many people over the months and years have taken their time to share their experiences for others to learn from, and there's a lot to be learned.

Thanks Karen, and yes I do that often. I take in as much info as I can on the subject. I have a library of real estate books I've gone through, and I read this site often.

I don't particularly know the market in New Orleans but I'm a firm believer in "Live where you want to live, invest where the numbers make sense." Another option is to look outside your local area. Just some food for thought.

Thanks for the advice, and I plan on doing that eventually, but I left out a little info in my OP. I currently need a place to live myself, so I figured my first property would be an owner occupied multi-family unit.

New member here, or I should say poster as I've been a lurker for a few months.

My name is Robbie Fontova and I'm a personal trainer in New Orleans, home of Mardi Gras, Bourbon St., and some of the finest dining in the world. I just recently became interested in RE investing. I don't know what it was, but one day a light went on in my head and I knew what I wanted to do. Since then I've been educating myself on the topic like crazy, saving as much money as possible, and have been very motivated in taking the steps towards purchasing my first property.

I'm currently in the process of searching for my first property. I've met with a lender, met with a couple of agents, and have scoured the this city trying to find the right one. If anyone isn't familiar with New Orleans presently, it is much on the upswing. New development at every corner and an unseen influx of young professionals has this city pulsing with potential. And as a result, real estate prices are beginning to climb.

As a first timer, and one who has a relatively small income, it's quite a challenge to find a property that fits the mold of some of the criteria I see posted here and elsewhere. I plan on implementing the buy and hold strategy, and mainly want to focus on multi-family homes, as there is an abundance of them in New Orleans.

I'm very interested to hear about how other investors "got in the game", and any advice I can take along the way would be greatly appreciated.