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You can never time it, it has too many external factors involved. Just look for good deals and make them happen. :) In my humble opinion I think you can use market indicators to see trends but you might not know when the tide will turn. Also, there's always events like 9/11 that are unexpected and temporarily upset the economy as a whole. Who would have known we were going to be in Iraq even 6 months ahead of time? Who saw the tech market dropping like a stone before it happened?

I've decided if I buy a 3-4 family that I really don't want to live in it. Mostly I don't want to find one my girlfriend will be happy living in, getting something nice enough to make the both of us happy means we'll limit ourselves quite a bit in where we can buy a house. Also, we have large fish tanks.....I don't want to move them until we are ready to buy a house that we'll be in for a good while. I'd rather just buy a house that will be an investment (purely to generate income) and stay living where I am until I can purchase a home for myself. Can anyone recommend a 80/20 lender that will finanace me if I am not planning to live in the house being bought? Obviously I'd be buying something that generates enough cash to cover expenses plus a profit and money to cover any problems along the way. Would rather use a conventional lender, too nervous about lease and subject to options. If you are a lender, know a good lender or have some money you want to let me borrow send me a PM. Need a lender licensed in CT that can finance $150-300k.

In case you were wondering....
Credit rating currently around 675, should be at 700 soon. (g/f co-signing, her is about the same)
Combined income of $65,000+/yr

I'm no expert but if you are paying taxes you W2 or 1099 should show how much money you made last year and might be enough to sway a lender. Not sure how it works if you are on again off again.

Originally posted by "drweltman":

Good! Now you'll have $69 leftover for more fish. :D

I've got $1000 worth of fish (2 fish that are about $500 each) flying in at the end of the month so I think I'm all set for a while. These are free though, did a website for a friend and getting paid in fish since he is an importer. 8)

Hey, I own a non-profit organization......... 8)

I really do, a tropical fish website that we setup as an unincorporated non-profit association. I wonder if I can buy some of these? I've got about $70 in my wallet, I wonder if they have any housing developments for sale. :lol:

So your just buying the structure? That's no deal at all in most cases. My uncle moved his house up the street (family owned home for a long time, moved to a bigger lot) and it cost him a small fortune. Then you still have to buy a lot. No thanks. Maybe if I can gut the copper and anything else of value then walk away with no strings attached (such as paying to demo) I'd consider it.

Good idea on the SSNs for everyone and the notification of long-term guests. I've seen a lot of problems with people (mostly foreign born people but don't take it as a racist remark) renting out a place and inviting a dozen or more family members....most of which aren't legal US residents to begin with. Many times there have been cleanliness issues, etc that arise from the overcrowding. (as you can imagine there would be wtih 10-15 people in one 2 bdr apt) One particular family had one of their kids sleeping in a closet....not a walk-in closet.

The other tips are also great, some of them are not things you would think of but will definitely save time and money.

Well for those that are paying a 6/7 figure tax bill it might mean quite a bit.....good advice.

You can also do it via their websites, add a .com to each company name to get to their site.

Any stable business has insurance, if the contractor you are talking to doesn't have insurance what makes you think they won't just blow away in the wind with your deposit?

Obviously if it's a family friend doing it on the side they might not have insurance but at least you know of their stability and you know where they live if you need to make a trip to their house at night with a bat. I'm not too keen on mixing money and blood though, I'd rather have a stranger do the work.....it's much easier to work with deals that are biz only and no family drama.