All Forum Posts by: Robert Ashline

Wow, congratulations @Johnny Situ, I myself am a newbie investor beginning my journey and your story has been an inspiration! Best wishes in all of your endeavors!

Thank you all for your insights, I really appreciate that you guys took the time to walk through some of the options that are presented to me, that means a lot. I apologize for the delayed response, life got a little hectic for a moment lol.

@Dan Mackin: Thank you for your insight into loan options and for including the slides from your class. These slides were very helpful in broadening my perspective on loans and what kind of leverage is available to me, especially specific to house hacking. You made a good point to look into my personal situation and reflect on if it benefits me. Thank you!

@Account Closed: You brought up a great point of "Let the experts do their thing--and you do yours". I'm probably going to write that down because that was such a great point! The reason I was looking into Accounting as a degree was to learn about business development in a specialized role and let those skills transfer over into my real estate investment business, as I plan to create an LLC when I become more established. I will definitely get in touch with a Real Estate CPA to further broaden my education into REI. Thank you for that suggestion!

Thank you all again for your great responses, you all have really helped me gain unbiased perspective on this issue in my life and I can't thank you all enough!

Thank you Jake, I really appreciate your insight! The reason it struck me as odd is because I had done a lot of research into it and everything seemed to suggest that only FHA, VA, or private loans that would do such a thing, and even FHA isn't 100% lol. I'll definitely keep in touch with them about it and explore the options further.

Hey guys, I am working with a realtor in my area and I was talking to her about financing options for a purchase that I'm looking to close on in late summer. I was talking to her about an FHA loan and then she expressed to me that she knew of a mortgage lender that does 100% financing and it is classified as a conventional loan, the only requirement is that I'd need a minimum of a 640 credit score to qualify. Has anyone else heard of such a mortgage loan with a bank? Seemed more like a private lender loan to me rather than a conventional loan through a bank. We briefly spoke on the phone yesterday so I haven't been able to inquire on the subject with her in more detail, but I wanted to ask you guys and see what you thought about it as well.

Hey guys, I have a very specific and personal question that I'm sure will spur many different answers and opinions. I am 23 years old and I am currently still a freshman in college, I started late back in the Fall of 2018. I am attending a community college where two semesters cost me on average about $5,000. I am majoring in accounting because my goal is to turn my real estate investments into a well operating business. However, I am questioning if an undergrad degree would be worth the student loan debt while I am also in pursuit of acquiring investment properties. I do not have to start making payments until 2023, but that monthly payment down the road could affect my future prospects of positive cash flow. I currently work in healthcare administration full-time with great benefits and a 401k plan. I am living frugally and saving 40-50% of my income to build a down payment fund for my first buy; I'm going to house hack with an FHA Loan, I plan to buy in 2020 with 10% down to reduce monthly payments. In your own opinion, would it be more beneficial to focus on working and side-hustling to save up, while also focusing on real estate investment? Or would an undergrad degree be worth the student loan debt in the long run with my long-term goal of turning my real estate investments into a business? I understand that this is a very personal topic and one that only I can decide on, but I would appreciate the opinions and insights from the BiggerPockets community.

Thank you guys!

@Mark Petitmermet Thank you for the feedback! I'll definitely have to check out the war zone podcast to see what my potential options could be, thank you for mentioning it. Birmingham is a big university town with the UAB Hospital/University attracting a lot of out of state students who are looking for residences around the city. That's why I feel that it would be very beneficial to own a property in that area whether it be an MFR or SFR. I'd definitely need to have a solid screening process for university students. I would be alright with roommates at my age if it meant netting positive cashflow so that I can compound my returns and buy another property within the next year or two. Thank you for the advice and I hope all goes well for you in this journey!

Hey guys, I am a 23 year old who is currently building my down payment fund for my first principle buy in Birmingham, AL. My plan is to find a small multi-family property and live in one unit while I rent the rest out, standard house hacking. I plan on using an FHA loan to finance my first buy, I'm open to using a 203(k) if the opportunity presents itself. However, I'm having trouble finding MFRs that meet my criteria as they are either extremely expensive or very run-down and located in war zones. Any advice on methods to refine my search? I'm using standard sites like Realtor.com and Zillow, I'm currently looking for an agent to work with as well. Additionally, my back up plan is to buy a three bedroom SFR and rent the rooms out if I can't find an MFR that meets my criteria, what is the general consensus of house hacking an SFR? Good idea? Bad idea?

Thank you for the response William, I'd be happy to meet with Deneise and discuss my options. I will say, I am still currently in the process of building my down payment fund and working out the financing so I'm looking to buy in winter of 2019. But I'm always happy to network and learn about my options ahead of time.

Hey guys I was just wondering if anybody could refer me to a Real Estate Agent that they've done business with in the Birmingham area. I've been doing some research on the local Agents in this area and I have a few leads but I would like to get some suggestions from you all as well.

Hello Everyone!

I am a 23 year old who is currently budgeting and saving toward a down payment fund for my first investment. I work full-time in healthcare administration and my current budget allows me to save around 40-50% of my income. My basic plan is to house hack, I want to find a good MFR deal in the Birmingham, AL market and use an FHA, or 203k, loan to finance my first investment by no later than December of 2019. I will live in one unit while renting out the other units to generate a positive cash flow in addition to my earnings from my full-time job. I plan to reinvest my profits to compound my earnings and expand my portfolio to multiple properties within three years, or earlier if the opportunity presents itself. This is a basic rundown of my short term goals, but I realize that I still have a lot to learn about this business, and I would really appreciate any feedback or advice from the BP community. I have been reading the Beginner's Guide on here as well as resources pertaining to FHA loans. Any books, articles, or recommendations are welcome!