All Forum Posts by: Roy C.

@Tatiana Galushkina, I'm kind of in similar situation, but different. Let me explain. I got my BS in EE and started working full time after college. The company actually encouraged me to get graduate school degree so while working, I am in school part time pursuing my master degree. Last year, I closed on my first house and househacked, and now I'm in the process of looking for rental properties. My suggestion is that try to find a job that's willing to pay for your school. Working w-2 jobs will get you steady income and looks better in the eyes of lender. Also you probably have 401k matching benefit from company.  With your BS degree in biochemistry you should be able to get a job that pays $60-70k. It's not easy and my weekends are all going toward either studying or property browsing, but I know this is worth doing.

Hello @Niddal Momani.

I had a similar question about a year ago, and here is the thread. 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/519/topics/15...

It's all about personal choice and amount of risk you are willing to take. Many of my co-workers and friends decide to pay off student loan off front, but I have decided not to. 

You are in a better situation than I am, because I'm an older student. I wish I started my REI in my early twenties. That being said, since last year when I posted that same question, I have acquired primary residence and on the way to purchase investment properties. I have decided to not pay off student loan upfront, since I figured that the rate of return on property outweigh student loan interest rate. At the same time, you are building equity and experience as a legit REI. I have learned so much since last year, and I got so much to learn. So for me, it was no brainier. But I understand why other people want to pay off student loan, because I hate having "bad" debts also. Good luck!

 That's fascinating. Also I didn't realize you could deduct inspection fee for investment properties.

Just to update, 

I have decided to maximize company's matching just to diversify my portfolio. 

The way I see it is once I decide to leave the company, I will roll 401k to self-directed 401k and invest in RE that way so I see the merit in this strategy. 

Thanks everyone for valuable discussion! 

Currently, I own a primary residence, and by this July, I will fulfill OO requirements provided by my lender. (I bought the house last year of July) I bought my primary residence with conventional loan with 3.5% down with OO requirement.

I'm planning to buy another property around May/June of this year as a rental using 20% down conventional loan, hold on to the property for a month or two vacant, then move in, and turn it into primary residence. I will turn my previous primary residence into rental instead of selling. 

Do you think I'm going to run into any legal issue by going with this route?

I just want to make sure that I'm comply with the lenders agreement on OO, and that it's okay to turn rental into primary residence.

Having a strong mathematics background, I feel pretty comfortable with my deal analyzing skill. My weakest point so far is reading and understanding RE related legal document. I understand thats why you hire an attorney for, but I want to improve.  One thing, no pun intended, I am planning to do is read and digest legal documents periodically. Do you guys have suggestions or tips on how to be proficient with RE related documents?

Hello Suzie. I had a similar question while back. Here is the forum if you are interested. 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/158067-the-logic-behind-long-term-tenants

 What every investor needs to know about cash flow.

 What every investor needs to know about cash flow. 

Something like that