All Forum Posts by: Santino Sims

@Shirley Layer congrats on your venture. Your post actually helps me out as I am looking to get into house hacking myself. It will be in the Fort Worth area and I plan on utilizing my VA loan pending everything lines up. Good luck with everything and hope it works out in your favor.

@Nicole Masters no worries lol. I will not be able to make it as I will be across the waters but hopefully I can jump right in upon my return. Greatly appreciate the invite.  

@Benjamin Seale, thanks for stopping by Benjamin and appreciate the input. I will heed your advice in the aspects of networking via forums and such. I will also do some researching on lenders. I have my work cut out for me these next couple of months but in a good way of course. 

Good afternoon. I'm currently researching properties in the Fort Worth, TX area. As stated in my intro post, it will be my first investment property. The plan is to purchase a duplex or four plex depending on what I find, and occupy on of the units. For those of those that have already been down that road, or are still moving along accordingly, I welcome any thoughts or recommendations in order to better prepare and to be as productive as possible. I will be overseas for a couple of months working and while doing so, the plan is to build my network, learn as much as possible, hear from others in the way of lessons learned, and so on. Depending how the market looks in the coming months, I plan on purchasing my property by the end of the year. Thanks in advance. 

@Morgan Gutierrez thank you for stopping by and for proving your input. Honestly, I always had real estate in the back of my mind but was a little intimidated lol. I most certainly plan on utilizing my VA loan to get the ball rolling as it is apart of my longterm strategy. I'm somewhat familiar with Texas as I was stationed there in the past and have family and friends out there as well. I'll take you up on that offer to connect and look for to learning more. Thanks again.

@Scott Scoville thanks much. Unfortunately, I will not be able to be at the next meet as I head back overseas for work. However, I will most certainly add you to my network and try to link up upon my return. Thanks again for reaching out. 

Quote from @Aaron Bard:

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $255,000
Cash invested: $10,412

3plex with two, 2/3bed 1bath units in the Maine house, and an attached two-story 2bed 1bath unit behind.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

It has the cashflow potential, improvement potential, and house-hack potential that I was looking for.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Found on Zillow. Buyer agents personally knew the seller agents and I met the seller personally. Definitely helped with negotiation.

How did you finance this deal?

FHA loan

How did you add value to the deal?

Unit rehab and new tenants in one unit.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes! Morrison and Company (Nexthome Experience, Bangor Maine)

Congrats. I'm in the process of eyeing my first investment property in Texas and this is most certainly motivating. 

@Andrew Postell. Hello and thanks for reaching out Andrew. Appreciate the information and recommendations as every bit helps. Especially since it will be my first go round.  I will most certainly heed your words and reach out when in town. I plan on visiting the Fort Worth area in April. Looking to get spun up as much as I can beforehand so I can somewhat hit the ground running. Have a great weekend. 

Quote from @Andrew Syrios:

Welcome to BiggerPockets Santino and best of luck investing!

Greatly appreciated Andrew. Have a great weekend. 

Quote from @Nicole Masters:

Hey there Santino, welcome to the investor world!

I know you said you travel back and forth, but there are some really awesome Real Estate Investor meet ups here in Sacramento that would be super beneficial for you to attend if you're around! I've met some awesome people at these meet ups and find them really valuable. Especially if you're a begininer! It sounds cheesy, but your network is your network!

1) Capital Wealth Builders Meetup - 3rd Wednesday of every month

2) Folsom Out of Bounds Meet up - 3rd Thursdays of every month

3) West Sacramento Meetup - 4th Tuesday of every month

4) REI Connect @ Roseville - 1st Wednesday of every month

Please let me know if you plan on going to one as I'm often there and would love to meet you in person!

Hello Nicole. Thanks much for the welcoming and for that information. I head out of town soon but I will look at the links and see if I can attend one of the events if feasible. That saying doesn't sound cheesy at all....lol.  Thanks again.