All Forum Posts by: Sarita Scherpereel

Hi @manuelllanas. First- thank you for your service. YES!  The VA loan is incredible. I have two clients that have used it to start house hacking in Chicago. They now, own 3 and 4 units. Especially, when you can find the right deals. It helped them both be able to save and then use other forms of owner occupied financing. Which is awesome. Such a great program to honor our vets. 

Welcome to the community! Glad you're here. A great way to network and meet people in your local community is to attend in person meet ups. BiggerPockets has a section just for this, Under the BUILD YOUR TEAM tab- then select- MEET UP

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521

Best of luck to you!

How did you discover real estate at such a young age?

Wow! Since 14 that's awesome. I wish I was that wise at a young age. 

I agree with what's been said. Just want to add that house hacking is the regret to any investor that I've talked to that didn't go it. Because of the low down payment it is a great way to get experience while getting started. 

Hi @RobertKasinecz! That's so cool! How did the Obama's find you? Welcome to the community! 

@Don Konipol Thank you for taking the time to put that together. Really great insights for everyone. 

@Rick Albert YES! Group showings are key! So many people will no-show. 

Hi @Summer Shelton I'm not sure about the loan limits in your market in Florida but I do know that would not work in Chicago. I looked at the HUD limits online (quickly skimmed it) but didn't see any county that was close to the amount. I could be wrong but that seems a bit high for this program.

The FHA loan is for a buyer that intends on owner occupying the property. The loan requires the buyer to live in the property at least 1 year. With this in mind, the property must pass a self sufficiency test. Have you run the numbers on that?

You should definitely talk to a lender about this. They can give you specific guidance on your finances and how to reach your goals with more insight than anyone on the forums. Most lenders on BPs are investor friendly and won't hound you with incessant follow up. 

I hope this helps a little! 

Hi @Ran Fridman I agree with what @JohnWarren said above. You're opening up yourself to more risk by keeping security deposits. Most owners have moved away from them to such an extent that under contract buyers ask for any security deposits to be returned to the tenants prior to close. A damages breakdown is something you see from time to time in bigger property management companies but not across the board. My concern here is that depending on where your property is located, that might not be the market standard in that neighborhood. Which could be seen as a concerning to a tenant that might not be familiar with that practice. Again, depending on neighborhood.