All Forum Posts by: Sean Lambert

No money down and get cash back at closing?!  Let us know how you accomplish that.

Are you planning on living the plex while you fix it up?  If so, you could qualify for loans easier than if you don't.

You could use a mortgage broker to find a loan package that might come close to what you're looking for.  

Good luck.

Can you add storage units and a laundry facility in the basement to add some extra monthly income from the existing tenants?

Can you ask the city for a zoning change/variance for the property?  

Make sure you can add value to it, don't overspend, cash flow positive each month, look to purchase in a good/up and coming location and screen your tenants really well.  

Those are most of the rules that I try to live by, but others have other goals.

We did a HELOC to help finance our first rental purchase. We used it for the down payment and repairs. The seller carried the contract. After we fixed it up, we financed it with a bank and paid off the note to the seller and replenished what we spent on repairs (refreshed the HELOC).

Make sure you calculate your HELOC expenses as part of the rental property costs to make sure you're cash flowing.

We did this in 2007-2008 when the market was going down, so you have to make sure you're fixed up rental will appraise to get your HELOC refreshed.

Our HELOC also got frozen back then, so we couldn't borrow against it anymore and do the same process again, which paused our investing for a few years.

Good luck!

Like mentioned above, a realtor should have a great network and your back (another team member on your side).  

Even seasoned investors use them, because of the realtor's local network.  

In this game, a network is one of the most important things.

Run numbers and if they look good, schedule some time to look at it.  Definitely look at it before making an offer.

Unless you're paying cash, try to be pre-approved for the loan before you make the offer (it could make your offer more appealing to the seller).

Since it's your first investment, I'd also recommend an inspection.

Good luck!

read read read.

maybe look for a mortgage broker to help shop good rates for you?

Figure out what your goals are and buy and read anything real estate related, so you can help build your plan for your goals.

Drive around and look at neighborhoods that you might be interested in investing in, look at listings all of the time to get an idea of what retail sales look like.
 

Read the forum posts and listen/watch the podcasts on the BP site.

If you have any issues with your credit, start repairing those and paying off any credit card debt.

Good luck!

I use a PO Box (not by choice, I just live in a small town with no mail delivery) and give the tenants my cell number for them to text or call at any time.  No one has ever taken advantage of having my cell phone.  I want to be available for them 24x7 if anything happens.  We only have a few rentals, so it's very manageable.