All Forum Posts by: Sherif K.

 I'm surprised I'm saying this but I think I agree with you about buying an income property before buying a residence. Only because I'm so focused on finding a multi to owner occupy right now that I forgot it may not be the right answer for everyone's situation.

Miranda, maybe you want to reach out to local property management companies or local investor groups? I'm also curious to hear why you're against house hacking. Is it because of your child? Is it hard to find a residential multi in an area with a good school district? I don't have children but I am struggling to find an income producing multi in a safe area where I would be comfortable with my fiancé living. I'm curious to hear your reasoning!

Read what you said only a few months back in your introduction. You've landed on a goldmine along with everyone else here. Be happy you found it and use it. Sulking is useless here.

Wishing you luck.

Hello,

I'm currently trying to learn as much as I can about REI while I'm raising capitol for my first purchase. I'm looking for an experienced and current investor that I can help out and learn from in the mean time. This is my way of bringing something to the table. I'm mostly interested in buy and holding - but I wouldn't mind making spreadsheets for other methods of investing.

What I produce may not be very pretty but I can make quality calculators. I would just need you to provide the calculations that you need.

Looking forward to hearing back for some local investors!

Good morning everyone. I'm a prospective investor looking for a multi family as my first property to owner occupy. I'd like to connect with a real estate agent who knows Somerset County well. I would prefer Bridgewater, Somerville, Raritan, or Hillsborough, in that order. However, I know this is a tough market to get into so I'm also open to looking into other areas. The properties I am interested in would be distressed and in need of cosmetic work. 

I've built a relationship with my prospective lender and have already been pre-approved for a FHA loan.

I'm looking forward to meet up with someone and discuss my plans and requirements.

Thank you! 

Thanks for the information @Michael Cohen.

Do any investors who have used the loans Michael mentioned have some experiences that they can share? 

Are there other low money down loan options that could also include renovation costs? FHA seems to be the most popular in my research. Owner occupancy is not a necessity in my situation. To be clear I am not looking to pay myself for the work that I preform. It would rather be a way to save on reno costs - as I was a finish carpenter through college.

Thank you @Christopher Giannino for offering to provide their contacts. I'll contact you shortly. Do you have experience with multi families in our (Mercer/Somerset/Union) area? My ideal location would be Somerville and surrounding areas. Once I have my finances in order I'd really like to connect with some local agents.

@Michael Cohen, is there something in particular I should be looking for in my lender when it comes to a 203K loan? Originally I mentioned it because I wanted to get some of my questions answered regarding the process of selecting/paying contractors and doing some work myself. 

Hey everyone. I'm looking for a lender for my first investment. I would like to see how much I would pre-qualify for so that I can hone in on my property searches. Please let me know if you know of any personable, knowledgeable, FHA approved lenders in the Central Jersey area. 203k loan experience would also be a plus. Thanks in advanced!

So after some more research is seems like my thoughts on FHA loans were wrong. It is possible to get an FHA mortgage that includes renovation costs. I've read some sources that say if you go with a 203k loan you're required to use approved contractors for the work. Is this true? What if you wanted to do some of the repairs on your own? Can anyone share their experiences with 203k loans?

Hello everyone,

My name is Sherif, I'm a 22 year old recent Civil Engineering grad working in the heavy construction sector. Throughout college I worked as a carpenters assistant doing home renovations. I like to consider myself pretty knowledgeable when it comes to residential renovations and it's something that I am passionate about. When I first started looking into REI I figured I would be doing most of the manual work myself, however, I've been working my way through J. Scott's The Book on Flipping Houses and he's brought some good points against being your own general contractor. But I'm glad I still have the knowledge under my belt.

I am primarily interested in multi-family houses, house hacking, the BRRRR strategy, and of course financial freedom.

I have two things holding me back right now and I would like some advice from you folk here at BP.

1) I currently live at home with my parents (very grateful for that) and am looking to purchase and love into my own multi-family around this time next year. Lets say May 2018. I'm not sure if I should dive into a property now and lose my First Time Homeowner loan advantages (since it wont be my primary residence) or wait until I am able to change residences.

2) This goes hand in hand with the first concern. I don't have much capital to put up for a down payment. I have a decent paying job and great credit (a bit over 760) with no loans. Do you think I can get a low money down loan from a portfolio lender? Or would I have better luck waiting and getting a FTH loan with a low percent down payment? Ideally I would like the loan to cover renovation costs, but I don't think I can get that with a traditional mortgage.

Let me know what you think please. And if you need more information please ask. I'm excited to learning and thankful for your time!