All Forum Posts by: Steven G.

From what I have been hearing FHA has a new regulation that if one does not put down 20% that PMI will continue if you do not refinance. Maybe someone in the know can chime in on the validity of this?

@Brandon Chin

are you saying that the PMI never goes away if you do not put 20% down?

If this is the case then what are the advantages that a borrower with the ability to acquire a conventional loan would realize other than a smaller down payment?

@Mark Nolan- I have also been listening to the podcasts and they have been very informative.  Thanks!

Thank you everyone for the responses!!

@Will Koederitz- I think doing another renovation is in the cards.

@Jim Brown- I have J Scott book, but I will have to pick up the beginners book as well.

@Steve Vaughan- I'm not so comfortable at this stage to have my money tied up and not be able to keep a close eye on it at the moment.  Flips are sounding like the best option for me.

@Rick H.-Thanks!

@Linval T.-Thanks for the congratulations!  I will be taking your advice and looking for something close to home.  Commuting is not only time consuming, but it can get expensive too.

I'm not sure why I was not able to tag everyone? Any help with the tech issues is also much appreciated!

Hi All,

I have been lurking the forums for a while now and I appreciate the wealth of information provided by everyone, however I have not been able to form a plan that I am 100% confident going forward with.

I'll give a brief description of my situation:

I'm 31 years old living and working in Orange County, New York full time. I own/live in a small home that I did a complete renovation on a few years ago. I own this property free and clear(valued @$100k). I have no debt and a 750 credit score. I'd like to get involved in REI, but I'm hesitant to commit to anything thats close to where I live because the deals in my area are not very exciting in terms of wealth building. Am I wasting my time in this area and should be looking elsewhere?

I like the idea of owning and managing a multifamily, but as I stated I'm not confident there are any good deals nearby.  Managing an out of state property is a definite option for me, however it is very difficult to travel to different parts of the country just to look at possible investments.  

I'm comfortable with the idea of a fix & flip because I've already done an extensive renovation.  I have no experience in evaluating a fix & flips, so I would need to do some research in that area before moving forward.

Hearing from some of posters who are already up and going with their projects or in the same situation as me would be helpful.  WWYD?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Hey Veronica,

This sounds like a good plan.  I am in a similar situation, however I have been looking for a multifamily for a while and I have come up empty.  Deals seem impossible to come by in our part of the country and the taxes don't help either.  

Thanks Nathaniel.  I will look into Fannie Mae for the alternatives that you suggested.

Hi All,

I am new to real estate investing and I'm having trouble finding some information about FHA loans, so maybe someone here with some experience can help?

I am looking to purchase a building with 4 units and occupy one of the units myself. I saw that FHA loans can enable the buyer to obtain a mortgage with a smaller down payment(3.5%). This intrigued me because it will give me some flexibility if I choose to make another deal, basically I don't want to tie up a lot of money if I don't have to. Is this a good reason to pursue an FHA loan?

When applying for an FHA loan certain requirements must be met in order to obtain the loan. The requirement in question is: Mortgage Payment Expense to Effective Income

the max ratio is 31%

Can one include rental income from the other units in the building in their "effective income"?