All Forum Posts by: Suzie Remilien

@Alex Otero To deal with overwhelm, it might help to use a realtor who works with investors and find a friend to accompany you to look at properties. 

Make sure your actions match your goals. Are you seeing the kinds of properties you want to see? Narrowing your search criteria can help with that. Finally, take it one day at a time. Don't let anyone rush you into making decisions you're not ready to make. 

@Donnell D Foster A mortgage lender should be an important part of your team, and it's not too early to contact a few lenders. Questions to ask may include:

- What type of loan is right for you?

- What credit score do you need to qualify?

- How much of a downpayment do you need? 

Find more questions: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/62/topics/544277-best-questions-to-ask-a-lender and https://www.realtor.com/advice/finance/10-questions-ask-mortgage-lender/

Knowing the answers to these questions will give you a better savings target and timeline for your purchase. 

@Angelo Aguirre Well done! It's great that you were able to pay off HELOC and will cash flow on primary home turned rental.

@Maxwell Lee So glad to see that you're chasing your dream of being a content creator and musician. That's what getting into real estate is about.

@Philip GibsonDefinitely keep saving! You want to make sure you have strong personal and business savings to weather renovations and capital expenses. I lean towards you holding on to the primary home, accessing the equity and savings to buy a rental. It also depends on your risk tolerance. Just my two cents. 

@Gokhan CukurovaCongrats on having such a great credit score. Refinancing may be a good idea even if the rate differential is not 2%. But the question is, "what is your larger goal?"  Do you want to buy a rental property, pay off your home sooner? You may be able to get better advice if you tell us about your intention. :)

@Walter Lee Bandy Jr If roommates will cover mortgage almost twice over, then you have done very well. I agree that it's critical to screen properly to avoid problems down the road. Your story is inspiring. Thanks for sharing. :)

@Account Closed I'm not aware of an unspoken rule. If there is no message with the request and little info on the profile, you could decline the connection.

If you accept a request and are genuinely interested in networking, make a point of checking in with the connection regularly. 

@Walter Lee Bandy Jr Congrats on your first deal. How much of your housing expenses (PITI, vacancy, repairs) will your roommates help cover? Can't wait to see what you do next!

@Account ClosedWelcome to Biggerpockets! If you haven't done so already, check out the Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Real Estate Investing under the Education tab on BP. You can also browse the blog and webinars under the same section. 

For networking, you can go to the BP Forums>Local Real Estate Forums>New Jersey for a more targeted search or go to meetup.com to find a real investment group in your area such as the New Jersey Investors Association. 

Hope this helps!