All Forum Posts by: Thomas O'Donnell

 Thanks! Definitely worth a shot. I'm not too sure on how to approach the subject though over the phone or email without offending someone.

Has anyone had experience calling rental listings and asking if they are interested in selling instead? This market has been a little nuts making it harder to get in on deals listed on Zillow/Redfin. I've thought about doing this but thought I would ask for some input. Thanks!

I am super excited! I have finally settled on Columbus, OH as my destination to begin my real estate investing journey! I look forward to moving from CA by fall and getting into my first house hack! If any of you need help in this market, especially with house-hacking, I would recommend connecting with Joshua Janus who is an investor/agent in the area. He has been a great help! 

What's up BP family,

I'm currently facing some tough decisions. My original plan to get started in real estate investing was to move out of California, and house-hack a MF property in San Antonio, TX. Unfortunately after doing a lot of deal analyzing, I found that whether I was living in the property or it was fully rented out, I'd still owe a chunk each month out of pocket. I know these properties won't really cash-flow as they are more appreciation markets, but it seems I can't even come close to breaking even. This has started to push me into looking at other markets in different states. I've really wanted to move to Texas for a few years now, but the numbers just aren't making sense where I want to go. I have found good deals in the north, but I am not a huge fan of living in/dealing with snow and winter storms. Any advice you guys have for me? I 100% want to get started before the end of this year, but the markets are tough right now and I'm not too sure where else I should be looking that might be similar to Texas. Thanks for any responses!

Hello my fellow BP members!

I was wondering if anyone has had experience with using FHA 203k loans to buy a semi-distressed property and what the requirements are. I'm also wondering what kind of rehabs you can take on with the 203k addition. Thanks for any responses!

Thank you for this input! Yeah it sucks only having the capital for a FHA loan. My only fear is I might continue to save up, but property prices and mortgage rates will also increase so is it really worth it to sit and wait?

Good morning BP fam!

I was curious as to if anyone knows how much of a rehab can be done if I plan on using an FHA loan. I know that to meet FHA requirements, the home has to be livable. What type of rehabs should I be looking for in my search? I really want to add a little value up front but not sure what types of rehabs I can and cannot go after. This will be for my first investment property (seeking small MF 2-4 units). Thanks for any responses!

Good evening my fellow BP members! I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about wanting to move to Texas, specifically San Antonio or Austin to start my RE journey. Unfortunately I feel like I am starting to get priced out as I will be starting on an FHA loan and I do not have a lot of capital saved at the moment (about $13k). I have been doing some research on other markets just in case and I have come across Columbus, OH as a possible market to get into, due to steady population/job growth and affordability. I plan on using a FHA loan to get into a duplex and I currently live in CA so I would be moving to start this amazing path to freedom. I'd love to hear some thoughts from you guys about this. Thanks!

 Do you happen to know a resource I could use to look at market appreciation history? 

Hey all,

For some reason I keep getting negative cash flow/numbers on all the properties I am analyzing in San Antonio/Austin TX. I'm not sure if I am maybe filling out my estimations wrong and it is leading to this, or these properties really would be losing me money (besides appreciation). It might be that I do not properly know how to enter in ARV or rehab values. I'm not too sure what I am doing wrong but it doesn't seem right.