All Forum Posts by: Tracy Uscinski

@Braden Coleman The items you mentioned you'd like to update don't seem to be super pricey, nor urgent projects. It might make sense to use a regular FHA or conventional loan and update the units overtime as you have funds. Or, find an alternative way to fund to projects through a personal loan or store cc if you can pay it off before accruing interest. Do you have a rough idea what you'd plan to spend on those projects?

@Cody Barnes You are ready to go! I agree with the commenter above, it could take a year or two from the time you get pre-approved & start seeing properties to close on one. Get that ball rolling! As you go you’ll have a better feel for what a good deal is in your area. After you lose a few houses because they went under contract before you could put an offer in, or when your offers are rejected a few times you’ll learn to make decisions faster and have more confidence in yourself. It can be nerve-racking when you finally get a deal & close on it- but also super fulfilling. Make sure you have a friend or family member who can be a sounding board for you when you are unsure.

Best of luck on this 1st deal & many more to come after that.

@Wyatt Polk

Wyatt,

Sounds like you have a pretty aggressive plan to get the debt paid off as soon as possible & you already see the prosperity beyond the debt. That is incredible!

You already have a “mortgage payment” of student loan debts. Given that that may take 5-6 years to pay down, you may want to reduce your living expenses by house hacking & getting used to land-lording. Maybe discipline yourself to live in your unit “as-is” as much as possible until you pay off the student debt.

There is something to be said about getting student debt out of your life & the freedom that affords. Once they’re paid off- you’ll have so much cash-flow to invest each year, you can just take-off.

Do you qualify for a mortgage with your current debt-to-income ratio? Maybe you’re planning to seek owner financing.

Best wishes in your journey!

@Taylor Chiu

Thank you for your encouragement and advice! Glad to hear that it is totally normal sometimes to have just one person apply and qualify. This tenant applicant qualifies with regard to income, credit score, background check- references checked out as well and seems like they would be a good fit. I'll likely move forward with them and not worry about others who may apply. 

I have listed my first rental apartment ☺ My parameters were set high in the listing to avoid too much traffic for tenants who would not qualify. It was listed 13 days ago, I have had 8-inquiries, 2-showings and 1 of which submitted an application and was screened yesterday. The other who saw the apartment has messaged me a couple of times since the showing, expressing interest but has not submitted an application. I had envisioned having several qualified applicants and choosing the best fit from among them. Is it unprofessional to make the tenant applicant wait a few more days to see if other applications come in? I also do not want to wait too long a lose a potentially good tenant. Thanks for your input!

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Boscawen.

I am working on my first multi-family investment with my fiance. The house and the rental apartment over the garage needed a big hug. Thus far we gutted the apartment, flipped the floor plan and are currently putting the finishing details before listing it for rent for February 1st 2019.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I wanted an income property that would allow us more options in the future. We are building multiple streams of income; this is currently one of them. We hope to have several other rentals in the future.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

We found the deal on the MLS.

How did you finance this deal?

203(k) loan, then refinanced to a conventional loan.