All Forum Posts by: Victor McGlothurn

So I'm really having trouble getting started. I thought getting pre qualified meant they would take some baseline financial info and give you a ballpark number. I found out today that isn't the case. The only access I have to listings are what I can find online (which are upwards of $325K).  I'm also having trouble understanding how people are getting properties not using a lot of their own money. 
I'm already paying a mortgage on my current house and I also have a family that I can't/won't leave to househack a second property. That means that the loan would have to be conventional which would require a 20% down payment and I know that you can't use loans for your down payment and I don't know enough people around me who would gift me enough money for it either. I thought I had done pretty solid research and everyone makes it sound so simple to get started but it really hasn't been. 

I have a growing family so anything related to FHA/house-hacking is out and all the DP assistance programs I've found for my state only give about 5-7%. I think I would have to secure a brand new loan but I don't have the money for it and you hear all the "rags to riches" stories in real estate but it's never explained how that person got there. This task is getting more and more daunting and I don't want to quit before I start but it's starting to feel like I'm boxed in and may not have a choice. You get all excited and motivated to do something great because it's supposed to be "easy" to start but this has been rough. I need all the help I can get

mortgage department and ask what I qualify for? I've heard other people say go to a bunch of banks and see who gives you the best number. Would doing this damage my credit?

Okay so a part of me feels like I'm overthinking what it takes to succeed as a real estate investor. So any help would be appreciated. Here's my situation: 

I purchased my current primary residence in 2020 (Still residing here so my FHA waiting period as expired) .

I have equity on this property that I haven't cashed out yet (didn't know what it was until recently) 

I would like to purchase a fully occupied multifamily property (preferably a 4plex without FHA) as my first investment to generate immediate cashflow

Someone said that I should purchase another property using FHA and rent out my current one to get started. It's not a bad idea but the thought of paying 2 mortgages until I can get the lease signed scares me to death (I have 2 small children and am the only source of income). House hacking is also out of the question because I spent a lot of time in apartments and can't stand the fact that I would have to do it again with a wife and kids.

I keep seeing that you need to get pre approved for loans but I'm not sure if the loan should be for the listing price or just the down payment. 

I have a couple thousand saved for an emergency but it's just collecting dust so I'm almost willing to use it for an investment if necessary but not using it is definitely preferable 

I can feel in my soul that there's a way to get it done I'm just having a hard time seeing it. I've been doing research on investing for about a month so obviously I'm still wet behind the ears but the sooner I can get the ball rolling the sooner I can take actual steps to secure my freedom. So any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thank you 

So I'm in the "information gathering" portion of my real estate journey. I have ZERO experience in the field but I realize this is likely the best way to reach my financial goals. From what I've gathered, the 1 (or 2%) rule is the quickest way to determine whether a deal is good or not, so with that in mind I went to a few different real estate sites and ran some properties through the rent calculator  just to get familiar with it but none of them met the criteria for a "good deal". So I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong or if I had good deals staring me in the face and didn't know it. Also, some of these sites run their own numbers for properties (i.e. property tax, insurance, etc.) am I supposed to plug those numbers into the BP rent calculator? 

So I guess my question is what kind of deal should I look to pull the trigger on? 

I have want to secure my financial independence through investing in real estate. I've done a bit of research but the process is still unclear. I purchased my primary home in 2020 through FHA but I have a family with small children so I don't want to secure an investment property through FHA because I'd have to live there for a year. I'm having trouble figuring out how to get started and I've found some info through invertors on YouTube but they're obviously running a business and want thousands of dollars for their courses. I know there's probably good info in those courses but I'd rather use that money to invest in a property. Any ideas?