All Forum Posts by: Vanessa Ivonne Hernandez

1. Work on paying off debt.

2. For debt that cannot be immediately paid off, contact that debt with the goal of lowering the minimum monthly payment that's being report to your credit bureau. 

3. If you cannot wait to repair your finances then you can get a partner/co-borrower for your loan. They would need to be in a better financial position to offset where you're at.

4. Consider alternate financing options - hard money, dscr loans, etc. Just remember that whoever you go with, it's all going to come down to your ability to repay. Hard money or loan products are still going to asses your financial credibility so be ready for higher rates and tighter terms if you try to buy now.

Good luck on your journey! 

I want to send you a list of questions I ask when shopping for a lender as a real estate investor. I'll message you! Happy hunting!

What I like to do is find real estate communities on the meetup app. You can search by location. It could be a good option for you to locate like-minded individuals and professionals no matter where you decide to invest in the country. I'm in Northern NJ and I found 3 groups on there. It's helped keep me immersed and focused on my real estate journey. Give the app a shot, it may help you make solid connections. Good luck!

I tried to househack Northern NJ too but I didn't have enough purchasing power. My income was good but I couldn't find numbers that would work for me. (It's possible work here though, usually taking on renovations to add hidden value.)

Purchasing a single family and renting it out is one option if there's a market for it in the area. If the rental income from that adds up in your analysis then go for it. 

However, I wouldn't continue to pay rent to someone else. Depending on what sacrifices you can make at this stage in your life, you can possibly get a single family, rent it out by room, and live there too. 

Remember we can make purchases for different reasons. One reason can be to significantly reduce our living expense in an expensive market. Something to consider.

From a lending perspective - there are down payment assistance programs and/or credits you can receive towards closing costs based on your income. It's a helpful way to make sure you're getting all the help you can towards building wealth. 

Happy hunting!

I'm doing the same play myself. Looking to connect with agents so I can use a DSCR loan through my brokerage to finance my next multifamily deal.

I disagree that buy/hold isn't working now in Northern NJ. My peers and I have closed on rehab rental properties in Northern NJ. The challenge I see now on the mortgage side (before I became licensed and now) is borrowers getting beat out by cash offers. 

I remember submitting 8 offers and losing each one when I tried to buy my first property. It was discouraging to say the least. Yet that's when I Iearned a fast offer can beat a cash offer, and then I finally closed a deal on my 9th attempt.

It'll be wise if the numbers make sense. When you factor in your mortgage, repair costs, capital expenditures, vacancy, etc - do the numbers add up? 

There are four benefits to a multifamily. They are cash flow, tax advantages, principal paydown and appreciation potential. If the property can do any of these it may be worth considering.

Also consider the goal for your real estate portfolio and how the reset of your financial gameplan will be mapped out. Good luck on your journey!

Taking the right steps is important and it's great your on BP to find the resources you need. It all comes down to doing the right calculations to ensure the property you buy can pay for itself and cashflow. Accounting for repairs, vacancies, major expenses, property taxes, etc will definitely help you out. I can email you some helpful tools I started using to buy in New Jersey.

Good luck brother!

Different guidelines must be met for dscr and conv, like different reserve requirements as an example. The 20% in conv is to avoid an extra fee because the down payment can be lower vs the 20% in a dscr is the regular down payment and cannot be lower.

More goes into it but those are a few differences to take note of. 

What are your real estate goals? What made you decide today was the day to ask about dscr vs conv?