This is another place where a building inspector could help warn you about any major repairs that may be coming due in the near future (new roof, new heating/AC, etc)Property Filter strategyProperty must be in price ranges of 25000 to 675,000 with the maximum including repairs.Must be maximum 25 years oldMust NOT have nearby UN-clean properties Ex/ non maintained lawn, crumbling roof/structure, torn gates, abandoned cars and possible current crime related houses Must not have major issues or structure issues,examples include an unstable foundation, and big holes in the roof or walls.Seller must be willing to pay 50 percent closing costsMust not have taxes that go over 8250 annually Must have at least 25% in equityMust have the potential rent value of at least 500Must not have more than 2 mortgages on the propertyDocumentation to ask the seller for:Leases/rents for the past year, Tenant applications and screening procedures, tax returns for the past 2 years, also income and expenses for the past year, current rent roll (including unoccupied units, unpaid rents, and concession losses), List of improvements on property in the last 10 years.Documentation of all loans against propertyAvoid all illegal conversions or constructions.Avoid houses with no electrical wiring or AC or plumbing or if these criteria are severely damaged.Property must have cash flow of at least a total of 100 dollars.Plan for Financing At 18 years of age I will start investing in Multi homes with a loan called 203b mortgage (an FHA loan).This will allow me to only put up 3.5 % as a down payment and have a very low interest rate of around 3.5-3.9%.This loan requires me to live in the property for 1 year + though and have mortgage insurance, and so I will live in one unit while my other 1 or 2 units are rented out while I attend college.My down payment and closing costs will be from saved money from jobs in fast food and other work areas from beforehand.I will use 30 year fixed rates.Steps to take in the whole process:Have my attorney write up my contracts beforehand which include ways to exit before closing, financing terms, closing costs being 50/50 split , make sure the sellers future property info is accurate and reliable or else he is accountable and everything else he/she recommends Have my loan prequalified beforehandMake a lowball offerNegotiate until an offer is accepted or you have hit the buying price limit, or the 70% ruleOnce an offer is accepted inspect the house thoroughly by an appraiser and an inspector and take lots of pictures and videosrequest these forms:Leases/rents for the past year, Tenant applications and screening procedures, tax returns for the past 2 years, also income and expenses for the past year, current rent roll (including unoccupied units, unpaid rents, and concession losses), List of improvements on property in the last 10 years.Documentation of all loans against propertyIf the deal is still sweet, go ahead and continue with closing and finalize the deal Hire a property manager with at least 3 recommendations and question him about      these areas of work, also ask for a complete list of all past clients contact numbers.

The things unsuccessful investors have done is buy wrong buy rushing and not really understanding how to buy and going cheap on the rehab.

More specifically, I:1) Got the deal more directly than my partner for ~$5-15K less2) Negotiated and performed all inspections ahead of other prospective buyers3) Talked another investor out of the deal at the closing table to get the contract for no more than we originally planned (after over an hour.. one of the stranger circumstances I've experienced in a while, but got a smile, business card, and potential future partner in the process!

It's great to have you and this is the perfect place to learn more about REI.You should start with Beginner's Guide by Brandon Turner or just go ahead with the podcasts.

Here are a few examples are you looking for high or low appreciation, cash flow, low or high crime areas, low risk or high risk, low return or high return, big company or small company, buying in with a lot of equity already in the property or buying at retail with little to no equity in the property..etc etc etc the list goes on and on and on.Do not rush into anything...Take your time do your research...La vérité vaut bien qu'on passe quelques années sans la trouver.By: Renard

get the 30 yr. you cashfllow more, so you can get a second property quicker. then a third. then a forth. it's a simple concept.good work and look ahead, never behind (except when evaluating mistakes). :)

I better take  a step back a little as I think I may be jumping ahead on you1) You only get 10 conventional mortgages allowed by fannie mae.

I suppose for right now that the prospects for being an agent are more important to me (if I REALLY want to invest in the state I don't pick a few years down the line I can get a license there too)....I'm hoping that some of you might be willing to discuss your experiences and opinions on which state might show more promise for someone in my situation.some personal factors that might influence my decision:-i grew up in VA and know the northern areas of it extensively, don't know Maryland at all-but driving to VA from DC is considerably more difficult than driving to anywhere in MD-I will only be able to part-time until I build up a good network - and in rush-hour (when I'd be able to show homes during the week), driving about 10 miles away to somewhere in northern virginia (to show a home) could take up to 2 hours.

Somewhere along the way, Detroit became our national ashtray, a safe place for everyone to stub out the butt of their jokes.Every American should be sickened by the news that Detroit is bankrupt. What was once the en...

You are ahead of the game.