I buy desirable properties in desirable areas.

I had difficulty with moving enough money here to buy real estate.

It seems all the rules regarding what to buy and how are relatively clear.

@Matt DornakWhat is the specifics- If it’s selling a property to buy another there could be programs that work but other than that, no owner occupied loan to delay financing

to give some feedback, you will need to estimate the cost to repair the house; if you don't know how to do that, we just need some  information of what the house needs and the sqft of the propertyIf the house is, as an example, 2500 sqft, and It looks like you are stuck in time back in the 1980s, but the AC is working,  the roof is ok, and there are no foundation, plumbing, or electrical issues; I can assume maybe a $20 per sqft, so the rehab is about $50K to 60KIf the ARV is 290K minus 10% closing/holding costs, - minus 20% profit - $50K rehab, ideally, in this example, I need to buy the house for about $150K to flip it, but as a landlord, I may be able to pay a bit more, as long as rehab is not too much, and rental is about $3,000 to $3,500 a month

Or buy some tests.

As you are pointing out - the expenses will all hit at some point if you own for long enough.If you buy a house that needs a new roof and a new furnace within a year... then you need to budget for those expenses in a year. 

Hello Arnold, I personally used my 401k to buy my home back in 2017 so I know from experience its a pretty easy process.

Investment Info:Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

I will have to provide and buy all the finishing (cabinets, countertops, tile, flooring, etc), but they demo and install everything.For the garage conversion, including the walk-in pantry and 2 bedrooms, the mini-split system, taking out the garage door and framing it and adding siding to look like the rest of the house, and add 1 window in each bedroom, the quote was $40k.I would love to get your opinions.