GnauzBookOfRhymes
Superstar
A few lessons I learned and recommendations.
1. Make sure your credit report is accurate and if there are negative reports do whatever you can to remove them. Depending on whether you have the time etc, you may want to consider utilizing a legitimate credit repair agency. If you know you're not disciplined with your money, this is the time to start. SAVE SAVE SAVE.
Where I made a mistake: When I decided I was going to start buying properties, I had never been in the habit of checking my credit reports. Come to find out, my credit report was showing my student loan TWICE. Mind you the loan was in good standing, but it appeared individually AND when I consolidated/refinanced. So the total amount of outstanding debt was TWICE the actual amount. Luckily I was able to get it quickly/easily removed, but easily avoidable.
2. Do research on any down payment assistance programs, or grants through any local agencies for real estate investors that create affordable housing. For instance if you want to buy a duplex and will rent out the other unit via section 8. You may be able to get some free money for a down payment AND grant money for your rehab.
Where I made the mistake: Completely missed out with my first property - mostly because I did all this on my own, without any mentors etc to guide me. Never again. Downpayment assistance is only available on your first property but the other grants etc, in my experience, are always available no matter how many properties.
3. Speak to a wide variety of real estate brokers and go with one that is based in the area of town that you're considering. Also make sure to "interview" them in the sense of ensuring they have sufficient experience in homes in your price range. And if they have experience with flippers etc, then they may be able to help you avoid properties that have major issues you may not see. You don't want to find out about an obvious (to someone who knows what they're looking at) structural issue after you've already entered the contingency period or during the inspection.
Where I made the mistake: The first realtor I used, by the 3rd or 4th place we looked at, was obviously more experienced with single family properties and was not familiar with the areas in which I was interested. So minor issues like logistics became a problem (he was driving from the burbs), and I could tell he didn't know enough about how to look at a home's condition and 1) explain whether this was an immediate concern or something that can be lived with 2) look beneath the surface to find issues that the seller is trying to hide (ALWAYS ASSUME THIS IS THE CASE) and 3) look at a property through the lens of a future rental unit.
Luckily I realized what was happening and ended up using a different realtor. I let the original realtor know why I made the change, thanked him for his time and sent him a gift card just as a token of appreciation. The reason being that you never want to ghost on a professional. They may be of use down the line and in this case that's exactly what happened. We kept in touch and he would give me inside scoop on the markets and a heads up on properties before they hit the MLS.
1. Make sure your credit report is accurate and if there are negative reports do whatever you can to remove them. Depending on whether you have the time etc, you may want to consider utilizing a legitimate credit repair agency. If you know you're not disciplined with your money, this is the time to start. SAVE SAVE SAVE.
Where I made a mistake: When I decided I was going to start buying properties, I had never been in the habit of checking my credit reports. Come to find out, my credit report was showing my student loan TWICE. Mind you the loan was in good standing, but it appeared individually AND when I consolidated/refinanced. So the total amount of outstanding debt was TWICE the actual amount. Luckily I was able to get it quickly/easily removed, but easily avoidable.
2. Do research on any down payment assistance programs, or grants through any local agencies for real estate investors that create affordable housing. For instance if you want to buy a duplex and will rent out the other unit via section 8. You may be able to get some free money for a down payment AND grant money for your rehab.
Where I made the mistake: Completely missed out with my first property - mostly because I did all this on my own, without any mentors etc to guide me. Never again. Downpayment assistance is only available on your first property but the other grants etc, in my experience, are always available no matter how many properties.
3. Speak to a wide variety of real estate brokers and go with one that is based in the area of town that you're considering. Also make sure to "interview" them in the sense of ensuring they have sufficient experience in homes in your price range. And if they have experience with flippers etc, then they may be able to help you avoid properties that have major issues you may not see. You don't want to find out about an obvious (to someone who knows what they're looking at) structural issue after you've already entered the contingency period or during the inspection.
Where I made the mistake: The first realtor I used, by the 3rd or 4th place we looked at, was obviously more experienced with single family properties and was not familiar with the areas in which I was interested. So minor issues like logistics became a problem (he was driving from the burbs), and I could tell he didn't know enough about how to look at a home's condition and 1) explain whether this was an immediate concern or something that can be lived with 2) look beneath the surface to find issues that the seller is trying to hide (ALWAYS ASSUME THIS IS THE CASE) and 3) look at a property through the lens of a future rental unit.
Luckily I realized what was happening and ended up using a different realtor. I let the original realtor know why I made the change, thanked him for his time and sent him a gift card just as a token of appreciation. The reason being that you never want to ghost on a professional. They may be of use down the line and in this case that's exactly what happened. We kept in touch and he would give me inside scoop on the markets and a heads up on properties before they hit the MLS.
this seems like a smart setup in the right areas.
commerical leases.