I told my husband that I wanted to take a course offered by a local community college on real estate investment. He said forget about that type of thing because in order to invest in real estate you either need good credit or cash and we don't have either. Thoughts?
Although I am far from an expert cnetter, still very much in the learning process and seek advise from the incredible people in this board, I have had my share of experience in trying to obtain a mortgage with bad credit, and have succeeded (with the help and suggestions of these wonderful cnetters). There are many factors in obtaining a mortgage. Depending on your score as well as where you are looking to live, there are many options. Your VERY first step is to take a look at your credit reports and see what is on them as well as your FICO score. Even the FAKO gives you some idea of where you stand, although it is not your REAL scores. Do this one on your own and not by a mortgage broker to avoid a credit inquiry. That way if you find errors or things that need to come off your reports, you can correct them and have a better credit report to work with. Once you know where your credit stands, you can go from there. As far as your local college, there is nothing wrong in becoming educated about the real estate process.
Thanks so much for this. DH and I are buying our home, but we're looking to get into buying rental properties and/or buying and selling fixer uppers. Thanks again!
well golly if you aren't lucky today! guess what i do for a living? i am a lender with a bank - including mortgages and home equity loans. what are the odds?!?!!? it isn't so much your score as what is on your report. and it isn't cash on hand it is what you do with it. your best bet to buying investments is to purchase as your primary residence move into it and then rent it out when you buy your next residence. by purchasing it as your primary you can avoid the downpayment requirements associated with investments. also, if you purchase as an investment, you will find the rates a little higher. if i were to invest i would go with duplexes - live in one side, collect more than half the mortgage payment from the other side.
Hi Jenz, Thanks for this. Three other questions: 1. Is there ALWAYS a downpayment associated with an investment property? (I know .. that word ALWAYS) 2. We still have a mortgage on our current home, so I'm assuming the mortage holder might have a bit of a problem if we moved and rented it out. Thoughts on that? 3. What if we wanted to BUILD a duplex (and live on one side)? How does that type of loan work? Is it rare? Very new at this. Thanks!
1. yes - because it isn't your primary residence lenders figure you are more likely to walk away from it. also, *some* tenants do not treat the property well so it is likely to be in disarray should you abandon it... 2. how would they know? i've never known one to complain as long as they rec'd the payments. 3. interesting question that i do not know the answer to. LOL. i would talk to various lenders about that one. i personally do not do construction loans but i am familiar with them. and i have never done a new construction investment property.
Thanks so much! If you have any info on where to learn more about new construction loans, I'd appreciate it! Thanks, again!
