First Time Investor

See where you are financialy. Nobody wants to talk to anyone with no money or credit.
Do your research and compare house values and prices before you make your phone calls. You would like them to know that you make sense. Do lots of research!

i have credit scores of 604, 610, and 656 no bills except a car loan and a secure job, i am interested in purchasing an investment property in buffalo, ny; where there are a lot of properties for $25000 and below; should i try for a mortgage now or try to wait it out until my credit scores rises.

anyone with knowledge please respond with advise.

thank you

Don't worry about not having money...Can always get around that...There are places you can go to get pre-approvals even if you can't get a pre-approval from a regular bank... www.coastal-funding.com is one place.

Study as much as you can, but the key is to just do it...Research the properties if you want, or you can try and find an agent that will show you the properties if they were on the market...If the house isn't on the market, or isn't a for sale by owner, you can always go to the town hall, and look up the info on the house and call the owner...Ya never know what could happen as far as that...

As long as you are out doing it, and learning what you can, you wont fail...The only way you can fail honestly, is if you give up...Things will get tough, and wont happen over night...So don't get discouraged if you don't make money your first month or even your third or fourth...

Take steps everyday to your goals...Write them down if that will help...Break each goal into action steps that will help you get to the goal...and as you keep reaching goals through the action steps, you will see the goals getting bigger and bigger...

Like I said, it isn't going to happen over night, but stick with it, read/study, and get out and JUST DO IT!!!

If you can find a good broker, then ya never know what is going to happen...They work with a bunch of banks, and can possibly find a bank willing to fund ya...I would def keep working on building your credit regardless with whatever you can, but it isn't going to hurt to try and get a mortgage...The worse that will happen is you can't get approved...So in that case, you keep working on your credit like you would anyways, and down the road, you will be all set...

And even if you talk to a few banks that say no, it doesn't mean that somebody won't...BELIEVE ME...

I believe I have good credit, though I have never had my credit score checked. I have 2 credit cards and pay well over the minimum balance usually 5-7 days in advance. I work at the bank, so it's easy for me to make my payments on time.

There's one property I'm particularly interested in. It is in middle of the downtown area located 3 or 4 blocks away from the train station (I live in NJ and this rail travels to NY. I believe this can be a huge selling factor for someone who commutes to the city) and within close proximity to a police station, so the area is secure. When I saw the house, the weeds on the front lawn easily reached my waist, and I'm 6'0. I got the agent's number from the sign on the property and I'm not positive on what I should do next. Contact a broker? Call an inspector? Get it appraised? I know houses in the area have been selling in the 300,000 to 320,000 range.

Thank you for the help so far.

Congratulations on buying Dean's books, they are packed with very useful information. Start out and learn about your investment market area. Look at as many homes as you can on your list and try to learn values of properties. This will assist you in what you want to offer. If you find and lock-up a great deal you should be able to find a partner to put up cash for the deal. Good luck. Believe and Achieve!

I would say call the agent, and tell him you are interested in checking out the property...Learn about the property as much as possible from him/her...If it is something you find may sound good, or worth it, let us know and I am sure you can get more advice...

The good thing about getting pre-approved by talking with a bank or broker, is more agents will take you more serious...Thats all...That part may not be an issue with that particular agent though...And who knows, explain to him after you meet to check out the house, that you are planning on getting into investing, and looking for an agent to put offers on houses, like that one, and others...Of course, work it in your own words, and figure out what you want to do first...Whether its wholesaling, buying-fixing-selling, or whatever...Then present the game plan to the agent, and see if they would be willing to work with ya...

And you can always try to find private investors, and hard money lenders...All that good stuff...

Work on building a team too...Attorney, realtor, broker, etc...The more contacts you have, the better off you are...There are lots of things, so if you have to, list things, set goals, and break them down to make the goals happen...Just don't get overwhelmed cause that is easy to do just starting out...Good luck, and hope that helps

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