Buying My First Property

[STR8UP]

So when are you going to detail about building credit, Bible Belt?

Read "From Credit Repair, to Credit Millionaire" by Donna Fox. One of the best books written for learning about credit.

Here's something funny for you people who don't realize the importance of maintaining your credit-

One of my business partners recently went to get an equity line on his house to use for investing. Turns out he had a $180 bill mistakenly reported as unpaid on his credit report. If he would have resolved this issue BEFORE he went to borrow money he moght have been able to borrow more money at a lower rate.

He jokes how $180 cost him $50,000, but the funny thing is it isn't far from the truth.

 

[LiveNow]

what financial board are you posting this on as well?

The other board isn't public, so you couldn't get access anyway, unless you pay a membership fee. The benefit is, the members of the forum are all mature and experienced, and the forum is very well-kept. To prevent from spamming this board, please PM me if you would like the name of the forum and more info about the membership (by the way, I am in no way affiliated with the ownership of the other forum).

looking to buy my 2nd residential property

That's awesome. I am trying to buy the first property as an investment property, to rent out.

What will be your income. You must be able to tell me what it is.

My income is approximately $800-$850/month. As I mentioned before, my parents take care of my tuition/housing through June of this year. I pay for my own food, and I am also buying stuff for a weight-gain program (look for my next thread in Health/Fitness soon), and this accounts for no more than $300/month. So, I have approximately $500-$550 extra per month.

Read "From Credit Repair, to Credit Millionaire" by Donna Fox. One of the best books written for learning about credit.

Thanks for the book you mentioned. I will surely check it out.

At the moment my game plan is to apply for and acquire 4-5 credit cards. I am in the process of filling out 2 applications right now, and once my next pay stub is in, I will be done with them.

As for buying a home with money down or not, my situation may be somewhat different. I am looking to puchase beach front property in Mexico. You may think that is crazy, but I speculate that it could make for huge capital gains (in addition to my primary objective of renting it out). I have attended several presentations (unrelated to realestate, but rather on the topic of globalization, and economies in Latin America) and they have spoken of much positive economic activity in South America. South America is growing extremely fast, and Venezuala is now in a budget surplus. Not to sound too optimistic, or overly sold on this lead, but I have read a couple articles about a "super-port" that will be built in the next few years off the coast of Mexico. Mexico may soon be the next place to be for real estate investors. I have a relative who is realestate investor, now snatching up properties in Peru. So it's not so far-fetched.

Anyhow, I'll keep updating on how my credit cards and credit building go. In addition, pretty soon, I will begin investing in stocks to save money for a possible down payment; I'll update on that as well.

 

[SELF-MASTERY]

http://creditboards.com

How I improved my score...

 

[LiveNow]

http://creditboards.com

How I improved my score...

I will defintely check out the site, it's much appreciated.

 

[Bible_Belt]

http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20060627/1a_cover27.art.htm

"Since 2000, the cost of a home has more than doubled in about 30 major metro areas, including Washington, New York, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Diego and Atlantic City. In seven U.S. cities, the median home now costs more than a half-million dollars.

Even though the real estate boom peaked last year, there's no end in sight. Nationally, home prices are still climbing and are expected to rise about 5% this year. Coupled with higher interest rates, gas prices and property taxes, those prices are creating an affordability crisis that is rippling through communities across the country."

 

[Page]

I'm getting ready to start.

Over the past year, I've been building my credit (my fico is around 700, I feel that I need at least 750) and I have a steady job that will probably last as long as I need it to.

Unfortunately, I have nothing to use as a down payment, that's my only real weakness.