How To Invest Like A Goddess With Little To No Money Down
/I’m obsessed with 3 avenues of building wealth:
Entrepreneurship, Real Estate, and the Stock Market.
For the last 3 years I've been teaching other women how to embrace entrepreneurship. Now I am moving onto the next phase which is real estate!
A little back story.
My friend (and former Sexy Money 40 Days and Moguls student)
Monick Halm, of Checklist Moms, and I have created a
Facebook community for women
interested in building Massive Wealth through:
1. Making a property and community better than we find it.
2. Creating only win-win situations for all, and
3. Ensuring that everyone touched by our deals are uplifted and enriched.
Monick and her husband have been flipping houses in the Los Angeles market for years and have now moved on to larger syndication deals including a mobile home park in North Carolina and a 300 unit apartment complex in Texas.
I bought my first duplex at age 27 with $900 down and went on to start a successful online education business.
Our first webinar,
How To Invest Like a Goddess With Little To No Money Down
Was a raving success
We sold out (full disclosure it was free)
We had so much fun on this lunch time (fireside chat if you will) that I decided to write about the topic.
Let me start by saying that investing in real estate with no money down in not about getting rich quick schemes or gimmicks
It doesn’t mean that you are irresponsible
It doesn’t mean you are broke.
It just mean you lack the capital to invest the conventional way.
What Makes a Goddess Different From Other Investors?
Goddesses start their real estate process with desire and intention, a little bit of magic, and a ton of creativity.
A goddess doesn’t say can I afford it
A goddess says how can I afford it.
Just Because You Can, Should You?
Before you start investing, ask yourself the following question.
Do I enjoy pushing my edge?
This process isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to be hard.
As long as you allow yourself to operate outside of your comfort zone.
Get Creative
Real Estate investing is like bargain shopping
It’s like finding Louboutins on sale at a thrift store
Circumstances that create a bargain include:
Divorce
A Sudden Move
A Deceased Love One
But first things first
You need a few things in order before you can proceed.
- Fair Credit
- Steady Income
- If you are self employed, tax records for the last 2 years
- And last Savings
You might be asking “but why, I thought this was no money down?”
It’s a good idea to have an expansion account (goddesses aren’t saving money, they are expanding their money.)
just to make sure all your bases are covered
It's a good idea to have at least a 3-6 months expenses as a cushion.
But you can definitely invest for less. In fact I purchased my first duplex with $900 down.
And you can find your own deals too!
You just need to be creative and flexible about:
Location: If you are in a hot market like New York City or LA maybe look at properties in upstate NY or Sacramento.
Family: Your options and your lifestyle will play a big role in how you invest. For example if your have a partner or children then maybe you can’t take advantage of owner occupied investments.
Time: Real Estate investing could be a full time job if you let it. You ability to find deals is affected about how much free time you do have.
Last your personality will play a big role and how successful you invest.
Do you enjoy learning new things?
For the sake of this tutorial I am focusing on 1-4 family owner occupied investments.
Further REIG tutorials and investments will explore other options like 5+ buildings, mobile home parks, vacation rentals, etc.
But for now let's talk owner occupied units.
Owner Occupied units can be broken down into two categories:
Single Family Units- With single family units you can buy, rehab, and hold. Or you can buy rehab, and rent.
Multi Family Units- With multifamily units you can live in one unit and rent the others. Also a little know fact about multi family units. 70% of the rental income for a multifamily unit can be used towards your mortgage qualifying income.
For example:
Emily makes $6,000 per month before taxes. She is buying a duplex with $2,000 in rental income. 70% of that rental income or $1,400 can be added to Emily’s qualifying income. When it comes time to get loan approval, on paper Emily’s income is $7,400 per month. Which means she can afford more house!
Why Owner Occupied?
Owner occupied units give you as a buyer access to a wider range of loans. Loans that require smaller down payments and have lower interest rates.
What are Loan options are available?
FHA Loan- requires only 3.5% down payment. Seller can pay up to 3% closing costs. The only requirement is at least a 620 credit score and income at least 3 times the mortgage amount. Each state has buying caps for FHA properties for example in Louisiana the loan limit for a single family unit is $271,050.
203K FHA Rehab Loan- Very similar to FHA loan except the you can also borrow money to do a rehab on a more rundown property.
VA Loan - Available to military and former military. Absolutely 100% financing which means absolutely no money down. Seller can pay ALL your closing cost. You can literally go to closing without your checkbook.
USDA Loan- Also a 100% financial loan. In this case the seller can pay up to 6% closing costs. Certain repairs and upgrades can be financed through the loan. The one caveat, this loan is for rural single family homes only. Also the borrow must be lower/middle income to qualify.
However, you might want to rethink what areas are considered rural. You can find homes super close to major cities if you look. Check out this USDA map for an idea of rural areas.
Conventional Loan- Typically requires 10-20% down payment and a high credit score for low interest loans.
Commercial Loans- Also requires 10-20% down payment and often require higher interest rates.
Meet Layla
Layla found a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house in Lexington, South Carolina for $200,000.
Similar houses in the area rent for $1,250 per month.
Layla is able to negotiate the price down to $180,000 because the owner’s wife just died and he wants to move closer to his daughter. The owner even agrees to pay $4,500 of Layla’s closing costs.
Layla gets a FHA loan to purchase the house. She puts $6,500 down and pays the remaining $2,300 in closing cost.
When it’s all done Layla mortgage is $850.
After three years, Layla can move on to an even better property and rent this one for $1,250/ month and make $400/month in cash flow and reap the tax benefits.
My Story
When I bought my first duplex in Savannah,GA it was listed for $148,000.
Each unit in the duplex got $600/month in rent for a total of $1,200/month.
I was able to get the seller to pay 3% percent closing costs.
I also qualified for a down payment assistance program (more on that later.)
In addition, before I could close on the property, we had to separate the property from a plot of land it was attached to.
So the seller and I signed a Lease Option to Buy agreement.
I paid the seller rent and she applied those payments towards the purchase of the property.
When all was said and done I paid $900 out of pocket for the closing.
I had a duplex with a mortgage of $1,150/month and potential rental income of $1,200/month in addition to lots of yummy tax breaks.
What if you can’t do it by yourself?
Find A Partner
Meet Danielle, Danielle has money to invest but doesn’t have the time or interest in doing the legwork to find deals.
You know Danielle from your local yoga studio and you tell her about a great property you’ve found. After looking at the numbers and consulting with her Attorney Danielle wants to become your partner.
You two create a legal collaboration agreement and off you go.
How To Find Partners.
To find partners first you have to establish your reputation, likability, and stability.
Then you need to consider what type of partnerships or assistance to pursue.
There are a variety of options:
Full Equity Partnership- You and your partner split the purchase costs and cashflow 50/50
Down Payment Equity Partnership- Your partner provides the down payment and you apply for the loan.
Down Payment Assitance Programs-There are numerous down payment assistance programs around the country. A simple google search for “down payment assistance programs” and your local area will give you a list of options.
Loans/Lines of Credit- If you already own property, you may be able to use your current equity to fund all or part of a property purchase
Lease Option to Buy - Otherwise known as rent to own. You and the seller sign an agreement where you rent a property and after an agreed upon time you have the option to buy the property.
Seller Financing- For homes owned outright (no mortgage) sellers may decide to do seller financing. This option is perfect for an investor that doesn’t want to pay a high capital gains tax payment. They agree to take installment payments at a market interest rate.
Where to find partners?
Like most things finding real estate investment partners in about networking keeping in mind to observe the rules of investing and advertising.
Research Local Investor groups in your area
If you are interested in joining a community of like minded lady investors online
Join our free Facebook group
Real Estate Investor Goddesses.
REIG is a facebook community for women
interested in building Massive Wealth through:
1. Making a property and community better than we find it.
2. Creating only win-win situations for all, and
3. Ensuring that everyone touched by our deals is uplifted and enriched.
If this sounds up your alley Apply here.
Group Membership is free but Monick and I are creating an intimate group of women so every member must apply first.
If you are ready to start investing but you aren’t sure:
Your credit score is where it needs to be
Your income isn’t steady or high enough
Have enough saved
You might benefit from one of my Free 30 Day Jumpstart sessions.
Click here to signup for a free 30 Day Jump Start session.
During your session you’ll get low cost strategies for assessing your creditworthiness
Tips for raising your credit score
Determine how much property you can afford
Identify strategies for increasing your income
What do you think? Are you ready to start investing?
Leave a comment below