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Old 11-07-2013, 06:29 AM
 
Location: In the woods
3,315 posts, read 10,114,187 times
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Not sure about your financing plan but if you are a first-time homeowner going through FHA, I believe you are required to live in the house for 3 hrs (a real estate spec can clarify this).
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Old 11-07-2013, 12:22 PM
 
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If you're going to buy something strictly as an investment you'd want to buy in a depressed area probably. Those are the ones that seem to cash flow the best. Of course it's not exciting owning a condo in an area like that. If you buy in fairfax county or loudoun you may be buying near the top of the market. Prices have really shot up over the past couple of years. If I were you I'd wait until you're ready to live in the place you buy, and live there for a decent amount of time.

As others have said, real estate typically isn't a great investment when you factor in all the costs. You also have to factor in the cost of your time, unless you're paying a property management company 10-15% to do everything.
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Old 11-07-2013, 01:27 PM
 
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Ah, I see now that I glossed over your last sentence of the Original Poster.

Personally, I would not want my first home purchase to be for purposes of renting. As others have mentioned, it may be difficult to make a profit off of it after you consider the mortgage, insurance and condo association fees. FC Nova's idea resonated with me as you may be able charge a rate that is competitive with other rentals yet still make a significant profit over your monthly costs.
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