Is 20% down the single best option with investment?
My husband and I keep arguing about one point and we are putting this out for bigger pocket users to decide on.
He says that when looking at a property as a potential investment the only way to go about it is to put 20% down or less, get a loan and create positive cash flow. He won't budge on this.
I say, this is useful for evaluating a property and it's a tool to decide whether to purchase or not but it's not the one and only way to look at financing. We are relatively new in property investment btw. We currently have two rental properties and have enough funds to put 50% down on a third. One is payed already and the second we just bought with 20% down. I want to find a 'good deal'. I agree 100% with him that we use tools to evaluate options. However, for me it makes sense on this third rental to put 50% down and realize the income to pay off the properties faster. Instead, he wants to buy two additional properties. We both have full time jobs, I'm in my late 30s and he's in his late 40s and not planning on quitting our jobs for at least 10 years. We're managing the properties on our own. Also, the market currently is fluctuating and I don't think it's smart to maximize our debt at the moment in case values drop dramatically or there's a lag in finding renters. Although we are in the northern bay area and there's high demand for housing. Your thoughts? Hopefully my husband and I finally put this to rest.