Double Triplex House Hack?

Question

My wife and I want to buy our first property, ideally a small multifamily that we can house hack. I did some research on my area, sent 20 letters out to owners that fit my criteria, and got 2 responses so far. Now the 2nd response is interesting, the owner owns 2 triplexes that are attached together, and is interested in selling them as a bundle. This feels like a great opportunity, as we eventually want to retire off buy&hold RE investing, but idk if this is diving too far into the deep end, and taking too much risk.

I've been interested in real estate investing since I was in high school, watched thousands of videos, read multiple books on landlording, house hacking, RE tax strategies. I know we could manage it and put in the work. My question is what would be the ideal scenario in this case?

The owner owns the triplexes free & clear, so the only way I could make it work is with a seller financing structure, since I wouldn't have a 20-25% down payment to give the bank, since it's now a commercial property transaction with 6 units. What would you do, and any tips on how I should structure my offer? I have about $52k saved up for housing with a $20k emergency fund. I am currently communicating with the owner through text to find out current rents and what their desired purchase price starts at.

Thank You!

Benjamin Aaker · Answer

A big reason to house hack is getting an FHA loan. You won't be able to do that with this property. The deal with the seller is going to be very important. You shouldn't tap the emergency fund for this. It's not an emergency. You'll need to save back some funds for repairs and rehab. Sellers generally want to be out of the deal within a few years, so you need a plan for bank financing. This will get pretty complicated and might not be the best one to do for the first investment.

Mike Paolucci · Answer

I'd double check with the county to ensure they're actually considered separate properties vs a 6 unit residential commercial building. If they're in fact separate properties, see if he's open to letting you buy one per year. If he's good with it, I'd try buying them with a 5-10% conventional loan and live in one of the units for 1 year.

Great way to spread out your money and not get too in over your head right away.