Buying my first home

Buying my first home

Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2015 · 3 posts · 0 votes

Hello all,

My wife and I are wanting to get out of the renting trap and buy our first house, the thing is that we want our first home to also be our first investment property. We're both young and unfamiliar with how to approach this from a practical standpoint. I've looked at buying a foreclosure, but we don't have absurd amounts of money to renovate it. We've narrowed it down to two ideas (though I'm happy to hear other suggestions from experienced members). My ideas are as follows:

1. Buy a duplex. We would live in one half and rent out the other unit (though it can be awkward living next to your tenant from what I hear).

2. Buy a fixer upper that's still habitable (unlike a foreclosure). We would then renovate as time goes on while building a hefty savings account. We would then buy another house when it's time to move and instead of selling the first house we would rent it out and use our savings for a down payment on the next house instead of capital from selling the first house.


This is what I've come up with so far and I would love to hear from all of you what your thoughts are on this. Any advice is greatly appreciated!


V/r


-Cody

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Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2014 · 173 posts · 85 votes
10y

@Cody Sanchez  Hi Cody, In a perfect world, @Austin Youmans suggestion of a 203K loan on up to a four flat would be ideal in my opinion.  It would give you valuable experience in managing tenants to let  you know if you really have it in you to be a landlord.  You would be near the property in the event that something came up that needed to be addressed.  It would make prospective tenant showings easier as if someone blows you off when finding a tenant, you didn't waste your time in driving over to the property to be stood up.  You would also get experience in seeing and being part of a rehab without actively managing the rehab process.

As far as house hacking goes and living next to your tenants, in my opinion, it's what you make of it.  It took me 6 months to convince my wife that we should live in a building with our tenants.  To an extant, depending on the type of property you and your wife are currently renting, it's no different.  There's other people living near you, the only difference is you have a different relationship.

My wife and I are currently house hacking our 2nd property.  So far for us it has been great.  We've really enjoyed it along with offsetting our monthly living expenses.  So far it has show the both of us that we have what it takes to be landlords and again, for us it has been a great experience.  Our next goal is to find another 3 flat that needs work and house hack that property while fixing up the units.

Please let everyone know which direction you end up going and good luck to you!

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  • Investor · Vancouver, WA · Member since 2014 · 359 posts · 143 votes
    10y

    Combine both and do a fixer duplex or up to a four plex depending on how much money you have.

    FHA 203k rehab loans can do up to a 4 plex which is what I did but only with a duplex because that was the deal I found.

    It is a little awkward being neighbors with your tenants but just set rules on how they should contact you about issues and it will be ok.

  • Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2015 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    10y

    Woah so the loan covers the cost of the property plus renovations? I'm reading up on what an FHA 203k loan is and it looks to be so.

  • Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2014 · 173 posts · 85 votes
    10y

    @Cody Sanchez  Hi Cody, In a perfect world, @Austin Youmans suggestion of a 203K loan on up to a four flat would be ideal in my opinion.  It would give you valuable experience in managing tenants to let  you know if you really have it in you to be a landlord.  You would be near the property in the event that something came up that needed to be addressed.  It would make prospective tenant showings easier as if someone blows you off when finding a tenant, you didn't waste your time in driving over to the property to be stood up.  You would also get experience in seeing and being part of a rehab without actively managing the rehab process.

    As far as house hacking goes and living next to your tenants, in my opinion, it's what you make of it.  It took me 6 months to convince my wife that we should live in a building with our tenants.  To an extant, depending on the type of property you and your wife are currently renting, it's no different.  There's other people living near you, the only difference is you have a different relationship.

    My wife and I are currently house hacking our 2nd property.  So far for us it has been great.  We've really enjoyed it along with offsetting our monthly living expenses.  So far it has show the both of us that we have what it takes to be landlords and again, for us it has been a great experience.  Our next goal is to find another 3 flat that needs work and house hack that property while fixing up the units.

    Please let everyone know which direction you end up going and good luck to you!

  • Real Estate Agent · Westboro, MA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 471 votes
    10y

    Hi @Cody Sanchez

    A house hack with a 203k loan may be ideal for you. With the loan you still will pay 3.5% down and have the opportunity to refinance once you have 20% equity in the property (this will alleviate the PMI). Your rehab estimate can be done by yourself or a contractor who can give you a quote on the property. This will help create your offer price.

    Also, If you get the house below market value you can build instant equity. Many will not want the work of fixing up the house but it can appraise well if the job is done properly. If you buy a place that needs to be fixed you learn the rehab process, tenant screening, and managing the property once the tenant moves in. Run your numbers before you place an offer but, if the numbers line up, make an offer and get started! 

  • Investor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2011 · 253 posts · 112 votes
    10y

    @Cody Sanchez

    Both of your options are excellent strategies.  My husband and I tried the second, but mis-timed the market and were ready to sell at the height of the recession.  We lost money on that one!  We're house hacking at the moment and its been excellent.  We lived in a 4-plex we owned and are now in a duplex.  All of our tenants are young professionals and don't ever use the phone to make phone calls.  Land lording through email is so easy.  Depending on your tenant class, you may find that the fears of living beside your tenants are unfounded.   

    I haven't used the 203K loan, but it can be a great option to get into something and rehab with little out of pocket money.  Stay in touch if you have any questions!  

  • New to Real Estate · Brookshire, TX · Member since 2016 · 17 posts · 3 votes
    10y

    This might be a silly question but when factoring in the 2% test would you do that with your 203k loan or the purchase price?

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