Buying With Family Members Who Have Different Objectives

Buying With Family Members Who Have Different Objectives

Member since 2019 · 3 posts · 0 votes

Hello Bigger Pockets Community!

I've come across a situation that I'd love some insights and feedback on.

I have a family member who is looking to start his real estate portfolio. He has some money put aside but with his current income, he couldn't qualify for much. However, with him being a first-time home buyer and with rate as low as they are in our market, there are options.

That being said, I'm currently kicking around the idea of co-signing with him. If I did that, I could bring additional cash to the table as well as significantly increase the property he could live in. On his own, he could qualify for a place with 2-3 bedrooms but with me as his cosigner we could qualify for a 5-6 bedroom place -- obviously much more ideal for a cash flow.

Here's my question -- how do you split this up so it make sense for both of us? 

For my family member it's his primary residence. He's simply house hacking. I'd do it too if if I were in his situation. But with him living in one of the rooms, that could cut the income on the property by $400 - $500 / month.

For me it's an investment right out of the gate. My focus is cash flow and appreciation. 

Any insights on what's worked for others in the past or possible solutions of splitting cash flow would be helpful. 

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  • Rental Property Investor · Greenwich, CT · Member since 2015 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    6y

    Hmm, how about coming at it from a different angle, @Spencer Allen? Purchase a MFR with your family member as an investment property. You're both on the title and mortgage (as opposed to just co-signing). He then lives in one of the units and pays rent. His effective "rent discount" is whatever his portion of cash flow is. If he also wants to bring in a roommate to lower his living expenses, fine, that's on him.

    This avoids having to keep up to 5 bedrooms individually rented. If at some point your family member wants to move on, you simply keep holding it as a normal investment.

  • Rental Property Investor · Stratford, CT · Member since 2019 · 154 posts · 115 votes
    6y

    I would agree with @Jaysen Medhurst. I have seen this many times. The family member will also decide to leave for whatever reason later on and now you will have 2 dilemmas to solve:

    1. Good luck trying to buy him out or figure out the numbers. (I would say do everything in writing and seek legal advice, so in case you want to go your separate ways, it is clear what the course of action will be, especially with family).

    2. If he decides to stay with it and for whatever reason you are not renting the rooms as you intended, that also becomes a nightmare because now you will both be chipping in to cover the payment. (Side note, are you sure you wan to rent rooms separately? seems like a bad idea because you will get short term renters and your family member will very soon become annoyed of the 5 different people that dint know each other living there.


    I don't mean to be biased here and ruin this deal for you. Just thinking of what could go wrong. Personally, I would stay away from this if I could help it. If it means a bit lower of income for you because of the higher interest rate, might be worth it as long as it makes sense. 

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