Financing an Owner Occupied 4-Plex

[Reis Pieper]

My wife and I are in the process of purchasing a 4-plex in Omaha, NE. This will be our second property. Our first is a SFH that we are currently living in and planning on renting out after we move into the 4-plex.

Now that we have the deal, we’re trying to figure out the best way to finance it. The purchase price is $300,000. The monthly income is currently $3400 with all 4 units rented or $2350 with us occupying one of the units. Rent hasn’t been increased in at least a couple of years and there is also opportunity to renovate each of the units to bring them up to date and increase the monthly rent.

The lender we used for our first property is offering a conventional loan at 15% down. From my understanding, an FHA loan is also an option at 3.5% down. What other options do we have?

Any thoughts, suggestions, or connections would be appreciated!

[Scott E.]

Conventional or FHA are your best options if you are going to owner-occupy. You will need to pay PMI if you're not putting 20% down, but these loan programs are otherwise the most ideal options for you.