Good amount to put down on a property

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Matthew Paul
Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
9mo

You simply dont have enough , $15,000 is barely a down payment on a $100K house , if it needs any work you are in trouble . Thats barely enough for a good used car . 

If the house needs new HVAC that can run $8,000  Roof could be $10K and up . 

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  • Lindsay DavisBusiness Member
    Real Estate Broker · Birmingham, AL · Member since 2019 · 322 posts · 200 votes
    9mo

    @Brian Martine,

    $15,000’s not a lot, especially if you want to purchase 2 to 4 properties at once.

    As a general rule of thumb, try to aim for 20% down or more. This will help you avoid mortgage insurance, which can help improve your cash flow. Putting in more equity into each property also means that more deals will pencil out (on paper, at least).

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  • Nicholas L.Pro Member
    Flipper/Rehabber · Pittsburgh · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    9mo

    @Brian Martine

    if you can house hack, i'd house hack.  otherwise it's not enough.

    4Reply
  • Caleb Brown
    Real Estate Agent · Kansas City · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    9mo

    Agree with @Nicholas L. Look into a house hack. 15K is not a lot. Even if you can get creative to lock up 2-4 properties you need to have reserves. We are in the winter time so a lot can go wrong during this time. 

    2Reply
  • Bruce WoodruffPro Member
    Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes
    9mo

    I looked up Wichita on Zillow.....looks like the average house there is around $200k (?) So no, $15k is just not enough to be honest.

    The best shot with little money is to buy a complete wreck of a place. But then you need $$ for rehab.....Save up more, and/or look for a partner. Use this time to educate yourself on RE, in general, Construction techniques, etc.....

    Best of luck!

    3Reply
  • Daniel Gutierrez
    Wichita, KS · Member since 2014 · 40 posts · 17 votes
    9mo

    There are some hard money lenders that will loan up to 100% of purchase and rehab if you have some experience and can get it all in for under 70% of ARV.

    i would definitely look at getting going and doing a BRRRR or house hack as some have mentioned. Do you own your own home now? If you dont going the house hack/live in flip route is the way to go!

    Happy to help if you have any specific questions on the Wichita Market 

    1Reply
  • Min ZhangBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9mo

    @Brian Martine with $15k, you’re more realistically positioned for one single-family deal at ~15% down. You’d be looking at purchase prices around $80k–$100k, which puts the down payment at roughly $12k–$15k. You’ll also need to account for closing cost and have reserves for unexpected expenses after closing, such as repairs, maintenance, or vacancy. My advice would be to focus on saving more cash before jumping in. Best of luck!

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  • Stephanie MedellinBusiness Member
    Mortgage Broker · CA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 642 votes
    9mo

    A good amount to put down on your first purchase (assuming you will live there), is between 3-5%, depending on which loan type you qualify for.  If you have great credit and sufficient income, you can still get very good terms with just 3% down.

    For each subsequent purchase, you will need a larger down payment if you're buying an investment property.  Usually 15% at a minimum but 20% is much more common simply due to pricing.

    What many people do is live in a house for a year or two, then convert it to a rental property when they buy another house to live in.  This will allow you to buy with a lower down payment, such as 5% (again, assuming all other qualifications are met as far as income and credit).

    I'd recommend buying an inexpensive starter home with a small down payment and live there for a year or more.  If you can negotiate for the seller to pay some of your closing costs, that will keep your out of pocket expenses to a minimum so you can continue saving your money for a future purchase.

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  • Matthew Paul
    Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    9mo

    You simply dont have enough , $15,000 is barely a down payment on a $100K house , if it needs any work you are in trouble . Thats barely enough for a good used car . 

    If the house needs new HVAC that can run $8,000  Roof could be $10K and up . 

    5Reply
    • Bruce WoodruffPro Member
      Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes
      9mo
      Quote from @Matthew Paul:

      You simply dont have enough , $15,000 is barely a down payment on a $100K house , if it needs any work you are in trouble . Thats barely enough for a good used car . 

      If the house needs new HVAC that can run $8,000  Roof could be $10K and up . 

       Like @Matthew Paul says, repairs/maintenance can be pricey. Roofs and HVAC are certainly bad, but there are many others that are very expensive and cannot be put off....like undersized Electrical, bad sewer line, faulty foundation, etc.

      1Reply
  • Dan H.Pro Member
    Investor · Poway, CA · Member since 2015 · 7k+ posts · 8k+ votes
    9mo

    I am king of leverage.  My dti in 2024 was 5333%.   Most lenders want to see below 36%.   Needless to say my dti is extreme.   However, typically I have little issue getting loans, but that is a separate post.

    However, I also am a firm believer in the need for reserves.  In my market over leverage (which is different than highly leveraged) is virtually the only way historically RE investors have failed.

    Even if you found a means to get 100% LTV (nothing put down), $15k is not enough reserves. You are taking on too much risk. One bad tenant could ruin you. This includes either a tenant that causes significant damage or proves hard to evict without paying rent. What would you do if there was a COVID like eviction moratorium?

    Build up greater reserves. Then look at high LTV owner occupied (OO) options such as NACA, fha, OO assumable, OO conventional. All those options can be 95% LTV or higher.

    Over leverage is perhaps the most common way to fail in RE (up there with poor underwriting).

    Good luck

    2Reply
  • Henry Lazerow
    Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    9mo

    $15k might cover your close costs and some small repairs that are on every multi unit recent purchase. Even if house hack low down need way more funds like 3-5x that or maybe could do a small condo low down. 

    0Reply
  • Aaron ZimmermanBusiness Member
    Accountant · Chicago, IL · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9mo

    You'll want to save up more. $15k is not enough with property prices today. I'd recommend saving at least $30k before hopping in otherwise you're overleveraging yourself

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  • Wale LawalBusiness Member
    Real Estate Broker · Houston | Dallas | Austin, TX · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    9mo

    @Brian Martine

    I think you should focus on low down payment strategies like FHA or VA if you are eligible, or seller financing or partnerships with only $15,000 cash. From my experience the traditional 20 to 25% down will not stretch far enough for 2–4 deals.

    Good luck!

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  • Tron Pham
    Investor · Atlanta · Member since 2025 · 14 posts · 3 votes
    8mo

    $15K is plenty to start investing in RE using creative financing strategies; Wholesaling, subject to, lease options. It does take a slightly different set of skills then just buying it on the MLS and do the traditional rentl strategies. This is how I started.

    0Reply
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