Buying a 4 plex as a Second Home

[Anthony Gayden]

Here is a question that I have thought of while trying to come up with a creative way to finance another property with less than 25% down. 

One of the banks that I looked at offers up to 90% LTV on second homes. I honestly have never heard of anyone using a 4 plex as a second home, but I don't see why it would not be possible. Right now my primary residence is also a 4 plex that I bought with an FHA loan, so I can't go that route again.

[Dave Foster]

Just pondering but have you done a comparison of using 2nd home financing and leaving a unit empty vs taking investor financing and renting all?  I know there's a cost to your money and it may not even be possible but If you gave up 1/4th of the rents or for example 1000/month by leaving one empty then you lose 12k/yr in revenue.  If you had to pay another couple of points for investor financing on 1/4th of a 400K f plex that would cost you about $2,000/year plus opportunity cost for your down payment. I know the scenario's not exact but run your numbers and capacity.  The table may slant in favor of taking investor grade financing but renting full.