Financing Multiple 3 or 4plexes..

[Joshua Goldberg]

Hello all,

Long time lurker, here.

I'm looking to purchase an owner-occupied (me+and the gf) tri or 4-plex in the San Diego area, and I am hoping to do multiple deals in the next year or two. I'm pretty bullish on the rental market here.

Now the question is, how do I want to finance these projects.. I'm weighing different 1,2 combinations of FHA, Conventional, and ARM. My question is - would it be prudent to finance a triplex/4plex with and FHA loan, and then use an ARM for the next?

I was thinking that, for the first few years, the rental income from the 2nd place could be diverted to build enough equity in the 1st to refi out of FHA. My thinking is, the ARM on the 2nd place would keep payments to a minimum for the first few years, and I'll always have the option to refi out of that later down the line (if and when payments go up)..

What are the flaws in my thinking??

Thanks for your help!