Homepath investor loans - 4 per couple or 4 per spouse?

Question

Getting ready to apply for pre-approval on a Homepath (Fannie) investor mortgage and wondering if applying jointly or seperately is the way to go.

I'm sure a lender can answer this question, but I'd like to have my ducks in a row before approaching one.

Their rules are 10% down for your first four investment properties, then 25% down for any property thereafter.

My question - could a married couple apply for these loans seperately, provided their individual FICO's and income support the loans, allowing 8 properties total (4 each) @ 10% down?

Joe Smith · Answer

Why not much talk on BP? Two reasons, I think.

1) After you pick up 4 properties the down payment goes up quite a bit (10% vs. 25%). A lot of contributors on BP have already surpassed the 4 investment property threshold. If you're going to put down 25% on an investment property, there are better deals out there for you than what Homepath has to offer (this leads in to reason 2).

2) A lot of the Homepath properties are "good" deals, not "great" deals. It is very tough to make the 2% rule to stick to Homepath SFR's. Most contributors on BP are (smartly) more demanding than what you can find in the Homepath listings, generally.

Tom C · Answer

Joe,

I haven't found a lender who knows how to do these loans, but I can tell you that in regards to Fannie buying loans from a bank, unless you have above a 720 Fico and DTI of less then 27%, Fannie will not go above 4 loans and I have been told by 3 different brokers, that if your old lady is on the title of the house, she is considered part of the loan too and therefore, will be maxed out when you are maxed out. Even though, Fannie supposedly up'd the total loans to 8. I haven't found anyone willing to go over 4 notes.

keep in mind, I was just told by a commercial broker that he 95% sure that had a client that would do a wrap into a commercial loan, only after spending countless hours gather paperwork, for him to come back and say he couldn't find anyone to do it. I told him that he couldn't do it and he was positive he could. So take everything you are told with a grain of salt. So many of these brokers and loan officers truly don't even know their own line of work.

Tom C · Answer

In Ohio, the spouse has to be on the title as J/S. We don't have a choice unless you put it in your company name. Why do you think there isn't much talk about the program?

Joe Smith · Answer

Hey Tom - thanks for the reply.

Yep, I'd assume if someone is on the title of the house, they'd be considered part of the loan. That's why I'm curious if there's a reason I couldn't buy 4 properties with my name only on the title, then do the same with her.

There's nearly a hundred lenders on the Homepath website, so there *should* be plenty to choose from.

I'm posting another thread today asking for feedback on Homepath mortgage lenders, but don't expect a ton of response. Info on the Homepath program is sparse on BP for what I suspect are a few reasons.