Continue to Rent or get started in REI with FHA loan???

Question

Hello BP,

I’m a newbie to REI and looking to get started ASAP. I just graduated college last May and rent out an apartment.

Essentially, I’m looking to purchase my first property within the next couple of months, rather that renewing my lease which is up in July. I’m looking to use an FHA Loan and “house hack”, but I’m having a hard time finding a duplex in the St. Petersburg, Florida area which is where I work and would like to live. Keep in mind I’m a newbie and not looking for something that would need a lot of renovation, maybe just some small cosmetic fixes.

Therefore, I’m having a hard time deciding if I should rent again for another year until I have enough saved up to do a conventional loan with a 20% down payment or to purchase a single family home, live in it for at-least a year, POTENTIALLY find a roommate, and use it as a rental after a year or so.

Currently, me and my girlfriend are paying around $1,400 after utilities every month to rent an apartment. If I were to purchase a single family home, I would spend around $10-$15k with downpayment and closing costs.

Basically, my question is if I don’t find a duplex to live in one side and rent out the other, should I:

1. Continue to rent at about $16,800 per year

or

2. Purchase single family home investing around $10-15k, and pay down my mortgage for a year or so which would prob be a smaller monthly payment than the $1,400 rent. (Potentially fund roommate)

I would GREATLY appreciate all of your thoughts and feedback on this. Thank you in advance for your time and help.

Ryan Mino · Answer

Awesome, congratulations on your first deal man! I really appreciate your time and feedback. Would you mind me connecting with you and asking a few questions? Maybe through text, email or messenger on here? I would love to hear a little bit more about your first deal and how the process went for your as a we are in very similar situations.

Ryan Mino · Answer

I really appreciate your feedback Adam! I think I'm going to try to find a single family home and rent it out to one of my colleagues who also has a lease ending in June. The thing that I'm concerned about in regards to converting a garage into another bedroom is costs. I don't currently have much cash to spend on renovations like that, and really aren't too sure how much something like that would cost either. If you have an general idea on how much something like that would cost that would be greatly appreciated as well. Thanks!

Ros Castro · Answer

Yeah sure thing. Feel free to ask anything!

Ros Castro · Answer

@Ryan Mino Yup, I am in the same situation as you. It is very difficult to find duplexes in the St.Petersburg/Pinellas County area in a decent location. My lease is also about to end, so it was either rent for another year, or purchase a property and rent out the other rooms.

I decided to go with the second option. I am currently in the process of closing on a 3/2 SFH house in Pinellas Park that is below market price on a 3% down payment, and just requires a few minor fixes. I plan to rent out the other rooms, which after doing some property analysis, the majority of my monthly payments will be paid off by my renters. I will essentially be living in the house for only $200/mo which is a lot better than my current expense of $800/mo renting a house with other roommates. I plan on fully renting out the house after finding my next property to invest in.

So if you don't mind living with roommates for a year, I personally think purchasing a property and renting out the other rooms would be your best bet if you will be saving money over time. Like they say, money saved is income earned.

Adam Benmbark · Answer

@Ryan Mino I wish I had those plans when I was right out of college. Right now duplexes are harder to find deals. There is a lot of competition amongst investors. You left out a third option. Buy a single family home and rent out a bedroom. House hack! Ideally find a home that has a separate entrance along with two bathrooms. My last two open houses have contained garage conversion master bedrooms where they added a bedroom, bathroom, and side entrance where the garage used to be. Not sure if I'm allowed to drop you the addresses on this part of the forums. Anyway, congrats on being smart enough to be thinking in this direction at your age!

Continue to Rent or get started in REI with FHA loan???

5 Replies