Portland House Hacking on Steroids!

Portland House Hacking on Steroids!

Real Estate Broker · Portland Oregon · Member since 2018 · 14 posts · 3 votes

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to share a great financing strategy I have came across that has been able to open lots of doors for investors like myself as well as investors I work with who want to hold a cash flowing multifamily property but don't think they they have the funds necessary for the down. Please do note that this is for an investor looking to "house hack" since it is an FHA program you do technically have to live at the residence for a year, and are able to have only one FHA loan at a time.

Take a minute to read the scenario I put together below and let me know what your thoughts are! 

  (**I am not a lender pitching this product or work for any sort of lending institution) 

   Scenario:

We have a buyer, Snookie.

Snookie has a dream to buy a 4-plex but doesn’t think she will      qualify based on her scenario, income, assets.

The Duplex she is buying is listed at $700,000.

•Snookiemakes $60,000 per year / $5,000 mo. and has a 660 credit score, not perfect but not bad.

•Snookie has roughly $35,000 saved to buy a home, which she thinks is not even close to what      she’ll need….

•Bank allows Snookie to spend up to 50% of her income each month or $5,000 / 2 = $2,500

The duplex Snookie is going to buy is going to be income generating so the back will give her credit for that. What happens is they order an appraiser to come up with a fair market rent for each unit that is going to be rented – that’s called a rent schedule, you can also go to craigslist or your Realtor to try and get a ballpark.

Example: $700,000 = 3.5% down payment $26,250.00 

Mortgage payment is as follows:

•$3,708.80 – mortgage

•$500.00 – property taxes

•$100.00 – home owners insurance

•$480.96 – mortgage insurance (less than 20% down and FHA)

$4,789.76 – TOTAL MONTHLY PAYMENT - We all know Snookie can only spend up to $2,500 per month soo…… let’s make it happen, why not!

Snookieis projected to make $2,050 for each of the 3 units for a total of $6,150 per month with a 25% vacancy rate that’s $4,612.50. I then add that to her income, say wha?! Yep, so now Snookie makes $5,000 + $4,612.50 = $9,612.50 per month / 2 = $4,806.25 per month. She now qualifies for this home!

Oh wait, don’t we need reserves, NOPE. Write it up!

1Reply
15 views

Most Popular Reply

Realtor · Portland, OR · Member since 2017 · 357 posts · 259 votes
7y

Hi @Dona Miller, and welcome to BP! Reserves (which could also be considered an emergency fund of sorts) simply refer to having funds set aside for costs a property owner will incur. So when someone says "you must have 3 months reserves" it simply means having enough cash in your bank account to be able to pay all of your expenses for 3 months if no income is coming in. 

See this reply in the discussion

8 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Lender · Long Beach, CA · Member since 2013 · 496 posts · 296 votes
    7y

    Great strategy! FHA is a great vehicle to buy 2-4 units, but you must live in it. In the scenario, is she buying a duplex or a fourplex? if it's a fourplex, she will need 3 months of reserves!

  • Real Estate Broker · Portland Oregon · Member since 2018 · 14 posts · 3 votes
    7y

    Exactly! One of my favorite strategies and correct like I mentioned this only works if you are looking to "house hack" and willing to have the investment to be your primary residence. Which is also why I really like this loan package, since it is your primary residence there is no need for any reserve. Thanks for reading!

  • Realtor · Raleigh-Durham, NC · Member since 2018 · 324 posts · 218 votes
    7y

    @Ian Crist Are you sure no reserve is needed? The lenders I have spoken to all say 3 months reserve is necessary. It may be different from state to state, but this tends to be what I hear.

  • Real Estate Broker · Portland Oregon · Member since 2018 · 14 posts · 3 votes
    7y

    @Avery Heilbron Correct, it is a loan package offered by a lender I work closely with here in the Portland area. I am not sure what that looks like from state to state as I mainly focus here locally.

  • Portland, OR · Member since 2015 · 6 posts · 0 votes
    7y

    This sounds precisely like the type of investment I've been trying to find. I am a newbie at investing and want to invest both as an owner/occupant; with the potential of a positive cash flow from 2-4 other units. I have construction/maintenance experience as well as some limited marketing and rental experience, so I believe a small multifamily unit would be a perfect fit for me as a beginning investor.

    I like to work on property, and just finished installing large-format tile in the laundry room and kitchen at my mother's rental - so am not at all daunted by a multi-fixer (to a point). Not familiar with the lingo "reserve" or the loan calculations. Could you please let me know where I can learn more about this type of investment?  Thank you Dona

  • Realtor · Portland, OR · Member since 2017 · 357 posts · 259 votes
    7y

    Hi @Dona Miller, and welcome to BP! Reserves (which could also be considered an emergency fund of sorts) simply refer to having funds set aside for costs a property owner will incur. So when someone says "you must have 3 months reserves" it simply means having enough cash in your bank account to be able to pay all of your expenses for 3 months if no income is coming in. 

  • Real Estate Agent · Beaverton, OR · Member since 2018 · 9 posts · 4 votes
    7y

    @Ian Crist !

    I am actually looking to co-sign on an FHA loan with a buddy of mine and have him live in one of the the units. I love that your scenario is exactly what I pitched to him to do as well. I will try and reach out to you since you seem to already have a lender in place.

    The biggest pitfall I seem to have, is finding a Multi family that has a decent purchase price and still comes close to having a positive cash flow. Hope you’re doing well. 

  • Member since 2019 · 3 posts · 5 votes
    7y

    I was recently told by a banker that the 75% rental income is not further subjected to the DTI. So in Snookie's case it should be:

    $5000 x 50% = $2500

    $6050 x 75% = $4537.50

    Total income = $7037.50

    Still qualifies, no problem. Could qualify for a bit more. A 4-plex for $700k in the Portland market is likely to have all 2 bed / 1 bath units.

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.