How soon can you rent your primary home?

Question

If I buy a home with conventional loan as a primary home. How soon can start renting it? Do I need to live there for a year first?

Matthew McKee · Answer

With real estate it really isn’t better to beg forgiveness than ask permission. There are other options out there, I don’t know what your goals are but have you considered house hacking?

Zach Wain · Answer

Elliot's advice is incorrect.

Every person that gets a mortgage on a primary residence signs a FBI Occupancy certificate stating you plan to move in within 60 days and occupy for 1 year. Will the lender knock on your door 3 months in? No, but why lie and commit mortgage fraud?

If you want to buy another primary home, the new lender will see when you bought your most recent home and will ask questions. But, I have found that most of our lenders are willing to grant exceptions as soon as 6 months after purchase. But, you must have a reason...

Eliott Elias · Answer

As soon as you like, lender can't monitor or control when you move out.

Edgar Gonzalez · Answer

From my understanding, you cannot rent out a property until you have lived in the home for at least a year assuming you put less than 20% down. If you break the rules of the contract, the lender may exercise to call your loan. I know this because it's written in my contract. So, it's important to review your loan agreements and contracts carefully so, that you understand every single reason a lender would have a reason to call your loan. Also, like @Chris Seveney mentioned this is considered mortgage fraud.

Bill B. · Answer

Yup. Great advise Elliot.

No way for the lender to see the insurance was changed from home owner to landlord. No way they can see property tax went from owner occupied to rental. No way to google an address and see a rental advertisement.

Always commit mortgage fraud and assume bankers don’t know hot to spot it. At least these are provable at any point in the future at any time to the exact date you did it. You may face jail or fines or just have the loan called due. But at least you saved 1/2 of a percentage point.

Always try to screw people that trusted you with their money.

@Natalia Barriuso check your loan paperwork. Their should be a page called something like intent to occupy. That says you plan to live there and for what minimum. If you can’t find you can ask your loan officer.

Chris Seveney · Answer

@Natalia Barriuso

If you never live in the home and your plan the entire time was to rent it that could be considered mortgage fraud and has pretty stiff penalties…

Bradley Dosch · Answer

You can start renting out extra space in your primary home right away. When you sign the documents, you will say that you intend to live in the property for 12 months. So do your best to honor this but if there are situations arise in your life that prevent you from living in the house, that's okay too. The usual course of action (and what I do) is to buy a primary residence to live in, rent out the extra space to cover the mortgage, move out and turn it into a full rental after 12 months, then do it again. This is a super powerful and accessible strategy for many folks!

Natalia Barriuso · Answer

Thanks everyone for your responses. I think I am going to go with house hacking to be safe.

Natalia Barriuso · Answer

Thank you so much for your response, Chris. I definitively do not want to commit fraud.

How soon can you rent your primary home?

How soon can you rent your primary home?

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