FHA buyer looking for multifamily
Hi everyone, I'm Shikirah. I'm near Atlanta and born and raised in Georgia. I'm just now starting out into real estate. I got financing, an agent, but no house. I've been searching for weeks and no one has accepted my offers. I've viewed multiple multiple multifamily homes and placed an offer wherever the deal made sense but, my offer has not been accepted due to it being FHA requiring longer closing date and general stipulations. I'm almost discouraged to go the MFH route. I was so excited on this journey because it appeared that I had many options, but as I've gone through the list and received multiple rejection this process has become harder to continue. I've figured that it might be time to pivot as my list has slimmed down to go the single family route and live in the home for a year then rent it out since having long term rentals is my goal. Now I'm rethinking if I go this route so much more has changed for me when it comes to analyzing a deal and whether or not I should fix and flip. I'm not going to stop you real estate journey just because of a couple of hiccups but man... it is hard but I know it'll be worth it in the end.
This was just a little venting about where I'm currently at in my home buying process so I can come back after I've got property to remind myself of the tough part is over. I hope everyone else is enjoying their journey.
Welcome to BP!
I appreciate you sharing your story. Believe me, many people have experienced your feelings in their journey. But I’m glad to hear you’re pressing on. At some point you may need to pivot, hopefully not, but you understand that might become a necessary option. Some won’t pivot and allow that to completely ruin their position. Just remember that each house get you closer to your goals. Each one.
There will be massive deals and tiny ones. Celebrate them all. Real estate investing is a marathon.
I wish you all the best. Can’t wait to see the photos of your new house!
- Mend Housing
- 210-418-1184
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Quote from @Shikirah Johnson:
Hi everyone, I'm Shikirah. I'm near Atlanta and born and raised in Georgia. I'm just now starting out into real estate. I got financing, an agent, but no house. I've been searching for weeks and no one has accepted my offers. I've viewed multiple multiple multifamily homes and placed an offer wherever the deal made sense but, my offer has not been accepted due to it being FHA requiring longer closing date and general stipulations. I'm almost discouraged to go the MFH route. I was so excited on this journey because it appeared that I had many options, but as I've gone through the list and received multiple rejection this process has become harder to continue. I've figured that it might be time to pivot as my list has slimmed down to go the single family route and live in the home for a year then rent it out since having long term rentals is my goal. Now I'm rethinking if I go this route so much more has changed for me when it comes to analyzing a deal and whether or not I should fix and flip. I'm not going to stop you real estate journey just because of a couple of hiccups but man... it is hard but I know it'll be worth it in the end.
This was just a little venting about where I'm currently at in my home buying process so I can come back after I've got property to remind myself of the tough part is over. I hope everyone else is enjoying their journey.
Hey Shikirah
I FEEL YOU. Both my girl and I were house hunting for a duplex somewhere in Florida with an FHA loan these past two months. I didn't even get to the point of making offers because we had to do a drive by and find find all the duplexs we were interested in to be in ROUGH areas. All of them... Glad I did the drive by every time. We also found that yes, many homes in the MLS remarks would not except FHA offers, so that narrowed it down pretty quick. We were super flexible because we both work from home and pretty much could go anywhere. We thought we had the state at our fingertips. Hours, days, and weeks of scouring the web, MLS, other resources looking for deals and researching neighborhoods, our hopes of house hacking started to fade. Damn, but the hunt continued, we eventually did shift to hunting for a single family home in a nice location, with growth, attractions, no HOA, and possibly air bnb a room while we live there.
Low and behold we did find an amazing little two bedroom home here in central Florida. I had booked the showing and didn't have any hopes in the property but figured "hey, it is on the way home. Lets check it out". The photos didn't do it justice. It had only been on the market one day, we made an offer immediately. Now we're under contract. Guess what, in many places it is still a sellers market. Both her and I are relieved to not be renting, excited to clean this up to be rental when we move and most of all, location, location, location. We LOVE the area. SO yes, at first it did feel defeating to have not locked down a duplex but we are moving in the right direction. The mortgage is within our means and there is opportunity to STR this in the future, good size lot to do many things with, good location. Not sure what your timeline is or if you have dependents coming with you on this journey, but it IS okay to pivot. We can't control the motion of the ocean. Like Hamp said, celebrate them all.
Hi Shikirah, Welcome to the BP community!
Something else to consider when you are using an FHA loan is to find something a little more rural and be able to find or add an ADU (additional dwelling unit) over time. This could become a "duplex" and you can supplement your income by adding this way.
Something else I would look into is some conventional loans will only require you to put 3% down so this might alleviate seller's concerns. I would discuss the options with your lender or even call other lenders to see what the possibilities are.
Remember: Ask HOW can I get this done, not CAN I get this done. There are creative ways to do it!
Good luck!
Welcome, Shikirah! It is definitely ok to pivot. One thing you should know is that there are conventional "equivalents" to FHA. I think they are called HFA conventional mortgages. You should ask your lender if they are something they can offer you. They may require a larger down payment on a 2 unit property.
Keep your head up! Do it for future you!
@Shikirah Johnson, I post about this ad nauseam, start including single-family homes in your search criteria that have an in-law suite or finished-out basement that can be sourced as an STR via Airbnb. Your agent can filter these criteria on the MLS. You'll have a much greater chance of acquiring a deal like this than competing for small multifamily properties that are still receiving aggressive offers above asking. Hope this helps!