Luxury house hacking on a low salary but big savings using an FHA Loan

[E Ibrahim]

Hello All!

I am moving to Atlanta in a few months for a job, I am changing careers and will be starting on a salary of roughly 60k in the tech industry where salaries scale quickly. Prior to this, I worked and saved in more lucrative positions and have upwards of $200k cash in the bank.

I have a solid credit score of 760-800 and no debts except for a $340 car payment. My family of 3 and I want to house hack a nice and fairly big house in the $300-600k range in a safe part of town with a strong school district.

By way of example and erring on the conservative side with the numbers, there are homes like this one with finished basements that could easily be rented out. PITI about $3000 and that basement could be rented out for $1200-1500 ..so would only be paying $1500-1800 a month to live in a very nice house which costs the equivalent of a 2-3 bedroom apartment in town. Some properties I've seen on Zillow are on a big lots, so in future, would explore taking out a loan to build a tiny house on the property to live for free(ideally cash flow).

I wanted to pick everyone's brains on a few things specifically:

1. Taking into account my cash savings, can i qualify for an FHA loan when the loan is over 5x above my annual income?

2. Would I be better off going smaller and finding a house in the 300-400k range with a finished basement to try this on instead? I'm comfortable with the  risk of going higher, but curious to hear how you would approach it if in my shoes.

3. Also curious on what everyone's thoughts are on the feasibility of this strategy overall.

Thanks!

[Lawrence Potts]

Quote from @E Ibrahim:

Hello All!

I am moving to Atlanta in a few months for a job, I am changing careers and will be starting on a salary of roughly 60k in the tech industry where salaries scale quickly. Prior to this, I worked and saved in more lucrative positions and have upwards of $200k cash in the bank.

I have a solid credit score of 760-800 and no debts except for a $340 car payment. My family of 3 and I want to house hack a nice and fairly big house in the $300-600k range in a safe part of town with a strong school district.

By way of example and erring on the conservative side with the numbers, there are homes like this one with finished basements that could easily be rented out. PITI about $3000 and that basement could be rented out for $1200-1500 ..so would only be paying $1500-1800 a month to live in a very nice house which costs the equivalent of a 2-3 bedroom apartment in town. Some properties I've seen on Zillow are on a big lots, so in future, would explore taking out a loan to build a tiny house on the property to live for free(ideally cash flow).

I wanted to pick everyone's brains on a few things specifically:

1. Taking into account my cash savings, can i qualify for an FHA loan when the loan is over 5x above my annual income?

2. Would I be better off going smaller and finding a house in the 300-400k range with a finished basement to try this on instead? I'm comfortable with the  risk of going higher, but curious to hear how you would approach it if in my shoes.

3. Also curious on what everyone's thoughts are on the feasibility of this strategy overall.

Thanks!

Completely depending on your level of risk. You need to talk this over with a lender first to find out if you are preapproved for this home. I would love to say "yes, you are qualified based off the info you gave me" but I don't write the loans for you so my answer about your qualifications doesn't mean anything.

FHA takes into account: your savings, your credit, your income, and your debt. Your car payment could make a big dent in your approval. That payment takes up almost 7% of your gross monthly income. Something to consider. You should also recognize that your preapproval is not reflective of what you can afford. 

Lots of people go this route. Maybe it's not ideal for some families, but it makes a lot of sense for others. If you can find a home with a smaller mortgage payment, that's always a win if you can hit similar numbers! This is a really nice home and you may be able to find a high quality tenant to live in that basement. However, it is in an HOA and that may limit what you can do with the home like house hacking! $750/year HOA will be factored in to your preapproval. And you should find out the rules: every HOA is different.

Like I said, talk to a lender that understands what you're trying to accomplish. Hope that helps!