Buying Multiple Houses

House Hacking
3yFollow

Buying Multiple Houses

Hansel Gunawan
Member since 2023 · 25 posts · 22 votes

Hey guys, I have a question.

What if I buy, let's say, 3 houses and then I want to rent out all of them. Which primary residence should I use? Do I really need to live AT LEAST A YEAR in one of the houses or can I just rent all of them to the tenants?

Thanks.

I really need advice!

1Reply
21 views

Most Popular Reply

Chris SeveneyBusiness Member
Moderator
Investor · VA · Member since 2015 · 21k+ posts · 19k+ votes
3y
Quote from @Hansel Gunawan:

Hey guys, I have a question.

What if I buy, let's say, 3 houses and then I want to rent out all of them. Which primary residence should I use? Do I really need to live AT LEAST A YEAR in one of the houses or can I just rent all of them to the tenants?

Thanks.

I really need advice!


 You do not need to live in any of them,UNLESS you are getting conventional mortgages that you are saying you are going to be an owner occupant in that stipulates you must live in the home for a year. If you do not, technically its mortgage fraud. Now would you get caught, maybe maybe not, but banks appear to be cracking down on this because they sell the loans to FNMA to get them securitized and when they get kicked out they are on the hook for the loan which its not their business plan to hold these loans.

7e investments53 Reviews
WebsiteView Page
1Reply
See this reply in the discussion

6 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Chris SeveneyBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Investor · VA · Member since 2015 · 21k+ posts · 19k+ votes
    3y
    Quote from @Hansel Gunawan:

    Hey guys, I have a question.

    What if I buy, let's say, 3 houses and then I want to rent out all of them. Which primary residence should I use? Do I really need to live AT LEAST A YEAR in one of the houses or can I just rent all of them to the tenants?

    Thanks.

    I really need advice!


     You do not need to live in any of them,UNLESS you are getting conventional mortgages that you are saying you are going to be an owner occupant in that stipulates you must live in the home for a year. If you do not, technically its mortgage fraud. Now would you get caught, maybe maybe not, but banks appear to be cracking down on this because they sell the loans to FNMA to get them securitized and when they get kicked out they are on the hook for the loan which its not their business plan to hold these loans.

    7e investments53 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • Andrew PostellPro Member
    Lender · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    3y

    @Hansel Gunawan if you have the downpayment that's needed and qualify for the loan, you can just buy 3 investment properties.  That is completely allowed.

    0Reply
  • Ryan ThomsonBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    3y

    You will only be able to buy one property as your primary. You will only be able to buy one property with 0-5% down. The rest you can buy as renatl properties for 20-25% down. No problem. 

    The Assumable Guy544 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
  • Ben Einspahr
    House Hacking Specialist · Denver, CO · Member since 2016 · 411 posts · 396 votes
    3y

    @Hansel Gunawan  If you purchase a home using low downpayment with the intent to live in it as your primary residence, generally speaking you must live there 12 months before purchasing next primary res home. There are a few loop holes that I will not dive into here.

    From a lending prospective, there are not restriction renting out a primary residence while living there. However, they will not underwrite the property using rental income received while living there.

    So, if you buy 3 houses only one can be your primary. The other 3 will be investment properties with minimum 20% down.

    0Reply
  • Laura ShinklePro Member
    Realtor · Charlotte, NC · Member since 2017 · 357 posts · 292 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Hansel Gunawan:

    Hey guys, I have a question.

    What if I buy, let's say, 3 houses and then I want to rent out all of them. Which primary residence should I use? Do I really need to live AT LEAST A YEAR in one of the houses or can I just rent all of them to the tenants?

    Thanks.

    I really need advice!


     The restriction is the mortgage documents. If you're getting a conventional loan and saying you're going to live there, the lender gives you a better interest rate and the option of lower downpayment if you live there than if you're buying as an investment. If you lie on the mortgage applications and say it's to live in and you don't, then that's mortgage fraud. Pretty hefty penalties for that. 

    The beauty of house hacking, though, is your cash on cash return. Low money down as an entry point, and the cash you get every month from your tenants is much better than the cash on cash (typically) of an investment property right now with rates where they are. 

    What's your goal and why do you want to buy 3 at once?

    0Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free