House Hacking: How long do I have to live there?

Question

My partner and I are trying to get into real-estate investing. We were looking for affordable markets with opportunity and moved to Jacksonville FL. We want to go through the STR route to increase our cashflow since we don't have a lot to put down and we are looking to buy properties putting 3-5% down. It sounds like we will need to live in the property for a period of time so we do not need to put 20% down, how long would we need to live in the property? What is the driver of this timeframe and what's the repercussions if we don't follow the timeframe?

Francesca Coppola · Answer

@Jack Bobeck I assume that's a conversation I should have with the mortgage broker I'm working with? My concern is that I give too much information that may work against me. I'm a first time home buyer with excellent credit has been my go to. If I start conveying that I intend for the property to be an investment property that I am going to live in for awhile, would then they require me to put more money down?

Also, so pumped to see you reside in Jacksonville! Any tips about the investing potential in the area? Types of homes? Neighborhoods? Thanks!!

Jack Bobeck · Answer

3-5% sounds like an FHA loan that would require 1 year of residency. I got a 10% down that I only have to live in for 6 months.

Francesca Coppola · Answer

We've been mostly targeting conventional loans because we've been qualifying for low money down and want to avoid FHA if we can to increase our odds of our offers getting accepted...which hasn't been the case yet. We've made about 5 offers with no luck.

David Bain · Answer

Aloha!

Each loan product will have its own specific overlay on the criteria that needs to be followed.  Being creative is half of the battle in real estate investing.  Be super careful when using traditional loan products as to not commit mortgage fraud.  It can be a pretty big deal and isn't anything worth playing with.  What types of loans have you been looking into?