All Forum Posts by: Rick Borgo

House Hacking in NJ is a great idea because multifamily in NJ will almost always have stable rent due to it being a "commuter state" - I worked with two separate clients that house hacked in Harrison, NJ and Rahway, NJ that both took advantage of Fannie Mae's 5% down Multi Family House Hack loan. 

As long as you buy in an area that will rent (because in house hacking, this is not a long term residence for you), I think you will be good. Feel free to reach out if you'd like to talk more about the mortgage aspect of it. 

Abdul, congrats on positioning yourself in a way that allows you to seek financial freedom through real estate investing. I think everything you mentioned is well thought out and makes sense. The first steps for you would be to contact a mortgage broker, like myself, to provide you with a pre-approval. The pre-approval letter will tell you how much the bank is willing to lend to you. Once you have that letter in hand, you would then want to contact a real estate agent to help you find a property that fits your family needs. 

I always like to provide the NJ Transit Real Map for those in your situation as I believe these towns will always have high demand for rent, which is what you plan to do with your initial investment.

Just curious, how much did it cost in origination fees for the 6.1% at 90 LTV?

Hi Tyler! Welcome to the community! You are certainly in the right spot to get started House Hacking. As of November 2023, Fannie Mae offers a great 5% down conventional loan on multi-families. This is a great way to get around the "negative connotation" of submitting an offer with an FHA Loan (as mentioned in the comment above).

What areas of NJ are you looking in?

Hi Shai! Not sure if you found anyone, but would love to connect with you regarding your investment portfolio here in the Garden State!

The scenario is like this:

Brother and Sister own a property together. Both are on the mortgage. The brother co-signed as the sister did not have enough income/credit at the time. The sister, a W2 employee, currently occupies the home with her husband (who is paid income under the table, supposedly). Because of this, the brother has always made the mortgage payments directly from his own bank account. 

The brother lives rent free with his parents and does not have any ownership of the parent's property. The brother now wants to buy his own Primary Residence, but I am unsure if I need to count the first mortgage payment against him or if I could have him lease it to his sister (since she is on the mortgage). Any suggestions for this?

Very true! Good call....I wonder what type of loan she ended up with. 

Hi Sylwia,

Did you end up buying the town home? I am surprised to hear you withdrew from your 401K rather than take a loan against it? How much "cash to close" did you need?

Yes, I am seeing it in Essex County. Really remarkable given the interest rates and property taxes.