All Forum Posts by: Ashley Cross

Ask the lender for a fees worksheet or loan estimate to see the breakdown in fees. You should focus on the fees the lender controls (origination charges and the fees you cannot shop for). Title fees, prepaids, and escrow chargers aren't charges from the lender. If you aren't satisfied with the fees the lender is charging shop and provide the quote from a competitor to the lender & ask if they can beat it. 

I have experience closing a loan for a traveling nurse and it was scrutinized by our underwriter but we were able to get it done. I think your biggest issue will be your wife having a different address. You'd need to have a conversation with the lender and explain your reasoning for purchasing another primary residence.

I agree with @Mark Rice. It is very hard to find a deal that doesn't require a lot of initial capital in those A/B areas. I have a property in Olde town east that does well but it was a bit hard to get rented when all the riots and stuff was happening downtown last year. 

You should look into a DSCR program if the property is stabilized. This will focus on the property's performance so if the rent covers the PITI you're good.

They did but they change programs a lot. A good friend of my husband is a Branch manager that does a lot of business in Texas. I'll give you his contact info.

Right now is always the best time to start investing. Speaking to a lender first is very important. A FHA loan may not even be the best fit for you or you may have things you should be working on for the next 3-4 months that you should be aware of now. If you are looking for speed, I wouldn't go with the huge Bank of America, Chase, or others. They are way too busy and they aren't going to give you the service you need as an first time investor. I've used Northpointe Bank and they have a lot of programs that you can take advantage of because you are house hacking. Look for a small mortgage company or local bank. Good luck with everything!

I agree with Jaron. I started investing before the pandemic and the record low interest rates and I had no issue finding a deal that cash flowed well. You may want to consider investing out of state or some of the more affordable areas of WA. I'm no expert of Washington but there are usually cities and towns surrounding expensive cities that are much more affordable. 

If you've owned the home for more than 6 months when you refi you can pull out equity. But conventional financing terms restrict single family investment properties to 75% LTV for cash out refis. If you find a portfolio loan, I've seen lenders go up to 80% for investment properties.

You are limited to only pulling out the acquisition costs if you owned the property for less than 6 months. So timing is important. However, you will only be able to pull out 75% of the appraised value and if that's only $315k you'll be capped at $236,250. That wouldn't cover the purchase price so it might not be in your best interest to refinance. In my experience, getting it rented first isn't important. I've been able to use the appraiser's determination of market rents. I completed a Brrr last month and the appraiser just asked what we intended to rent the property for. You would obviously need to know the market and not provide an outlandish number. 

I agree with Kimberly. It may not be in your best interest to spend a bunch of time learning how to close without an agent. My time is spent analyzing deals because that's my expertise. My husband manages the construction because that's his expertise and for everything else we hire the experts.