All Forum Posts by: Debra A.

Yes, thank you for sharing! When I'm advising clients, the big question is "how long do you plan on being in/holding on to the property?" If it's long term, or a forever home, then the "discount" that they pay for the rate should be justified because it is supposed to be still significantly less than what they would otherwise pay in interest over the long haul with a higher interest rate. So, if someone is going to sell the property in a few years then paying a huge fee for a rate obviously does not make financial sense. 

If you want to get really, and I mean really technical, yes. The reason why i say yes, is because if you do escrow your taxes and insurance when you go to purchase or refinance, you will be required to have some reserves and/or cushion in the escrow account which are typically financed into the mortgage so the borrower does not have to pay out of pocket. So this could add money to your balance. A higher balance of course would mean a higher payment on the mortgage. If you choose not to, yes it has to still be calculated as part of your housing expense ratio either way just like home owners association dues or common fee's. They aren't included in a mortgage payment but they are part of your total housing expense. 

I know of a lender that has programs catered specifically to non-owner occupied properties for real estate investors like yourself.

I would ask the owner of the property he is renting from for owner-financing. They already have an established relationship of 7 years, I don't see why he would say no. He already knows his rental history, which sounds very good. If he has cash, and enough of it, maybe he can offer the owner a significant down payment for the home and they can work out a payment plan together for the remainder. 

@Michael Doherty Thanks for the feedback! Greatly appreciated! That's pretty much what I was thinking I had to do...but I didn't know if it was too invasive, or would come off as being rude, but I think it would be naive not to. Thanks, again!

Hi everyone! I am actively looking and in contact with a couple different sellers. The two properties I have my eye on are cash-flowing properties, which is very attractive to me. I have never purchased a "cash-flow" property with tenants already in place. My question is, how do I verify that they are cash-flowing? Do I request a copy of a lease? But then, anyone can make a lease and tenants, so how do I actually verify these things? Do I request bank statements from the current owner? All help and advice is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

I don't know Alabama law either but as a licensed professional, if he deals with lending residential mortgages, he has to have some sort of license with the NMLS. Go to the NMLS consumer portal and look his name up and see what you find. If he doesn't have one, it may be because of the size of his business, or the amount of loans he writes per year. Google his business name. 

Greatly depends on the lender. I know of mortgage products for example that will allow you to look at the income being generated from the property itself (don't care about W2, tax returns, etc). They will also allow a BK discharged 4 years ago. Just have to know the right lender with the right products and guidelines. Have to think outside the box and dig around- most traditional lenders don't have products for investors so they don't know these things exist. Not their fault, their company just doesn't serve that market.

Having a W2 income shouldn't even matter when you're looking for financing for RE investment. It's good for you personally to have something to fall back on, and obviously a good reserves source but I know of products that can just take a look at the cash-flow potential of the unit, and base the financing on that. I also know of products that will allow up to 85% refinance on investments, 1-4 units. And those same products can also fund your deals with as little as 10% down on purchases in some cases. Nice credit by the way :) 

I know of specific mortgage products geared towards real estate investors that will allow up to 85% cash out on investment properties (1-4 unit only). Just have to know the right lender.