All Forum Posts by: Diana T.

I have been watching the homepath properties for a while as the downpayment requirements are a little less that traditional. A few months ago, I know a SFH was 10% or a multi was 20% for an investor. It looks like some rules have changed on Nov 13, and now it appears there is a 5% downpayment. Does this apply to all properties or just SFH?

Thank you so much!

Yes, Lynn - you are correct. I would have to "season" the funds (keep them in my account for a few months).

Owner- occupying the two-family is a great idea.. but I do have a family and and im not sure I like the idea of moving them around too much. It is def. in the back of my mind.

Clearly I am new to this... All the techniical jargon and ratio's have gotten me a little confused to say the least... But, not enough to stop me pursue this dream of mine. It will be done. :)

The more I wait, the easier it will be for me.. Patience is clearly a virtue (that I do not have).

Thank you all for your responses.

Can someone please explain the whole CAP thing? Thanks.

James - The purchase price would be approx. 175,000. This would leave me with approx. 1,100 payment (including insurance and property taxes). Rental income is approx. 900-1,200 each unit, as I am very familiar with the rental income in my areas. Therefore, I do not see a cash flow issue from this standpoint. Again, I am well aware of maintenance issues and risks.

I will certainly read up on those rules and will ensure I am even more stable than I am know before making such a huge investment. Thank you.

Nathan - can you elaborate? On a monthly basis there will absolutely no problem "cash flowing", disregarding the usual risks.

Brian - Excellent points - you are right on the money, I worry at times I may compromise as I am too impatient. In addition, you brought up another reason why I do not want to borrow more money for my down payment, as this would negate any profit in the first few years. FYI - I'm trying to purchase a multi-family (most likely two units).

Tom - Thanks for the advice.. will certainly keep this in mind.

Loc- You are 100% right. Thank you.

Marc - I've thought about this but I guess was held back by the probabailiy of getting seller financing. Whats the best way to know which sellers would offer that? Would I only know this through posing an offer contingent with this?

Chris - My inlaws have sufficient cash, but my husband doesn't really want to ask. It's a last resort sort of thing.. I'd wait until I atleast had 75% of the downpayment before asking for the rest. I played with the idea of a partner, but heard horror stories, and think it may be more headache thats it worth, which is why I think we'll be going solo. I do think about this now and again, though. I also already own my primary residence (with not enough equity to take out a home equity loan). Not purchasing a two-fam from the beginning is my biggest regret.

Thank you both for your feeback!

I've been dying to get into the real estate business. I have sufficient drive, credit, income, and handymen in my life to make it happen today. My only issue right now is the huge down payment required on a rental property. In my area, I need to bring about 50-60k into the closing. This is huge. I'm only about a quarter of the way there. I hope to be there by end of 2013 or 2014 the latest. It's just so frustrating seeing the opportunities available and not being able to take advantage of them. Does anybody have any coping advice? I'm extremely impatient and getting very frustrated.