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All Forum Posts by: Jimmy Jarjour

Jimmy Jarjour has started 1 posts and replied 9 times.

Post: House Hacking in San Francisco

Jimmy JarjourPosted
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 7
Quote from @Leah Miller:

One more question, can you use the 5% for 5 units+ or is it subject to the same 1-4 limit?


Hi Leah,

The 5% is referencing the conventional loan which is a residential loan. Any property with 1-4 units is considered residential but once you start going above that I believe its considered a commercial property which requires a different loan. A great question for any loan officers out there!

Post: House Hacking in San Francisco

Jimmy JarjourPosted
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 7
Quote from @Haoyang Luo:

Hi @Jimmy Jarjour

Fellow aspiring house hacking investor in SF Bay Area here! I just started my property search and hopefully make a purchase by the end of this year. 

May I ask what is the down payment percentage you are planning to put in? I find it hard for the numbers to work if I only put 3.5% or 5% for down payment as the monthly payment will be through the roof. If you are doing a low down payment strategy, have you identified any specific region in the Bay Area where the numbers work?

Hi Haoyang,

It's pretty difficult to find, but just with the resources available to me I was able to spot a few fourplex listings that were somewhere around $1.25M. Quite a steal and they get snatched up pretty quickly but if you crunch the numbers, even with the high interest rate you get pretty close to cutting even on your rent (after you allocate X amount to unforeseen property costs)

Post: House Hacking in San Francisco

Jimmy JarjourPosted
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 7
Quote from @Wilson Lau:

@Jimmy Jarjour House-hacking is a great way to start! Happy to connect you with some lenders and help look over your analyses.

Appreciate you reaching out and can't wait to connect!

Post: House Hacking in San Francisco

Jimmy JarjourPosted
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 7
Quote from @Rick Albert:

Hey Jimmy,

2x Los Angeles house hacker here (and a case study in the BP book, The House Hacking Strategy).

In terms of age, it can make a difference but it comes down to what work has been done. I would take a 1920s property that has all new systems over a 1980 property that hasn't been touched. 

Keep in mind with the FHA loan on 3-4 units, there is a self sufficiency test as part of the qualifying portion. Basically 75% of the current or appraised rents (whichever is lower) has to cover 100% of the mortgage. That is where the challenge is because the prices tend to be much higher. My understanding is the workaround is putting 5% down. Most of my clients (including myself) work with duplexes or houses with ADUs.


Hey Rick, thanks for reaching out! And the self sufficiency makes sense appreciate the tip. I am looking at properties (with a rough estimate) where the 75% of rent doesn't have a problem of covering mortgage.

I enjoyed reading The House Hacking Strategy and have a few questions on fixing up the place you are currently house hacking. Looking forward to connecting!

Post: House Hacking in San Francisco

Jimmy JarjourPosted
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 7
Quote from @Matthew Kwan:

HI Jimmy,

Indeed, you can definitely  househack in a multifamily by living one unit and renting out the other vacant units. The good thing about househacking a legal multifamily unit is that lender allows you to use the vacated units of 75% market rent as an income to offset the potential current mortgage. You can put a little as 5% down payment for conventional or 3.5% for FHA.

Alternative way, is to acquire the 2nd property as an investment property with conventional, while putting 15%-25% down payment. Down payment can be higher than primary, but the good thing is that you won't need that much income to qualify because lenders can you 75% of the market rents for the units of the property. Imagine the 2nd property is a 4plex, each unit can be rented $1500/unit of 75% =$1125 x 4 units =$4500 worth of income to offset your that 2nd property.

@Albert Bui @Carlos Valencia


Hi Matthew, appreciate the response! This 75% rule is something new to me. I'd love to connect and learn a bit more about how to utilize this in my house-hacking journey.

Post: House Hacking in San Francisco

Jimmy JarjourPosted
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 7
Quote from @Jake Andronico:

@Jimmy Jarjour

Congrats on your pursuit! I've house hacked twice in Reno, NV and it's changed my life. 

I would talk to a lender about the 3.5% FHA rules and regulations as far as the self-sufficency test goes.

It may make more sense to go conventional, but you'll just have to see. 

Best of luck to you! 


Hi Jake, thanks for the reply and I congratulate you on two successful house hacks! I'm also looking to change my life in San Francisco haha. I will definitely consider a conventional loan but the higher down-payment might not be what I'm looking for with the property values in the bay area.

Post: House Hacking in San Francisco

Jimmy JarjourPosted
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 7
Quote from @Joseph Chiofalo:

Hi Jimmy, 

Welcome to the community- 

There are a lot of good resources here on bigger pockets to learn and grow. 

FHA will allow up 96.5% financing on a 1-4 unit property for a primary residence purchase.

Hi Joseph, thanks for the reply! I will be sure to utilize the bigger pocket resorces.

Post: House Hacking in San Francisco

Jimmy JarjourPosted
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 7
Quote from @AJ Wong:

HI James, coincidentally just wrapped a convo with a community member about the exact strategy (and oddly location!). We work with investors on 1-4 units throughout CA & OR and would be happy to support your search or refer you to a friend. As for lending options definitely check in with @Joseph Chiofalo we've worked closely for 20+ years and he is an FHA mortgage savant. Good luck with the search and reach out with any questions. Good luck!

Hi AJ, thanks for reaching out and appreciate the lender rec! I'd love to connect and dive deeper about my search. Looking forward to it!

@AJ Wong

Post: House Hacking in San Francisco

Jimmy JarjourPosted
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 7

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post! I've been enjoying listening to Bigger Pockets podcasts for a while and read a couple Bigger Pockets intro books to real-estate/house-hacking. I am trying to house hack a 4 unit multifamily (FHA 3.5% down, owner-occupied, rent other rooms) in San Francisco or Los Angeles and could use a bit of help starting out!

I have created a spreadsheet for quick analysis (with the 2% rule, 12% cash on cash, total ROI of 15% per year, etc) and have just been analyzing any Zillow deals that pop up. It seems that with house-hacking, it's possible to cover my mortgage living in 1 unit and renting out the other 3. I'm trying to avoid analysis-paralysis so I figured the first step was to start communicating with the real-estate community! Attempting to absorb as much as I can to eventually buy my first house-hack by the end of the year.

I would really appreciate some advice on the following topics:

- Finding a good loan officer

- Finding a good realtor

- Any local networking events

- General advice on where to start

- SF is primarily old constructions (a lot under 1920s). Since SF is a special case, this risk is pretty common. Should I stay away from these old SF properties? Advice/Recs on a good inspector for old properties?

If you are also trying to house-hack in the San Francisco/Los Angeles area, I’d love to connect! It will probably be helpful to share our knowledge and work towards the same goal.

I’m also open to helping out in other areas to gain experience/knowledge in the field so if you need a hand please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Looking forward to meeting you all and excited to join the Bigger Pockets Community!

Best,

James Jarjour