All Forum Posts by: Ken Livingston

Great question @Ken Livingston FHA is wonderful program if you cannot qualify for conventional but at the end of the day FHA loans will require you to pay PMI and go through the FHA appraisal process. Most seller and listing agent avoid FHA offers so for you to win deals you'll need to offer higher amount and pay anywhere from 200-500 more per month in PMI. In order to remove PMI you must refinance property. If rates go up a refi would not make sense, if rates go down well then you have to restart your loan to the first payment.

low money down conventional loans on the other hand do not require PMI , do not have strict rules and regulations around appraisal and you will not be a spot where you must refi. I have a program where you can literally reduce the rate of the loan at anytime for $1300. So if rates go down you let bank know and the next month your rate is lowed.

Long story short this loan is very rare, many deny a loan like this exists. Most lenders are only going to sell you on what loans they have.  Very few lenders will say " oh and by the way I can save you thousands of dollars of year if you use another banks loan instead of mine"

HI Beth and Ben.  Just thought I would say Hi Back.  I'm new to investing too.  Just finished our first flip.  My wife and I are on this journey to.  

I don't have a ton of knowledge but happy to share anything I know.  

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Hi @Ken Livingston welcome to BP.  House Hacking New Jersey is a great way to go.  My wife and I started with house hacking, we can say it has been one of the best decisions we ever made. Something I will recommend that changed our life was connecting with people that have done what it is you are looking to do.  For example our first property was a grateful mistake, it was an awesome learning experience but hands down the wrong direction.  After purchasing this home I then found Bigger Pockets and learned from others on the forums that what I thought was an amazing deal was not so great.  My wife and I sold that property, moved back in with my parents then we purchased our first house hack.  Hands down the reason it worked out so well for us the second time around was because we aligned ourself with a professional that house hacked for many years himself.  Our first agent was a great realtors but all he could bring to the table was how to buy and sell homes.  Investing and house hacking in particular is very niche so at a minimum make sure the people you are working have house hacked themselves.  

regarding loans, low money down conventional mortgages is life changer(avoid FHA at all cost). Just imagine only putting 5% down, paying NO pmi, and paying under 1300 closing costs. Believe it or not banks offer this type of loan and in my opinion it is the best product for house hackers most of the time.