All Forum Posts by: Minh Nguyen

I spoke to my very first mortgage broker today (referred by a friend) and as soon as we got on the phone I was immediately bombarded with questions about my situation while any question I had about our relationship was brushed off with short, dismissive answers (some of my questions were: do you have realtors I should connect with or will you be working with a realtor that I choose? Will you be helping me find rates from a large pool of lenders? etc.) There was also zero intro about herself or her company; I had to look it up from her email signature when she emailed me docs after our call.

I was under the impression that I was in a good position, with zero debt (no student loans, car payments, or credit card debt), very good credit score, a 20% down payment saved up, and a sizable salary for a college grad. So I was shocked to hear her say that she needed to weave a story about my internship experience to prove I have longer working history, since I have "nothing" with my 6 months of working full-time after graduating and would have a hard time with lenders. I've heard some incredible stories about members of the BP community getting loans even with just offer letters before starting work! 

Is this conversation a red flag that this broker may not be suitable for me to work with or is it just a product of the stricter lending environment today and brokers are just trying to avoid wasting their time?

Another small thing that made me nervous was when I asked her about how I should gather documents (for pre-qualification) from my online stock brokerage account used for my company's employee stock purchasing plan and she didn't understand what that was, mistaking it for a 401k. Hmm....

I've learned from my BP edumacation so far that I should speak to a few real estate agents before deciding on one who is investor-friendly, but should I also be doing the same for a mortgage broker?

Hi Craig,

So glad this thread was started!

Is it worth it to go for a multifamily unit and carry more risk? My goal was to buy a townhouse/condo with three bedrooms to rent out the other two. In the process of researching RE, I discovered BP and realized that you guys have the term "house-hacking" for this and there's a lot of emphasis on multifamily properties. So I started looking into multifamily properties in my S Florida area (admittedly only on MLS sites like Zillow/realtor.com) and there are slim pickings with massive price tags. While I can put a 20% down on a condo, I'd only be able to put 5% down on a multifamily so I'd be in a highly leveraged, risker position.

The numbers at a glance (1%, 50%, and 70% rules) seem to work out better for me with a condo than with a multifamily, but I think I'm struggling with multifamily FOMO lol. 

Can't wait to hear any input on this.

P.S. I just listened to your episode on the podcast yesterday, and I'm a big fan of your way of life. Looking into Turo since I've taken to using public transit lately.

@Brandon, I included HOA fees that I could find attached to the listing. Any other fees I should be aware of?

@Josh Thomas Do you think a condo or a duplex is a better idea in the Ft. Laud market? I'm currently deciding between the two for my decision to buy for living in one and renting out other units and/or rooms. 

Based on the prices I can find on Zillow/realtor.com, the numbers seem to come out better for me with a 3x2 condo, considering that I can actually afford a 20% down payment on a condo compared to a 5% FHA I'd have to take out for a multifamily. I've very new at this and I understand the MLS won't be the best place to find deals, so I plan to do more proactive searching and finding a real estate agent ASAP.

Would love to hear your perspective on this.