All Forum Posts by: Samuel Whelan

@Kevin Dombrowski Both avenues can lead to good results. House hacking is certainly powerful so I'd say why not both? Using FHA/HomePossible/HomeReady (if you qualify) can get you into a duplex or triplex pretty cheap, then you and the business partner can look into purchasing another home. As for your fears on being taken advantage of, when you purchase you can use the real estate attorney involved to ensure that your contracts are fair.

My business partner and I bought a 3 family in New Britain for $350k with 25% down and it ran each of us a little over 50k when split 50/50. With 75k you may be able to do both. If your credit score is good enough you may be able to get into the investment property with 20% down and save a bit there as well.

Not positive on the Airbnb aspect, no one I’ve worked with has purchased for that purpose so I don’t know the legalities, sorry! 

@Alex Korik hi Alex, Southington is definitely a solid investment area, I have a bunch of clients who purchase there. It’s a bit pricier normally than it’s northern neighbors but has better long term appreciation at the cost of some cash flow. Let me know if I can help at all!

@William Collins check out the Cozzi Team, they list tons of units in the range you're looking at. Do you manage all the properties? If not and you have a manager, what's the reason for selling instead of just pulling equity and maintaining all the properties plus the new ones?

@Eric Salgado the easiest way to avoid the 25% down payment normally is with owner-occupancy in one of the units, which I know isn't an option for you currently, but its hard to just say a specific way for you because every borrower is drastically different. Local lenders instead of big banks will sometimes offer lower down payments as they have more control over the programs they offer, although that would likely come with a higher rate. 

I know that might seem vague, and it is. The most important thing to note is that every borrower is different, your financial story will play a major roll in the financial options given to you.

@Eric Salgado typically, not in all cases, but typically down payment on a investment property with conventional financing is 25%, more than a primary residence, so keep that in mind while you're looking.

@Arthur Sorochkin as a few others have mentioned, CT has some great markets for cash flow. New Britain, Bristol, Meriden, and Wallingford will have homes within the budget you mentioned, but with those towns you'll want to check out the neighborhood first and make sure you're putting your investment somewhere you'll feel safe leaving it. Southington can be a little pricier than the others but is overall a much safer town to invest in. If you up your investment amount then New Haven can have good cash flow too but it'll definitely cost you more.

@Eric Garces if you're just starting out and aren't sure what your buying power is then it'd be a good idea to sit down with a lender and find out. That way as you go door to door or make contact with people you'll have some ideas as to what your left and right limit are before you get into a deal you can't deliver on. Seller financing is a great tool as others have said, but a good craftsman makes sure they have a full tool-bag so that if one option isn't getting the seller interested, you can just pull out another. 

@Gervon Thompson in my opinion its about risk and return. Your student loans have an interest rate of 3.55%, which is very low. Can you have an investment make a return of greater than 3.55%? That's my mindset and why I invest heavily (more stocks/crypto up until recently) instead of paying off my student loans. In my case I've made far more profit than the loans have generated interest. So it just comes down to what risk you're willing to take. Paying off the loans is a guarantee to put you in a better position, but investing has the possibility to slingshot you past that guarantee. 

@Ryan Newport Correct, FHA MI remains until you pay off the note in its entirety or until you refi out. We have used a program before with our clients that is for 5% down, but is income restricted as I believe I mentioned above. Once you know about a mortgage product that seems to fit your plan, it just comes down to meeting with a loan originator and going through your specific situation to see if you qualify.