All Forum Posts by: Wendy N.

@Amy Canfield

Congratulations on your upcoming rentals. We found an excellent cleaning crew on TurnoverBnB. It also syncs to the STR platforms so whenever you get a booking, your cleaner is alerted and accepts the project. It allows you and your cleaners to be on the same page regarding the calendar, check-ins/outs, etc. The app is otherwise clunky but it does the essentials and has made our turnovers seamless.

@Joseph Asamoah

Thanks very much for the clarification, Joseph. This is most helpful. I think for now we will stay with option 2, as it what similar properties in the specific area are renting for. Fingers-crossed!

@Christopher Grobbel That’s great. Glad it worked out favorably.

@Joseph Asamoah

Hi Joseph, what happens if the max rent per the website is lower than the amount a landlord sets for the property? Does the voucher holder pay the difference or the landlord forfeits that potential income? 

Using the OP's example, the Landlord advertises a three bedroom in Deanwood for rent at $3000. Per the website, the max HCVP approved rent (no utilities) is $2,030. If the landlord accepts a voucher tenant, and DC does not approve the amount listed for rent ($3000), does the landlord forfeit the difference ($3000 - $2030 = $970)? 

I cannot seem to find something concrete on this and would be grateful if you could point me in the right direction.

@Christopher Grobbel I'm a curious about this - what was the outcome here? Did you refinance or stay with the FHA loan? Was the issue about you owning another property or meeting the self-sufficiency test as Russell Brazil pointed out?

@Patrick McNerney

Great plan but unfortunately, I believe for FHA loans, you cannot rent the remaining non-owner units as short-term rentals, i.e., less than 30 days. Check with a lender but I'm certain this was the case two years ago unless the rules have changed.

@Bill Brandt Thanks Bill. Just now seeing the other postings on this! Makes sense.

Just saw this article and curious what folks think about this. Is this in the foreseeable future for the US?

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/aug/13/danish-bank-launches-worlds-first-negative-interest-rate-mortgage

Here’s an excerpt:

A Danish bank has launched the world’s first negative interest rate mortgage – handing out loans to homeowners where the charge is minus 0.5% a year.

Negative interest rates effectively mean that a bank pays a borrower to take money off their hands, so they pay back less than they have been loaned.

Jyske Bank, Denmark’s third largest, has begun offering borrowers a 10-year deal at -0.5%, while another Danish bank, Nordea, says it will begin offering 20-year fixed-rate deals at 0% and a 30-year mortgage at 0.5%.

Under its negative mortgage, Jyske said borrowers will make a monthly repayment as usual – but the amount still outstanding will be reduced each month by more than the borrower has paid.

“We don’t give you money directly in your hand, but every month your debt is reduced by more than the amount you pay,” said Jyske’s housing economist, Mikkel Høegh.

In recognition of how puzzling the new mortgage is for customers, the bank’s FAQ is littered with questions and statements such as Hvordan kan det lade sig gøre? (How is that possible?) and Ja, du læste rigtigt (Yes, you read that right).

The mortgage is possible because Denmark, as well as Sweden and Switzerland, has seen rates in money markets drop to levels that turn banking upside-down.

Høegh said Jyske Bank is able to go into money markets and borrow from institutional investors at a negative rate, and is simply passing this on to its customers.

@Joseph Georgi You are insinuating that you can pay off only $15,000/year for 10 years. I think with a proper budget and focus you can pay it off on less than half the time. Like other folks have suggested, develop a plan to pay it off as quickly as possible. Use an FHA 3.5% down to purchase an owner-occupied multi-family to begin your real estate journey. You can repeat every two years, refinancing to conventional while paying off debt. This way you are reducing debt burden but also not delaying investing in real estate. Like someone else suggested, stick to house hacking owner occupied investments until you are debt free. All the best.

@Joseph Georgi You are insinuating that you’ll be able to pay off $15,000/year for the next 10 years. I believe with a proper budget and focus, you can likely do it in less than half h