Tips on a live-in multi-family home to start

[Breandan Garland]

Hello all!

I want to introduce myself to the members here at BiggerPockets. My name is Breandan Garland and I currently live in southern New Hampshire. I have been a member at BiggerPockets for a few months now, but I have not yet gotten involved in any dialogue on the site. I have been quietly reading and listening to the podcasts for months now, but I would like to start investing as soon as possible. Unfortunately, I do not have much start-up capital I can throw at a property. I do have a full-time job currently that I can use as some sort of source of capital, but I feel that sourcing a mortgage or a conventional loan through a bank would not be successful with my income and credit.

After much thought, I feel that I want to start with a multi-family (2-4 unit) property that I can live in and manage. I am not scared of having to do rehab to the property, but I am concerned with figuring out how I will fund any rehab costs. Are there any success stories out there from people who were in similar situations as I am starting out? I have heard a few, but I would like to get into conversation with some folks who can offer me real-life examples.

Thanks in advance! I look forward to getting into a conversation with some folks and opportunities to ask follow-up questions. I am open to suggestions!

[Brie Schmidt]

FHA has weird rules, like no chipping pain or cracked windows. But major rehab properties do qualify for the renovation mortgage which allow you to finance part of the costs of a renovation. if you look on their website it will show available properties and ones that qualify for the rehab loans

http://www.homepath.com/

As far as mainstream bank lending (no hard money or portfolio - the types a normal loan officer would handle) here are your options:

FHA Owner occupied 1 - 4 units - 3.5% down must pay PMI (this link explains PMI http://www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/the-basics-of-private-mortgage-insurance-pmi.aspx )

Conventional Owner occupied 1 - 4 units - 20% down with no PMI

Conventional Non Owner occupied (investment ) 1 - 4 units - 25% down with no PMI

If you can find owner financing it might be easier to qualify - but the owner must own the property outright (no loans because they are non transferable)