Newbie from Bridgewater, NJ

[Sherif K.]

Hello everyone,

My name is Sherif, I'm a 22 year old recent Civil Engineering grad working in the heavy construction sector. Throughout college I worked as a carpenters assistant doing home renovations. I like to consider myself pretty knowledgeable when it comes to residential renovations and it's something that I am passionate about. When I first started looking into REI I figured I would be doing most of the manual work myself, however, I've been working my way through J. Scott's The Book on Flipping Houses and he's brought some good points against being your own general contractor. But I'm glad I still have the knowledge under my belt.

I am primarily interested in multi-family houses, house hacking, the BRRRR strategy, and of course financial freedom.

I have two things holding me back right now and I would like some advice from you folk here at BP.

1) I currently live at home with my parents (very grateful for that) and am looking to purchase and love into my own multi-family around this time next year. Lets say May 2018. I'm not sure if I should dive into a property now and lose my First Time Homeowner loan advantages (since it wont be my primary residence) or wait until I am able to change residences.

2) This goes hand in hand with the first concern. I don't have much capital to put up for a down payment. I have a decent paying job and great credit (a bit over 760) with no loans. Do you think I can get a low money down loan from a portfolio lender? Or would I have better luck waiting and getting a FTH loan with a low percent down payment? Ideally I would like the loan to cover renovation costs, but I don't think I can get that with a traditional mortgage.

Let me know what you think please. And if you need more information please ask. I'm excited to learning and thankful for your time!