First-Time Home-Buyers That Live in One State & Work in Another

[Whitney Woodburn]

I am currently in the process of searching for my first property in Buffalo, NY and intend to use the house hacking+BRRR method on my first real estate investment. My boyfriend is also interested in purchasing an investment property here, however he works as a travelling engineer, and is currently stationed in Illinois (he rents an apartment, hotel room, or AirBnB as he travels). We are VERY new to the real estate investment game. We want to take advantage of the FHA opportunity for first time home-buyers, but do not know if it is required that you live in the same state that you work in. Can he rent an apartment in Illinois and own a property in NY using this loan option? If not, are there any other options available that have low down payment requirements such as this one?

[Darren Kresge]

The question of whether or not the FHA property is his primary residence will come up... The appraiser will look to make sure the property is not occupied. As long as we state his intentions to live in the property and it is vacant he should qualify for FHA. There are other loan options as well that might make sense... for example a renovation mortgage that will allow you to include the improvements to the property. There are FHA and conventional options to do renovations... that are typically needed in older Buffalo homes. Let's brainstorm some ideas!