Buy a home or investment first?

Question

I am currently a Realestate investing newbie. I have been in a position to purchase a property for a while now, but have been going back and forth on buying a home, or strictly an investment property first. I have been renting for the past 5 years and was hoping to find a duplex to house hack. However, duplexes in my region are far and few between so it has been a drawn out process. I recently found a low priced single family home in a very high rent area, 2 blocks from a major university in a rapidly developing city. This is a very unique property and has a very large rent and equity potential. I have a partner who is willing to provide a private loan at a low interest rate for a 50/50 split. Is there anything inherently wrong with my first purchase being a partnership investment property while I am still renting my home? Or should I focus on buying a single family home for myself, and then invest?

Thanks

Jim K. · Answer

@Steve Laramie

Where do you live, what's the university, what are the numbers on the deal, what are the structural details of the house, what's your family status. There's nowhere near enough information here to offer you anything like a reasonably informed answer for your particular situation. And the answer completely depends on that situation. Anything else you get will be an airy generality redolent with personal bias. You'll pick the generality to believe that best reinforces your existing beliefs. This is how to lose lots of money in REI.

Mark Creason · Answer

@Steve Laramie

I f you are going to buy a personal residence, I would do it first.  Easier to qualify for a personal residence with that being your only property.  With a second property, you might be looking at alternatives to DTI financing.

Mark