First time Investor - OHIO

[Jonnathan Agudelo]

Looking for some advice. First, I want to say that I didn’t know this community existed, super helpful and I cannot wait to continue learning from everyone. I have been pursuing my masters in real estate for the last two years but I feel that I will learn more if I just jump in and buy my first investment. Recently, I moved to the Columbus, OH area. I am looking into duplexes or single family homes (2 or 3 bedrooms with 1 bath) in the Dublin, Hilliard, and Franklinton areas. Not sure which route I should take: fix and flip or buy and hold; I guess it all depends on the property. I took my first step a couple of weeks ago and reached out to an agent. Things are going great and I am looking into several properties right now. However, I am running into an issue that I just learned from the lender. Since the property won’t be my primary residence I won’t be able to put 5% down and instead I have to put down 15%. I heard a lot of people coming up with creative ways of making deals work but I am stuck because I don’t have that kind of capital to put down right away.

Are there any other loans out there that require little or no money down? Also, are there any questions that I should be asking the lender from a person in my position? Is there any lenders people suggest to work with in the Columbus, OH area?

[Jerry Padilla]

@Jonnathan Agudelo

For conventional a single family requires 15% down and a multi-family requires 25% down. Funds for the down payment or reserves can not be gifted or borrowed. The money must be sourced for the previous 60 days.

Commercial lending is more flexible on sourcing the down payment, but rates will also be higher.