FIrst time house hack brrrr

FIrst time house hack brrrr

Real Estate Agent · Southwick, MA · Member since 2019 · 87 posts · 17 votes

Hello everyone, I am a newbie investor looking to brrrr house hack my first property. I've done some extensive research on the brrrr strategy as well as the house hacking strategy but I need clarity on some questions.

First, I am unsure which type of loan to use to purchase the property (conventional, FHA, HML, 203k, etc.). I have already been pre-approved for a 30 year conventional loan with 4.25% interest rate and 3% minimum down payment. The maximum amount I could borrow from this lender is $200k. I believe a conventional loan like this one would be a good fit mainly because private mortgage insurance automatically stops once I reach 20% equity in property.

    Secondly, I am undecided on how much of a down payment I should put down. I do have approximately $30k saved up for a down payment (including closing costs) and repairs. I'm thinking I should put low money down (3-5 %) for a couple reasons. First, I am planning on selling or exchanging this property in the future, so I am not too worried about paying off the loan asap (although I know a lower down payment means a higher mortgage and less cash flow per month). Second, if I were to finance a property for $200k, a 3-5% down payment would = $6,000 - $10,000 + approximately $6,000 in closing costs totaling $12 - $16k. This leaves me with $14 - $18k for repairs, which doesn't go very far. Lastly, and most importantly, a lower down payment would make it much easier to pull out all if not most of my money invested when I refinance, as opposed to a higher down payment such as 20%. 

    If anybody has any advice or stories about past properties it would be much appreciated!

    Thank you, Sebastian.

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Real Estate Broker · 3412 S. Harlem Avenue Riverside, IL 60546 · Member since 2015 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
7y

@Sebastian Roy starting out you should pretty much always use a low down payment loan. The trick is to force the appreciation through renovations, better management, etc. Once you have enough equity, you cash out refinance and get all your money back. The issue with the low down payment loans for this strategy is that you have to get a screaming deal to make it work, and the FHA loan by its nature is NOT intended for screaming deals.

The other issue with the BRRR is that it makes younger investors be too aggressive sometimes. I am in the midst of my first true BRRR now (hard money/cash headed towards a cash out refinance) and I own 58 apartments already. I finally have the team in place and the net worth to pull off a riskier deal. Not everyone should be that aggressive. The low down payment loans are cheat code unto themselves!

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  • Real Estate Broker · 3412 S. Harlem Avenue Riverside, IL 60546 · Member since 2015 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    7y

    @Sebastian Roy starting out you should pretty much always use a low down payment loan. The trick is to force the appreciation through renovations, better management, etc. Once you have enough equity, you cash out refinance and get all your money back. The issue with the low down payment loans for this strategy is that you have to get a screaming deal to make it work, and the FHA loan by its nature is NOT intended for screaming deals.

    The other issue with the BRRR is that it makes younger investors be too aggressive sometimes. I am in the midst of my first true BRRR now (hard money/cash headed towards a cash out refinance) and I own 58 apartments already. I finally have the team in place and the net worth to pull off a riskier deal. Not everyone should be that aggressive. The low down payment loans are cheat code unto themselves!

  • Real Estate Agent · Southwick, MA · Member since 2019 · 87 posts · 17 votes
    7y

    @John Warren Thanks for the input! So just to clarify, you suggest putting the minimum amount down, about 3%? Also how much equity would you suggest building before refinancing? I've heard @Brandon Turner say a minimum of 25% equity or else do not refinance.

    Thank you.

  • Rental Property Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2019 · 21 posts · 7 votes
    7y

    @John Warren Low down payment loans such as?

  • Real Estate Broker · 3412 S. Harlem Avenue Riverside, IL 60546 · Member since 2015 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    7y

    @Nehemiah Smith the ones you mentioned like the FHA or the conventional 5% down.

  • Real Estate Broker · 3412 S. Harlem Avenue Riverside, IL 60546 · Member since 2015 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    7y

    @Sebastian Roy you definitely need to have a lot of equity built up in order to pull this off. A lot depends on the size of the property because a 3 or 4 unit only lets you get around 75 or 70% LTV when you do a cash out refinance. If you have a condo or single family you can typically get 80% LTV which means you probably only need to build 20% equity to cash out. This is where your local team becomes so important. Your agent and lender should understand the process and help you figure this out.

  • Real Estate Agent · Southwick, MA · Member since 2019 · 87 posts · 17 votes
    7y

    @John Warren awesome! Thanks for the advice!

  • Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2018 · 25 posts · 12 votes
    7y

    House hacking is how I bought my first multi-family property. I lived in the main house and rented out the garage apartment. I have since used AirBnB successfully in house-hacked multi-family situations. I was able to purchase a downtown home on a large lot with a pool and still maintain a comfortable mortgage payment by AirBnBing out the detached garage apartment. I detail my experience on several YouTube videos on house-hacking that you can link from my profile or by searching YouTube for #ducommunproperties, if you're interested in my experience with it. 

  • Rental Property Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2019 · 21 posts · 7 votes
    7y

    @John Warren thank you.

  • Real Estate Agent · Southwick, MA · Member since 2019 · 87 posts · 17 votes
    7y

    @Eric Ducommun thank you! I watched your youtube videos on Airbnb and will certainly consider that as an option in the future. Thank you!

  • Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2018 · 25 posts · 12 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Sebastian Roy:

    @Eric Ducommun thank you! I watched your youtube videos on Airbnb and will certainly consider that as an option in the future. Thank you!

    I'm glad they were helpful! Thanks for letting me know. 

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