1st time investor - house hack

[Peter Giokas]

I am looking to purchase a 3 unit rental property using an FHA loan.

The price of the house is $600,000. I plan on putting about 10% down. I will be only collecting rent from 2 units throughout the first year as I live in one of the units. With 2 units rented, the rental income only covers about 75% of my entire mortgage (incl. insurances & taxes). I will need to pay about $500 a month from my pocket. I do plan on renting the third unit after I move out in a year. In this case, the property will cash flow(roughly $700-800 in positive cash flow). I do plan on refinancing as quickly as possible to get rid of the PMI so I can increase my cash flow. I plan on either making small renovations or paying a decent amount towards the loan in 1-2 years to meet that 20% equity threshold.

Should I be focused on finding a property that cash flows with 2 out of the 3 units rented? This is extremely hard to find. Please let me know any thoughts or suggestions about my plan. As a 1st time investor, I am open to any and all advice. 

Thanks  

[Gaetano Ciambriello]

Hi @Peter Giokas

Why are you considering putting 10% down with an FHA loan? Can you put down 3.5% and still qualify? I would recommend keeping the 6.5% (~$39,000) as reserves for rehab work, in case something goes wrong or you need to cover a mortgage payment or save it for you next investment property.

If the deal is a good one, I wouldn't pay extra principal to get rid of PMI. Your rate is probably high 2s/low 3s, I think you would be better off saving the extra principal payments for another purchase.