Buying & Selling Real Estate
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies

Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal


Real Estate Classifieds
Reviews & Feedback
Updated over 2 years ago on . Most recent reply

Buying my 3rd property!
Hey!
I have followed BiggerPockets for quite some time now but this if my first official forum post that I have typed up! My name is Kaitlyn Beard (I go by Keeks) and am in the Air Force. I am in Texas, stationed at Dyess AFB. At 19 years old I bought my first 5/3 home and started house hacking. In other words, I rented out the rooms and the tenants/roommates covered the mortgage. When I discovered what rental properties were and how it is not rocket science to obtain them, I found the right lender who allowed me to get another loan. Keep in mind that I used 2 0% down VA loans for these homes. The second one I am in I also house hack so my mortgages are both paid for. I am now wanting to get another property but do not necessarily have enough cash yet to put down 20% on an investment home (conventional). As of now, I think these are my options. What do you guys think???
Option 1:
I get an FHA loan at 3.5% and find a 2-4 door multifamily and continue house hacking.
Option 2:
This one I did not know I could do until today, unless I can't? It is just what a friend and fellow investor told me their lender said. (I'll be fact checking it with the same lender this week). I was always under the impression that a conventional loan is anywhere from 15-30%. My friend, Ryan, told me I should get a conventional loan at 3-10% down. Yes, I would be paying PMI, but my current house I live in is too big for me and my roommate. I need to run the numbers based off a prospective property I find, but if I got a smaller house I think it would be doable. Don't worry I'll be doing some math!
Option 3 (a little unsure of this one):
HELOC because of the $80k+ in equity I have in my first invested home. Part of me thinks this will disturb my cash flow but I guess not because then I would be able to invest in 2 single family homes with 20% down on each.
What do you guys think?
Most Popular Reply

Completely agree with David. Go for the low down conventional mortgage because your PMI will terminate after you reach 20% LTV vs staying on the life of the loan using the FHA.