House-Hacking in Philadelphia

[Tanner Kirkpatrick]

Looking for fellow Philadelphians who have had attempted (either successfully or unsuccessfully) to house-hack in the Philadelphia area. Welcoming any tips or advice in finding properties and hearing about your experiences. I plan to use an FHA loan but may need to borrow capital for down payment from a family friend, still working on that part. Curious how to structure a payout agreement between myself and the lender, and if it is even worth it given limited cash flow.

[Kevin M.]

Make sure to check with your mortgage provider about borrowing down payment money. Since they want to be the first (and only) lender in line, they will often times make you promise you don't have any other debt or loans related to the property. They will pull bank statements in underwriting to make sure you don't have any money transferring around that could indicate another lender in the picture. 

It's best to be open and transparent with your mortgage provider so there are no surprises. You don't want to find yourself in a shady situation at closing..