Loan Officers and RPI in Southern California

[Justin Montani]

I am in the early stages of my rental property investment career, still saving money for my first property and reading up on investing strategies/advice. However, I have started taking action to see what I can afford through pre-approval, and keeping an eye out for potential deals through a real estate agent and apps like Zillow and Redfin. 

I found what I believed to be a great deal, out of my price range, but the thought process was still the same. After all the fees and monthly payments for this 3 BR property, you would owe about $600 less than the current rental rate in that neighborhood. I was of the mindset that IF I could afford it I could house hack it for a year before potentially renting it out fully. However, my loan officer rather than tell me HOW I can do something told me I CANT do something in his exact words, "You can't even think about a rental property here, you must occupy any residence you buy my friend!"

I want a team that is not going to shoot me down but help me up. Looking for suggestions on Loan Officers or RPI advice for first time buyers in SoCal.

Thank you all!

[Michael Dumler]

@Justin Montani I don't think your loan officer was trying to shoot down your strategy, rather there's a miscommunication on both ends. Legally and according to lending guidelines, if your approval is for an owner-occupied loan, then you'll be required to live in the property for a year before you can rent it out. As for your investment thought process and after a year of house hacking the property, by all means, it's fair game and up to your discretion if you want to rent the property long-term. Moving forward, I advise that you continue what you're doing and try to connect with lenders to determine if you can get better pre-approval terms and make the deal work. Best of luck!