Financing help to achieve my goals (40 units in 5 years)

[Matt N.]

Hi All - I am in the midst of purchasing my first multifamily (4 units). My goal is to get to 40 units in 5 years. This first purchase will be done through FHA since I will be occupying the property. I then intend on refinancing after 18 months and getting another FHA. In between that time, I am hoping to purchase another multi-family (4 unit). I would likely have the cash to put 10% down but prefer not to put 20% down to increase my portfolio. Looking for ideas on financing.

A few ideas I have heard of:

Credit Card Balance Transfers - there are credit cards that have promotional periods of zero dollar balance transfers (just pay 3% up front) and can use that to leverage money for a down payment. 

Heloc - I would need to wait 18 months until my first property has 20% equity in it to probably go this route. 

That is honestly it. I am looking for 10% down or less ideas. Preferably with lowest interest rate possible but just hoping someone can offer guidance or suggestions on what to look at. 

LOVE THE SITE @Brandon Turner & @Joshua Dorkin. It has been invaluable towards creating a foundation and moving toward my goals. That and a great real estate agent! Thanks!!

[Erin A.]

Hi Matt,

I also got started in real estate investing by buying a multifamily (triplex) with FHA. It's a fantastic way to get in with little money down. I also would like to refinance mine at some point and move elsewhere using another FHA loan. One drawback to FHA is that you can only have one FHA loan at a time, so if you want to build your portfolio more quickly than adding a new property every 2 years or so, you'll have to fork over 10, 20 or even 30 percent for a conventional loan. By the time you get to that point, everyone will know you're an investor so you might be able to find some private partners to help you with those larger down payments. :-)

There is a ton of info on BP about low-money-down options. Brandon Turner put out a book on the topic. 

Learn all you can. Good luck!