First time buyer

[Jayleen Soto]

Hi. 

I'm new to the group. First of all thank you for your time and input. 
I live in FL and I want to buy property in the next few months (3-5). 
This will be my first time buying a house. 
I am also interested in house hack, maybe a duplex. 
What would be your expert advice regarding lender, interest rates, timing, etc? 

Thanks! 

[Kristina Kuba]

@Jayleen Soto

If I could do it all over again and not have a spouse and dogs, etc. I would use my FHA loan for a 4 unit building. It is more difficult to house hack later in life if you have a larger family, so keep that in mind.

For example, in Hillsborough an FHA loan can finance up to $809,150 for 4 living-units. That is only 28,000 plus closing costs, well under your budget of 65k liquid to spend. Tampa, the main seat of Hillsborough county, has seen a cool off just like the rest of the country and getting a 4 unit in that price range is attainable.

As you mentioned, you first want to buy a place to live in; this could be the perfect setup: live in 1 and rent the other 3 out to cover your mortgage and maybe even have positive cash flow. Whatever you would normally pay for rent, put that away for 2 years and then after 2 years you have a nest egg for a downpayment for your next property. Rinse and repeat.

I am also a big fan of Robert Kiyosaki’s ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad 'and in that book taxes are depreciation and tax savings are critical. If you go the multifamily route, I would recommend doing a cost segregation study within the first 2 years to accelerate depreciation, save on taxes and increase cash flow so you can attain your next property quicker.

If you are planning on keeping this home for a while… (7+ years) I would not be concerned with interest rates or prices. Don’t wait to buy real estate, buy real estate and wait.

I am bullish on Tampa because of Bill Gates multi billion dollar investment into downtown Water Street and the GasWorxx projects, both are transforming large swaths of the downtown and the urban core.

Feel free to reach out with any questions!