New to Investing! Could I still get an FHA loan if I’ve been self employed for 1yr?

[Alexis Canales]

I'm ready to buy mi first duplex/triplex for a house hack and wanted to go the FHA loan route strictly for the low down payment of 3.5% I've been self employed for exactly 1 year now, but the issue I'm running into is that every lender I have talked to (over 9 lenders now) have told me I need to have at least 2 years of self employment in order to get an FHA loan or any loan that requires under 10% down (even if I made good money my first year of self employment) I have 780+ credit score, no debt, no loans, no monthly payments on anything. I have good savings but I still want that 3.5% down, does anybody have any advice for me please? Should I find a way to finance my purchase with the seller instead of a bank? Very new here so anything helps:)

[Sasha Mohammed]

Hi Alexis!

This isn't as hard-lined as many people think. You CAN get around the 2 year s/e history thing... Usually, the workaround stems from having previous job history (right before self employment) in the SAME LINE OF WORK. For example, if you were a CPA for a law firm, and then went on from there to open an accounting firm on your own, SOME lenders might be willing to look at this as a 2 year history, even though you're only 1 year into the self-employment piece. 

There are a lot of specifics pertaining to this and every lender is a little different in their interpretations of guidelines. I hate to admit it but a lot of people (loan officers) are lazy and would rather just tell you that you need 2 years needed so they don't have to put in the legwork to see, but it is possible. 

Im not a fan of seller financing unless that property is free and clear and the seller is offering reasonable terms NOT on money they have borrowed. just too many people get into this type of thing without understanding the whole picture, like title being moved into the buyer's name, due on sale clauses... etc. etc. 

also, just because its a very commonly overlooked guideline which makes financing on 3's and 4's a little challenging: FHA requires the property to self-sustain its own PITIMI by the rents. You may want to consider conventional 5% down if you decide on a 3 unit over a duplex.

Hope this was helpful.