Realistic? Or a pipedream?

[Sean Blanchard]

Hey BP,

I was wondering if anyone could tell me if this idea is realistic, or just hopes and dreams. To finance my first property, would it be possible to get a loan for the down payment, and finance the rest through either a mortgage or private lender? I was specifically thinking of either a signature loan or a loan through something like LendingClub.com, which is a peer to peer lending site. That would cover most, if not all of the down payment. Then, finance the rest of the deal through something like a hard money lender. Is that possible? Has anyone tried that strategy before?

This would be for my first deal, and I am in the New Orleans, LA area.

Any and all advice and insight on this is greatly appreciated!

Sean

[Jeff B.]

Traditionally, lenders dislike the down payment to be OPM, as that signals the buyer has no skin in the game and thus is a higher risk.  This is about the same risk to them as a Stated Income (aka non-verified) loan and that's what had a major impact on the 2008 RE bubble.