10 percent down conventional vs Hard money

[Andrew Briones]

There is a local Credit union offering investment mortgages with as little as 10% down and around 5.18% financing. They will do up to 2 of these loans.  My question is, would it make sense doing this loan first  over using hard money to buy my next rental property?  I have a hard money lender that I have used and recently  pre-qualified with. I guess what  Im wondering is if this kind of loan is something that an experienced investor would use first before other forms of creative financing? 

[Darin L.]

Hi Andrew. I closed today on my two loans with that credit union with only 10% down. I intend to do some fix-ups (not a full rehab) with these purchases. The 10% allowed me to at least get into the deal and then have some cash left for the fix-ups.  It's a straight-forward mortgage at 10% down; I prefer to do 20% down but this worked well for me right now.  Go with the loan that best meets your needs and fulfills your intended goals. Think strategically and two or three purchases down the road; certainly think through the options on how/when/if you use that 10% down loan because it can open up options to higher priced properties that don't require any work now and/or limited future maintenance if you are buying newer properties (ie down payment is the only cash you need beyond standard reserves, etc).