Newbie Partners: Go in on first mortgage together or separate?

[Nina Ricci]

Hey, everyone!

So my investment partner and I are looking to snag our first deal, but first, we're looking into getting approved for a mortgage. Right now, we were looking at FHA loans because of their 3.5% down facet, and in our current situation, we're looking for low to no money down.

The type of property we're looking into is a HomePath multi-family home with two units. We're going to live there together for the first year (and potentially rent out the other unit at the same time), and eventually rent out both units. However, we were wondering if we come across another good deal within that same year and wanted to utilize another FHA loan for example (if we didn't get have enough capital for a larger percentage of a down-payment), would we be able to do that if the initial property was our "primary residence" for that year? Would it be smarter to do each mortgage individually so we could potentially have two FHA loans and have each one as one of our primary residences? Is that worth it?

Are there other pros or cons to going in on your first mortgage with your investment partner if you're looking to seriously get started this year? Do you have any advice you could offer or steps we should take in order to be smart and make the best financial decisions?

I know this post was jumbled, so I'd be happy to clarify any questions you might have! I'm also open to any newbie advice you've got up your sleeves. Thanks :)