Moving into a 4 plex using owner occupied financing

[Barri Griffiths]

I've heard about many people moving into a 4 plex and taking advantage of owner occupied financing. And I decided this was a great way for me to add to my portfolio. So I started to look and also contact lenders to find out what was possible. I've spoken to a couple of them now, and they both said that it's unlikely that I'll be able to get this sort of financing, as I already have 3 sfh's(one of which I currently live in) and that it's going to be very hard to convince them that I'll actually be living in one of the units!

Does anyone else have any experience, or suggestions as to what I can do to make this happen?

[Chris Mason]

The property itself must make sense from a non-financial non-REI perspective.

This will not work: "Dear underwriter, I read about house hacking on biggerpockets.com and want to get rich in real estate."

This will generally work: "To Whom it May Concern, my second daughter just turned 13 and continuing to share a bathroom with her 16 year old sister will no longer work - the bickering is placing a hardship on our family. Our current home has 1 bathroom, the unit we will occupy in this fourplex has 3 bathrooms, meaning my teenage daughter will get her own. Hopefully, with the purchase of 456 Main Street, we have less fighting at home over bathrooms, hardship solved! Bonus points: my commute will be 30 minutes shorter, and the yard is bigger for our dog. Also we will be living in the downstairs unit, meaning my 75 year old mother in law will be able to come visit without having to walk up stairs."

The underwriter may ask for documentation of your old home's bathroom count (old appraisal, tax records, etc), they may do google maps to confirm the commute, etc. Or they might not, but assume they will.