FHA or BRRR with OPM?

[Benjamin Cooper]

Hello everyone,

I'm a brand new investor in the Richmond, Virginia area and planning to buy my first home this year. The idea is to find a small multi-family and house hack it. My wife and I qualify for a first time home buyer loan as we have never owned before. The catch is that I'm also looking for a great deal that has potential to BRRR and that might not be feasible to repair with the loan from the bank. The question is should I use the first time home buyer loan and get a place that needs fewer repairs or borrow other peoples' money to BRRR my first property?

[Andrew Postell]

@Benjamin Cooper you've got a good comment above and I would also suggest the FHA route first. It's simpler. Buying a home is stressful enough. No need to complicate it more by becoming a project manager too. Especially on your first time out. Whenever I BRRRR a property I don't get to choose the location. I have to choose based on numbers. Whenever I buy my own home I have person needs - the need to feel safe. The need to have my wife happy. The need for a good commute time. You also might have needs like school zones or some other need that is really important that I'm not listing here. Those personal needs will run into conflict with a BRRRR type of transaction 99% of the time. So use that FHA loan and call it a day. You'll have a great interest rate and you'll be able to buy a multi-family home with almost the lowest amount possible.