203K and FHA Loans. Which one?

[Mathew Weissman]

Hello BP community-

I am currently in search of my first investment property as a "buy an live". I am currently renting in a apartment and I am sick if throwing my money away to the person I aspire to be. I want my first purchase to be a small to medium multifamily home(preferably a duplex or triplex). Since this is my first purchase and I would be living in it for 1-2 years until another deal comes along, I believe I would qualify for FHA or a 203k loan. My question is this..If you were me in my situation, what type of loan would you use? Would you go a different route other than FHA or 203K? Any tips you would like to share as well please feel free. Thank you.

Mathew Weissman

[Bill Rich]

Hey Guys

I can speak from the perspective of a lender who does a lot of 203K's and 203B FHA loans. Both loans are great loans and each have a lot of benefit to offer. From my perspective, the 203K is not a difficult loan to do if you are working with the right lender. You want to make sure the lender that you are working with has expertise in this program. It is the lender who "offers" the 203K but does not really know the ins and outs where the difficulties come into play hence everyone saying its more difficult to complete. The 203B FHA loan is a great one if the home does not need any work down to it and you are just looking to get into a home with little money down. If you are buying a multi-family property you can use the rental income from the other units as well to help you qualify. There is a lot of information on the internet some good but most bad so if you have any specific questions about these programs please feel free to ask.