California, Inland Empire; looking to make my first investment

[Carlos Vega]

Hi readers, I'm a 26 year old guy in Southern California's Inland Empire region, Corona to be exact. I recently began renting a unit in a five unit multiplex and somehow want to talk my landlord into selling me the place, where I would continue to live for free and collect rents!  I estimate the property to be worth around 500-600k. Unfortunately my monthly income is 2-2400k. I think I would be lucky to qualify for a loan of half the amount of what I estimate the property to be worth.

So as of now I'm saving (5k now), keeping my credit score in the "excellent" range and trying to learn new ways to fund my first investment even if it isn't purchasing the multiplex I live in now. 

[David Dye]

@Carlos Vega

Cabri hit the nail on the head in terms of seller financing. 

Unfortunately, FHA is a program which has guidelines that are extremely strict in most cases. The number of units is one of those things. Over four units you would need to start looking at commercial financing. Those loans focus on the income of the property over your personal income, however, they almost all require 20-30% down. With investments, banks have to see much more skin in the game to justify the risk, especially commercial.

Hope this helps!