House Hacking Pre-Approval

[Ryan Lehman]

Hello, 

I'm very new to real estate investing and was looking to do my first house hack. I wanted to first get pre-approved and noticed that when I go to multiple lenders websites, they ask if my objective is for investing or primary residence. When I choose primary residence, the amount of loan money I can get is a lot higher than if I had chosen investing and I was wondering since I technically will be living in the house for at least a year, do I get pre-approved for primary residence or investing?

[Michael Haas]

@Chace Fraser is right - while investment loans almost always require 20% down (and sometimes 25% or more down!) there are lots of great Owner-Occupant loans for 3.5%, 5%, or 10% down. Owner occupant loans also typically have 0.2% - 0.5% lower interest rates than investment loans.

 If you live there for one year the property will have an owner occupant loan for the life of the loan (30 years in most cases!). So yes - if you live in your investment property for the first year you get a lower interest rate, and a lower down payment, for the remaining 29 years or whatever the loan term is.