All Forum Posts by: Adam Schooley

@Chris Rivers You should absolutely buy it as a primary residence! I see you’re in Fort Lauderdale. Most duplexes in good neighborhoods are running around $350k or higher. Why have to put $70k down plus closing costs and a higher interest rate when you could put $12,250 down plus closing costs and a lower interest rate. I prefer to keep my cash even if the monthly income is less. You can also homestead 1/2 the property while you live there to help with the taxes. Just my opinion. Good luck! 

I would refi into a conventional loan on your current property and then go for the FHA loan on your next property so you could take advantage of the 3.5% down.

I would call both companies. Most insurance companies will not cover patio screen enclosures and fences. Let us know what happens. 

Hi Katrina. Welcome to BP! I live here in sunny Florida. I am an agent and also have investment properties in Fort Lauderdale. Let me know if you need any help.

You're on the right track! I personally house hacked a duplex in 2014-2015. Your numbers are little off though. For an FHA loan you need to put down 3.5%. Just the mortgage alone on $300k w/ your downpayment and rate of 4.25% would be around $1425.00 a month and thats not including the PMI you will have to pay because you are not putting down 20%. I believe that your monthly payment would be closer to $2,200-$2,400 all in. Don't forget closing costs run about 3-4%. Some of the areas you mentioned have no multi-family properties or very few. Weston, Cooper City, and Davie have very few duplexes. You would be better off concentrating on Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, and Pompano for more inventory. You mentioned you have family. There are hardly any multi-family properties in good school zones. I'm not sure how old your kids are but that was a big factor for me as I have kids in school. Another thing to note is that you do not get 100% homestead exception when you house hack a multi-family property. You can only homestead the part that you live in which will be a factor for your monthly cash flow. I.E. If you buy a duplex you can homestead 50% of the property. When you move out of the property you will lose it completely. Always do your numbers like you will not be living there and factor in 10% for management fees even if you will manage it yourself. There are deals out there you just have to be patient. Have your financing in place so that when you do find a deal you can put an offer on it right way. Most deals will be under contract within hours to a couple of days at the most. If you have any other questions feel free to send me a message.

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@Jazmine S. I'm a native here in sunny  South Florida. I'd love to help you out. 

Generally if the HOA or Condo association doesn't have enough in reserves the lenders will require you to put 25% down. If I were you I would talk to a mortgage broker that can answer all these types of questions for you. You will want one on your investment team anyways. You can PM me if you want a local reference.

@Thomas Franklin awesome advice! 

@Jheanell R. you're on the right track! @Tony Georgiev is right on point with his advice. You would want to refinance into a conventional loan so that you could do another FHA loan at 3.5% down. I would just caution you to make sure your numbers still work on your first duplex as your mortgage will be larger, interest rates have gone up a bit, and you will lose your homestead exemption on your first duplex when you move to your new duplex.

@Marty True I agree with you.  I'm on several wholesalers lists also and see the same properties over and over again.  Sometimes they're priced the same sometimes they're priced higher.  I do see on several wholesalers emails that they state for the agents to add their commission to the price.  I'm assuming they have very slim margins and thats why they do that.  If an agent has a cash buyer and the price still works for their cash buyer with the commission added in, I would think it's a win win.  It always comes down to what the buyer is willing to pay and if the numbers work.  I'm a buy and hold investor myself and I always want the best deal possible.  If a wholesaler or an agent brought me a deal and added $5-$10k on the price and it fit my criteria I would buy the property regardless.  Would I want the deal for $5-$10k less then what I paid? Of course I would but I might have never known the deal existed in the first place without the wholesaler or agent sending it my way.