All Forum Posts by: Allison Stewart

I'm also late to the thread, but would be interested as well!

We bought a duplex that needed a significant amount of work in a less than desirable area (it looks less than desirable, but it's a really hot neighborhood right now since it's less than 2 miles from the Domain) - and we ended up doing most of the work ourselves, with subcontracting out a few jobs. If you're willing to put some sweat equity in, you'd be amazed at what you can accomplish for relatively cheap. Most of the areas that have duplexes look rough but we haven't had any issues in our house - and we love our neighbors. I'd be happy to talk more about our experience if you'd like to PM me! 

@Joe Scaparra, thanks for the tip on PenFed! They will do equity loans for duplexes - and they will do both occupied and unoccupied, with a LTV of 90% as well. Lots of options there! $17 join fee for a membership to a military non-profit.

@Tim C., the current interest rate for the 5/5 HELOC that Joe references is 5.25 for owner occupied (75% LTV) according to their website. They will do one for a non-owner occupied property at 70% LTV for 6.75 APR.

We are open to other options for financing a down payment, but just thought equity would be nice to capitalize on. Could also do a HE loan as well, but the trick is finding a bank that will do an equity transaction on an owner-occupied duplex, and who will also keep their appraisal costs to under $600. I'll give Telco a call in the morning to see if they will. 

@Danny Webber, what would a private RT Refi accomplish? We would need a cash out refi and current interest rates on mortgages are higher than our interest rate right now, so that's not a great option. 

Hi all, my husband and I are looking into doing a HELOC on our current owner-occupied duplex (we live in one side) to help fund a down payment on another duplex. Does anyone know a local credit union or bank that will fund a HELOC on an owner occupied duplex? I've called Amplify Credit Union, UFCU, A+ Fed Credit Union, Velocity and RBFCU - RBFCU will do it but the amount that they need for an appraisal exceeds the 2% of our available loan amount, so that's against the law. All the rest won't fund a HELOC on anything other than a single family. Anyone have any ideas?

@Thomas Clinch, you should connect with @Zachary Barton about a south Austin duplex! 

Also, it should be noted that half of all marriages do NOT end in divorce, despite this common anecdote being repeated here. For a bunch of purported numbers people, y'all should really look at the stats before claiming that. The divorce rate has never succeeded 41% (and that's for only one specific cohort) and it's been falling in recent times. Chances are, if both you and your fiance are college educated and a bit older, you have an overwhelming chance of marriage success. 

@Chaz Mathias, the thing is, when I got married, I agreed to take on my husband AND his assets (or in our case - his debts). I had more assets than my husband and it was my job in the beginning part of our marriage that enabled us to pay for his debts while maintaining my assets. But since then, I've had children and he now works more than I do, but having children was at the cost of my career trajectory. But that's an agreement we made. We've built our real estate up together, but I have done the majority of the management of that business (as I have the time and inclination to do so). 

We don't plan to get divorced, but if we did, I'm not sure what the "fair" thing would be here. Should I get more because of my sacrifices? I just don't think a pre-nup can accurately predict your future with your spouse and what each person should be entitled to. In some cases, I would say a spouse would be entitled to assets earned before the marriage and in others, I wouldn't. 

We live in a communal property state, so we do have some separate accounts that wouldn't be treated as communal property. But our bank accounts aren't separate, so even though I enabled us to pay off his debts, that may not be considered an a judgement since it was "communal". 

Also, if my husband ever asked me to sign a post-nup, I'd laugh in his face. You can be assured I'd remember that moment if he ever asked for a divorce, too. 

@Thomas Clinch we've been investing in Austin for the last 2 years. 

It's hard to find a turn-key duplex (and the numbers won't make sense on them even if you do find them), but there are a lot of good options South if you're willing to put in some sweat equity! I understand that's a bit more difficult with a new baby on the way but it's doable. We bought our first duplex when our baby was 3 months old and did a renovation on both sides, so I get it. Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck!

@Thomas Clinch, I just asked because flips are also very difficult in Austin, especially if you don’t have experience. I wouldn’t consider it a good “training-wheels” market. 

Have you considered house hacking?