All Forum Posts by: Allison W Gammon

Jeff, Thanks so much!!

Hi!  I am currently in the process of purchasing my first property.  It is a 3 family in upstate New York and I will be owner occupying the first floor apartment.  There are two current tenants in the upstairs apartments.  Can anyone recommend what kind of insurance I should get as an owner-occupied landlord?  Also, anything else I need to know/do?  Lots to learn!  Thanks!

Allison

Hi, everyone. I have a solo 401K (I'm self-employed) with E-Trade.  I spoke to etrade and all they would do is read the rules to me, not actually tell me what I need to do.  So, it looks like I can borrow 50% of my solo 401k funds for a down payment on a house.  

The guy directed me to a form to fill out and said that I come up with my own interest rate for paying myself back?  I feel like I need more information.  How do I ACTUALLY take out the loan?  

I don't want to get a house under contract and then have it all fall through because I don't know how to take out a loan from my solo 401K.  Etrade was NOT helpful. 

Anyone able to walk me through this or point me to the type of professional that I need to contact?  Thanks so much!!

Allison

Edward, thanks for replying. I have been googling the same thing which is why I asked on here. 

It is unclear (to me anyway) if the property cannot be used as a STR for one year or ever. This is my concern.

I know that I have to live in it as my primary residence for one year. I know that I can rent the other unit out as a LTR starting immediately. What I dont know is whether I can use it as a STR after the one year period.

I have emailed a local lender who will hopefully be able to clarify this for me.  

@Edward Wodziak So it is just for one year? That's what I thought and then I read that you can never use a home under an FHA mortgage for a STR. It makes sense that it's just for one year because FHA only requires owner occupancy for one year. After that, it would make sense (to me) that I could do whatever I wanted with the house. Do you have any documentation to show that it's just for one year? I want to make sure I'm clear about what I'm doing. Thanks!

I was about to purchase a 2 family home with an FHA loan, live in one unit and use the second unit as a STR. Then I found out that I can't do STR with an FHA loan- EVER. So, I will either have to rent long term forever or eventually refinance. Is there a better way with conventional lending? I looked into the homeready loan and can't tell if it allows STR or if it's even available to me. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Allison

@Mary Stratos you say you found that out the hard way. What happened? Did the FHA check up on you and call the loan due?

I know that Rental Arbitrage is a thing, but I'm thinking about something slightly different. My friend owns a property in a desirable area and wants to sell. Rather than purchase the property, I'm thinking about offering a STR partnership agreement. She owns the property, but I take care of all STR maintenance, cleaning, booking, furnishing, etc. I'm also considering offering to pay the taxes and cover all maintenance and repairs. Has anyone done something like this? I have to run numbers to see what makes it worthwhile for both of us, but off the top of my head, I'm thinking that we share the booking funds 70/30 (70 to me, 30 to her) and I use those funds to cover all costs and make my profit. She just gets money. Does that sound like a reasonable option? Of course another option would be to use booking fees to cover STR expenses, taxes, repairs, maintenance and then share the profits. Just wondering if others have done anything similar. We would obviously talk to a lawyer and have legal documents drawn up etc.

Hi everyone,

My friend is selling her home. It's been on the market a long time and is unique, thus she's having trouble selling. It's in a desirable area so I want to purchase it and use it as a STR. I told my RE investing mentor about the property and she looked at it with me. She says she's willing to help me do it myself or do a long or short term partnership with me. I have never purchased a property before and am overwhelmed by options. The main thing that concerns me about a partnership is that her fiance (who is a part of her business team) would be part of the partnership. I don't know him well. Have any of you done a partnership to purchase a STR? What strategy works well? I know there are many options and I will talk to a lawyer and CPA, but I'm trying to wrap my head around things first. Any advice?

Thanks!

Hi! I am considering a STR in Hammond, LA. I was wondering if anyone can help me out with STR regulations in that state? I live in New York.

The property is owned by me and my ex-husband. He had taken it over after the divorce, but he asked if I want to buy him out because he's tired of dealing with it. It's on 10 acres, so I think it might make a nice relaxing Air BnB, but I no nothing about the STR regulations in Louisiana.

Thanks!

Allison