All Forum Posts by: Amber Arwine

FHA does require that you live in the home in order to qualify. You do need 2 years of employment history, but that can include school. Do you currently have a full time job? If so, we should be able to make something work.

A Condo Warranty is the approval of the Condo HOA, which is completely separate from the approval of the unit or the borrower.

We don't have as many overlays for FHA as other lenders do. I'd be happy to rerun numbers for you. I've done FHA 3.5% down with as little high of DTI as 50%.

I'm licensed in TN and can walk you through the lending requirements on your first multiunit, if you have questions on that part of the transaction.

I just helped another realtor walk through their first ever deal (as both realtor and purchaser). I'm not sure about the broker side, but having an experienced lender will be key in your first few deals to help answer questions for you. I'm happy to help if you have any questions. 

A lender would typically do a blanket approval for your max qualification amount. I can connect you to a Loan Officer in VA if you'd like.

Mortgage or HELOC, just depending on what the goal is. We have both on investment properties if you want to reach out for more detail.

Most lenders will want you to be in the home for at least a year. Typically as long as it's an upgrade (bigger/better) house we can do it with just 5% down within conforming loan limits (below $715k loan amount). 

In what I see on a day to day basis, even 3.5% is very hard for most people to save up, which is what is needed to buy a home. Early mismanagement of credit can be an issue as well. I have people that want to buy homes, but just don't have the credit score or down payment to do so, even if they have a good income.

If you are in a position where you do have the down payment, I would go for it!

I agree though that individuals (versus corporations) buying 2-4 unit properties and renting out the other units at a reasonable rate is truly the best solution for housing affordability for both them and the community.

A realtor can better advise on exact vacancy rates, but from what I've seen, it's not a huge concern. 

Mortgage Lender here: it's fine if the down payment for the new property is from a HELOC/HE Loan. There is no requirement that the funds need to be seasoned. Down payment funds just can't be from a unsecured loan (personal loan/credit card). Any secured loan is fine as long as we have the documentation. I'm happy to answer any other questions on that you might have.