All Forum Posts by: Benjamin Haraway

@Patrick Knapp Thanks Patrick.

@Jay Good to know, thanks!

@Colten Powell Yeah that makes a lot of sense! Yes, you’re right that I’m antsy to get started. Taking the time to continue saving up and researching is probably the right call.

@Jeffrey Donis I will definitely look into this!

@Rico Quatro

Thanks for linking the article! I am familiar with the 203k loan but that does not solve the issue that I’m having. I would still have to pay rent for an apartment that i wouldn’t be living in. The main reason why I considered Hard Money is so that I could afford a 20% down payment that would allow me to rent out both sides of the duplex and continue living in my apartment.

@Stephanie P.

Thank you for your response! You provided me with a lot of good information there. I would really love to buy a property sooner rather than later so that’s why I was trying to decide between house hacking and paying rent vs. Hard Money. I will definitely look into other options first but wanted to know if my logic was correct that hard money would be better than paying rent while house hacking.

I am new to real estate investing and am looking to buy my first duplex. Unfortunately, I am locked into my lease for 11 more months and do not want to break my lease because I have two other roommates that are very good friends of mine. I don't want to force them to move or have to worry about living with a random roommate to replace me. 

I also do not have enough money to put down 20% for a property. I was originally considering house hacking the duplex with an FHA loan so I could basically be living for free in the duplex but then I would still have to pay my monthly rent of $800 a month at the apartment that I have. I am starting to learn more about Hard Money so now I'm questioning if it would make more sense to get a Hard Money loan to allow me to make a 20% down payment so that I can live in the apartment that I'll be paying for anyway and also be able to rent out both sides of the duplex that I buy.

Hard Money sounds risky to me because of the higher interest rates but in this situation I feel like it may make sense. The interest payments on the Hard Money Loan would be cheaper than my apartment payments I would have to make if I house hacked the duplex. The duplex should cash flow and be able to cover the interest payments but even if it doesn't, I make enough money with my day job to be able to easily pay the interest payments and even start paying the principal down on the loan as well. My exit strategy would be to cash-out refinance after a couple years to repay the Hard Money lender. Please let me know your thoughts!

@Nick Robinson Thank you that’s very helpful.

@Eric James Okay thank you!

Hi everyone! I am excited to get into real estate investing but I’m worried about qualifying for a loan. I want to buy a rental property while keeping the apartment that I have but the rental property mortgage along with my rent, car payment, and student loans will cause me to have a Debt to Income Ratio slightly over 50%. Will the bank recognize the fact that the tenants would be paying for the mortgage payment and allow me to get a loan?