All Forum Posts by: Blaine Gobler

Thanks @Jack Rosenfeld! We have looked individually and unfortunately the homes that we would be interested in (split level/two living quarters and/or ADU's) are priced higher than what we would qualify for individually. We can make it work with just two of us on the loan but I am concerned about the implications of buying another property in the future. Because my brothers would continue to live there for 5 years and I would be there for only 3 I would need one of them to sign a lease just to show the bank so I can finance my next property.

I was thinking the same as well and will be sure to ask a lender and CPA. I would be surprised if there was an issue with this plan but you never know. We are just trying to leverage our situation and as BP suggests to "get creative."

House hacking is definitely the plan to some degree. We were initially looking for a duplex but lenders are requiring 15% down for multifamily (I was surprised this was true for first time home buyers). A lot of the duplexes we have seen aren't in the best areas, not vacant, pretty expensive, and still need a lot of work which doesn't give us a lot of wiggle room. So we have shifted our focus to split level homes with two living quarters and/or homes with ADU's. This kind of gives us the best of both worlds, we only have to put down 3%-5%, it has potential to be a rental in the future, better area, and from my research this option should appreciate slightly more than a duplex so we would still have the option of selling in the future.

Thinking long term though we want to accumulate a few multifamily properties and this may be the next investment we decide to make after buying a primary residence. This allows us to save more money for the first 3-5 years since we are all splitting the mortgage and we will have an asset appreciating with inflation. In that time we will definitely have enough saved for a 20% down payment on another property and maybe the market slightly corrects which would be a good opportunity to buy. It would be nice to avoid the 20% down payment though on future properties, especially with such low interest rates, assuming they stay relatively low through 2024. If my brothers stay off the mortgage then we may be able to only put down 3-5% on future properties as well since they would be first time home buyers.

Really appreciate the conversation @Chris Clothier, we are exploring our options and needed someone to bounce ideas off. Definitely trying to think through all scenarios and make the best long term decision that has lowest risk and high upside potential.

Thanks @Chris Clothier! I have heard about the 10 loan max but wasn't too concerned about that at this point but good to know. My biggest concern was having my brothers lose out on first time home buyer perks (low down payment) if they were to be on the mortgage. If they weren't going to be on the loan, I still wanted a legal way of including them since we're all equally investing in this property, I think adding them to the title/deed solves that problem.

My other concern would be the implication of buying a second home for myself. In order to finance another property it is my understanding that I would need to have a signed lease agreement to show the bank. Since my brothers would continue living there for a few more years, the plan would be to have one of my brothers (whoever is not on the mortgage) sign a lease so I can finance another property. Is there any problem with having a co-owner on the title/deed sign a lease agreement?

Also, the other concern is the down payment that I would be required to pay. For a second mortgage on a single family home that would be my new primary residence, would that require only 5% down or 20%? From my research that is what I have seen but not entirely sure as laws seem to always be changing. 

Appreciate any additional insight you may have.

Thank you both, @Caleb Webster and @Brad Hammond. 

We are definitely leaning toward buying something that would fit our needs now. Something that's not too expensive and allows us to continue to save money and then reevaluate in the future whether we want to rent or sell. 

As we explore our options I will definitely reach out, appreciate your input!

Hello Everyone, new member here trying to get some information and explore options! 

My two brothers and I are all first time home buyers looking to buy a primary residence together with the plan of turning it into a rental property in 3-5 years and buying another property. This would allow us to continue saving money (more than if we bought separately) and get into this market while our home hopefully appreciates with inflation. 

A few questions we have:

1) Should we all be on the loan or should we try and leave one of us off it in case we need lease the property in order to buy a future property? My brothers are younger and would most likely continue to live in the property a little longer than me. By leasing to one of them after 3 years I would be able to show that to the bank and it would improve my debt to income ratio.

2)  The market is obviously crazy, especially in Portland, OR and suburbs surrounding so we don't believe we will get a great deal right now. It may not be a good rental on paper today, even though we are living in it, but I want to somehow evaluate if it will be a good rental in the future. Is there anyway to do this? Or should our main concern be just getting into the market and reevaluating in 5 years if we want to sell or rent it out.

3) We are inexperienced and looking for ways we can leverage having 3 buyers to set ourselves up for the future. If anyone has experience from a similar situation and has some beneficial pieces of advice that we wouldn't be aware of please share. 

Our goal is to become financially independent and believe Real Estate will ultimately help us but we want to make good informed decisions. 

Thank you for your help!