All Forum Posts by: Timothy Chi

Hoping to purchase my first property: dupex as a house hack. I have called some local lenders in WA state to get a feel of what I'd get on a mortgage. It seems that many lenders only care about my DTI ratio and not the actual amount of debt I have. Here's a little bit of background of myself: I have 7k in auto loans and 130k in student loans (federal and private). My minimum payments of all 3 are: 360 auto, 200 federal student loans, 470 private student loans. I have focused so much on the previous 4 years on debt pay down, without too much consideration on my minimum payments. I've always payed more than the minimum on my loans. As a result, I have some cash savings but that hasn't been my focus and thus I'll have a lower down payment. As I talk to lenders it seems they only care about my minimum payments and not my actual loan amount. It's causing me to wonder if maybe I should try to pay off my highest minimum payment loans first, like the auto and private student loans, rather than the ones that make financial sense (highest interest ones).

What's everyones thought on this? Do you feel that mortgage lenders typically care more about the DTI than actual debt amount? No credit card debt, just auto and student loans.

Thanks Erik, that's great insight on low down payments. I've realized that as I've researched more and more. Bellingham is definitely a low cash flow market, along with a good part of I-5 in WA. Unless you go further south past Olympia. It's my long term plan to settle down there. I haven't quite felt comfortable with out of state investments, especially since I'd likely try for an FHA. On the plus side, Bellingham is a pretty hot market on the rental side of things and being a college town helps with that - unless covid comes back!

That's good to know. It seems that as I call local lenders, many are quoting me the minimum down on a conventional loan. I realized I have to actively ask for an FHA loan. Almost seems like they prefer the conventional loan!

I'm looking for a place as a primary residence, so an FHA would likely be the best bet. Thanks for the insight!

Hi everybody! Looking to purchase my first property over this next year, ideally in Bellingham, WA. It's slim pickins over there right now but I'm patiently waiting for something to pop up. I've been reaching out to lenders in the area and trying to get an idea how much cash to close I would need. I've called quite a few and it seems most banks require a 15% down payment for specifically a MFR.

I wanted to reach out to the community to see what everyone else's experience with this was.  I was hoping to put a 5% down on my first property but if this 15% is the standard, then I may have to start with a SFR. I appreciate any other advice or insight.  Thank you in advance!

I'm from the Seattle area and have been interested in this region.  As a first time investor, western washington is getting pretty tough and Spokane seems like an area that has a lot of growth potential. Also not a bad place to live! I've seen some properties show up around Gonzaga. Anyone have any opinions on that part of town?

@Megan Shay @Steve Vaughan, thank you for your response (and everyone else). She is actually in Renton, I should have been more specific. Would you say the same goes for Renton as well?

Hello all! I have a question.

My mom is approaching retirement and is considering downsizing to a smaller place. She has a SFR currently. I brought up the idea of renting it out but she was concerned about all the legal issues that could come up. I was wondering if anyone has a recommendation for someone to talk to about all the legal aspects of renting out a SFR.

She lives in the Seattle area. Any recommendation is great appreciated!

I would personally say no to a 401k. That's a big loss in fees. Maybe taking the contributions out of a roth would be a better idea if that applies to you

@Nicole Heasley

I wouldn’t keep the car. The Jeep is known to not be very reliable so I would think this repair cost wouldn’t be the last of it. I would recommend a used Honda or Toyota. What model and yeAr you get should be determined by what you can afford and whether you would need to take out a car loan or not. Thus I wouldn’t make recommendations on year.

Someone mentioned an old Subaru however they are known for having head gasket issues, which is a 2-2.5k repair cost. I had an 05 forester that needed a second head gasket repair by 160k. I won’t go back to Subaru’s for that reason.

Also, something to think about is the type of tire on the car. A winter tire will out perform any AWD on non-winter tires.

Good luck!

@Nick Berard

Nicely done man! I’m hoping to move to bham in the next 1-2 years! I’ll likely be looking for a duplex.