All Forum Posts by: Danielle McMurphy

All great responses here 👍 a condo typically has a favorable price point but some are not FHA friendly and sometimes HOA's will be difficult to work with as a house hack or down the road if you intend to move out and rent out. Always consider your exit strategy or your backend/longterm plan: are you planning on keeping and renting out, selling, BRRRR, etc.? Given that you may need to pivot your strategy down the road, make sure you are protecting your long term plan. One of the great parts of househacking is "getting your foot in the door" on a performing asset, as in buying with a minimal down payment by occupying for a period of time. Otherwise, you're looking at 10-25% down.

Finding a multifamily to house hack there is difficult and expensive, so maybe consider a SFR with an ADU or potential to convert a space into an ADU.

FHA will be your best bet with anything 2-4 units. As mentioned earlier by @Matthew Kwan, 3-4 units must pass the self-sufficiency test, which most do not depending on current leases in place, etc.

I highly suggest speaking with @Grant Schroeder with Academy mortgage. If this is your first home purchase, they have a great 0% down conventional product with no PMI. We sent a buyer living in Imperial Beach to Grant and got him connected with a realtor. The buyer is also bringing on a co-signed as well.

Hope that helps!

@Danielle McMurphy Great idea! Here are some helpful resources on house hacking and getting started. 5% down conventional is a good plan. Leaving your FHA loan available for when you make more and want to house hack a duplex or something bigger could be a good idea. With FHA you only have to put 3.5-5% down for a duplex to fourplex. Which is better than the 15% down with conventional.

House Hacking is amazing. Here are some resources I found really helpful on my journey.

1. For podcasts I really like the Huse Hacking episodes on Bigger Pockets Podcast and other channels. Here is a playlist with the best House Hacking Podcasts I’ve found: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4A6uLsPfdWEMmJhG4TSjyb?si=743bb403548f47fb

2. Great beginners guide: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Ultimate_Beginners_Guide_BiggerPockets.pdf

3. The Book on House Hacking Strategies by Craig Curelop is also a fantastic book

Hi @Danielle McMurphy I have a couple of condos in Contract in the Carlsbad/Oceanside area currently where the buyers will be house hacking and they both opted to go the conventional route with minimum 5% down vs the fha route. FHA up front fee is not great and mortgage insurance was usually higher with fha although that has recently dropped a bit.

@Danielle McMurphy- thanks and best of luck with the move ...1) if planning to occupy the property - consider using a conventional loan as you can avoid the high FHA 1.75% upfront mtg ins premium and also avoid having the monthly mortgage insurance be permananet and unable to eliminate without refinancing ....2) there are conventional loans that allow as little as 3-5% down 3) if you purchase a condo and use FHA - the complex will need to be a FHA approved complex and Many complexes arent approved) 4) get the pre approval process underway now if you think you might be buying within the next 1-3 months ...good luck

Hey Danielle! I am a lender here in Boise. Would love to connect and talk about what you are looking for and help you through the process.

@Danielle McMurphy You took the first step in getting started, asking questions. One idea is to look for your first roommate if you are going to house hack. Maybe together you could buy the first property. Some people have money and no time or interest in figuring out the real estate part. Others, like you are very interested in becoming an investor but short on the money.

Also, I would suggest you find an agent because many times they have preferred lenders and also know of programs to help buyers. For example:  Here in MN we have down payment assistance that helps with closing costs, though you still need to have the income to cover the debt.

@Danielle McMurphy Congrats on working on getting started. If I was you I would reach out to a lender and work on seeing what you qualify for now, and how you can boost your income. Now I'm not a lender but some jobs are looked at as better  than others. Waiting tables has the majority of the income in tips, while it may make more money than a straight hourly job, the lender might look at it as less since it is more flexible and you don't have the history of work. Usually you need at least 2 months of pay stubs. 

To the FHA loan for Multifamily in Boise will be the tricky part. For stats this year only one SMF property has sold FHA in Ada county, and one in Canyon. So it is possible, but be ready for a lot of rejection. Also talking to a lender you might have more options than just FHA and boost your chances.