All Forum Posts by: Devon L.

Thank you @Kathy Argento.  I will try a few more banks in the coming weeks.

Thank you Lisa, that answers my question.  The properties I'm looking at are about 2 hours from NYC so that wouldn't be an option.  

Hi All,

I'll respect everyone's time and keep this short and to the point.  I'm just starting out as a newbie RE investor and I met with a loan officer at my local bank (CHASE).  I wanted to request a pre-approval for a loan and see how much I can afford to borrow.  A few questions came to mind and I didn't want to ask the loan officer.  Keeping in mind that banks require 25% down for rental property loans and I do not intend to live in the property (preferably multi-family):

1. Would it make sense to take out an FHA loan at 3.5% down (tell them I plan to live there) and just pay the additional insurance from the rent proceeds until either I hit the 20% mark and/or I am able to refinance pay in to get me to 20% down?

2. Same question but instead of an FHA, just tell them I would be living there and opt for the 20% down instead of 25%.

3. Can I get an FHA loan for a multi-family unit? (should have asked that first)

For my first property I plan on spending no more than 80k so while I can afford the downpayment and closing costs, I'm just thinking of ways to stretch my funds so I can invest in more properties.

Thanks in advance!

Hi All,

 Devon from NYC here and I'm really excited to dive into owning my own rental property in the next several months.  I've been reading a ton of posts and listening to the podcasts and the wealth of information here is unbelievable.  I have not yet had a question that I couldn't find the answer for on BP.  I'm looking to start with a moderate "fixer-upper" multi-family unit in the CT/PA area for under 70k.  I want to get my feet wet without taking a bath.  If anyone in CT/PA is willing to take on a low maintenance mentee from NYC I would be forever in your debt  : ).  I'm an accountant by profession and my father is a retired carpenter/contractor so I'm hoping to learn as much as I can from him to save money on renovations while I'm blessed to still have him here with me.

I look forward to interacting with everyone on BP Forums.  

-Devon 

Mike, 

Read through all of your posts and this was an educational experience to say the least.  From an aspiring investor, I want to say thank you and I'm hoping things go well.   

I've never heard of a hard money lender until now.  The name sounds somewhat intimidating (like a betting loan shark), can you shine some light on this?  Where might someone go looking for one?  Are their interest rates reasonable or astronomical?  I noticed you rec'd the first draw after the initial phase was done, did you pay for supplies/labor out-of-pocket at first?  

-Devon