All Forum Posts by: Jim D.

America First Credit Union is who I used. Looks like their variable rates just went up a bit since I last checked:

Primary residence: https://www.americafirst.com/loans/home-equity-loa...

Investment properties: https://www.americafirst.com/loans/home-equity-loa...

If you use the county's assessed value of the property for the LTV calculations (found online), you don't need to pay for appraisal. My total closing costs were $155.

Joe, I was able to build a nice portfolio without too much money down in my late 20's. This has all been written by others elsewhere, but here is what I did: buy a single family home as your primary residence with a 5% down conventional loan. With this loan you're required to move in and stay there for at least a year. If you don't mind having roommates, get them in there and they'll cover your whole mortgage payment while you save up for the next down payment.

After one year, buy house #2 the same way and move in for 12 months. Get roommates if at all possible. Keep repeating! If you buy houses in good condition, you should be able to manage them without hiring a manager, and you'll learn some handyman skills as you go along with the help of Home Depot and Youtube. 

There's much more to it than that, but that's the basic roadmap. It's a bit of a pain, but it's the best way I know of to get into the game with little money. My roommates who thought I was crazy for taking the smallest basement bedroom in the house to save up the next down payment are still renting.

In Utah, some credit unions will go to 100% LTV on a primary residence HELOC, but I think the rate is around 9%.

On a rental property, they'll go up to 80% LTV for 4.5%. I am using these to keep my rentals at 80% and am using the money to invest elsewhere. However, they can't really be used in lieu of a standard 30-year mortgage, because the term won't go that long (15 years at best, 10 is more common). Better used for liquidity for rehabbing, or making cash offers and then refinancing with traditional loans.

I've been working full-time in solar for the last 5 years. The idea of using solar to offset cost can be very profitable with the right kind of building, on the right rate schedule, in the right area. 

However, at least among everyone I know in the industry, the Tesla solar roof tiles are kind of a joke. They get TONS of press coverage, but the claims about their cost-effectiveness are not realistic. There are also major technological hurdles to their design which they haven't addressed publicly. Economically, they don't even come close to the ROI on standard solar panels.

Bummer about the rules on no single room rentals. It's a great strategy to get higher yield. You might still be able to do it just by having them all on one lease (i.e. have four singles sign the lease for $2800/month and leave them to divide the rent how they want). I'll leave it to you to figure out whether or not that would meet the HOA requirements.

I have graduate students in some rentals and they are fantastic tenants. Hardly ever home, very responsible, and when one of them moves out, the other ones find a replacement on their own because they want to choose who moves in. I've had almost zero vacancy in 4 years and only had to re-list a room once.

Justin, I believe you're thinking about it the right way (although I personally feel the stock market is valued pretty high right now and would say it's far from a sure bet to beat paying down your loan). But logically, you're approaching this the right way to allocate your money in the most optimal way. And looks like you have a good deal on the rent vs. price ratio.

Conventional loans can only be used on 2-4 unit properties with at least 20% down. So for your triplex, you'll have to use FHA unless you have the 20%.

As a side note, one great way I have gotten around PMI is by purchasing owner-occupied SFR's with 5% down conventional loans, which require me to live in them for at least one year. On those loans, you can have the option of either paying monthly PMI or what's called "single premium mortgage insurance", which is a large one-time payment (mine were around 2 points). I opted for the single premium and negotiated for the sellers pay it, thus getting a 5% down loan with a great rate and no PMI. The house hopping was a hassle once a year, but made for a great portfolio.

I agree with Michele. It sounds like she clearly wants out, and will be nothing but difficult until that happens. Even though she may be wrong about what the lease allows, I would MUCH rather just agree to part ways and find a new tenant rather than getting into a battle over what the lease allows and having to constantly worry and fight about it.

Even if it causes you a month or two of vacancy, I find that preferable to all the headaches, time, trouble with contractors, phone calls from her father, attorney, etc. Once a tenant is disillusioned and doesn't like you, things rarely get better from there.

So great to hear your story, as I am in almost the exact same situation. I bought a few buy-and-holds and could tell the addiction was imminent. I also just left a six-figure job and purchased my licensing course just today, so you're about a month ahead of me! Kudos for making the jump and going all-in. Burning the boat behind you can bring out results you would never find otherwise.

Best of luck!

Hi Jeff, thanks for posting--I am planning to come.