All Forum Posts by: James Tardif

I'm currently house-hacking my second 2-family property; I'm starting to think about the next one (naturally) and need some direction on financing. I have one conventional and one FHA loan out, and re-financing the FHA loan would not make sense since I have a very good rate (2.63%).

The thought behind REFI'ing was to re-open my FHA eligibility. I don't see any other low down-payment programs available that can be used while holding an FHA loan. Am I limited to a single family property as my next move, financing with 5% down conventional? Maybe these options are out of the question because lenders will view me as over-leveraged?

Anyone with experience financing a 3rd + property, I would greatly appreciate some feedback! 

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Southington.

Purchase price: $247,500
Cash invested: $14,000

Soon moving from my first 2-family house that I house hacked into my second property, which I again used an FHA loan with 3.5% down to purchase. I am open to repeating this cycle (BRRRR) again, or creatively financing the next venture.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

After finding success from the first house hack, I decided I had gone through all the motions and was ready to rinse and repeat!

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Found on the MLS. It had sat on the market a while (Likely because the pictures taken were sub-par and there was minor damage to a detached garage. I repaired the damage prior to closing (per our agreement). Time on the market and the garage damage helped me negotiate.

How did you finance this deal?

FHA loan

How did you add value to the deal?

In the process of planning the install of new HW heaters, 1 bathroom rehab, some floor refinishing, and cosmetic repairs (light fixtures, curb appeal foundation plants). This should allow for higher appraisal when I reach the time to refi into conventional package.

What was the outcome?

Will keep you posted!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Completing work on a tight time window can be stressful, and it is difficult for a newbie to estimate labor hours needed for a project!

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Kevin Harris from Keller Williams-West Hartford office.

Federal hill is a nice area for multis and SFH too-I house hack a 2-family here. Chippens hill is also nice for SFH. Some blight in the city, but quiet and save overall. I use the link below for data on CT towns, you'll see for what you pay it's definitely worth looking into.

http://profiles.ctdata.org/ 

Provided you financed with FHA...One solution (What I'm almost through now) is if the property appreciates, refi into a conventional mortgage (You need 15% equity min. for a 2 family owner-occupied to do this). This opens up your FHA eligibility (Can only have 1 FHA loan at a time) so you can house-hack the next one. Reason to use the FHA loan again is because conventional min down payment is 15%. Hope this is clear and helps.

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $211,000
Cash invested: $8,000

House hacking with intent to refi soon (BRRRR method) and make my next investment.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Low cash down and equity build allow me to keep cash in hand for the next investment.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

MLS.

How did you finance this deal?

FHA Mortgage.

What was the outcome?

Still holding.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Kevin Harris of Keller Williams.