All Forum Posts by: Jason Hines

I am going through this right now. Just had an offer accepted fortunately. It's just for a two unit, but I have had 2 brokers and several lenders say that I needed 15% down for conventional. Fortunately, I found one without PMI, so I went with that.

@Mike Cumbie In the scenarios with your clients, do you remember if the tanks were above or below the ground? Thanks again for responding!

@Mike Cumbie We are approved for conventional but it would be too much up front cash for us to meet our goals. It may be a blessing in disguise because another great property popped up just this morning.

The property near the gas station is in an AMAZING location, so if I can get FHA to happen, I'd want that property.

I put an offer in on a multi unit last week. The seller just got back to us stating that he would be willing to negotiate but that he believes FHA mortgages won't be approved because of the proximity to a gas station.

I did find this on the US Dept of Housing and Urban Dev's website which states "Stationary storage tanks containing flammable or explosive material pose potential hazards to housing, including hazards from fire and explosions. If the subject property line is within 300 feet of an aboveground, stationary storage tank with a capacity of 1,000 gallons or more of flammable or explosive material, then the property is ineligible for FHA insurance. The Appraiser must notify the Mortgagee of the deficiency of Minimum Property Requirements (MPR) or Minimum Property Standards (MPS), so the Mortgagee can determine the eligibility."   

Looking at Google maps, the property is ~184ft from the property, but the gas station doesn't have any ABOVE ground tanks that can be seen via Google Street View. My searching online has found some people talking about this, but also mentioning that BELOW ground tanks can also cause the loan to be denied.

I'd be happy to share the address via DM if you want to take a look for yourself. If you are an FHA appraiser, I'd love to your thoughts.

I am from the Allentown, PA area and am looking for and ready to buy my first duplex in the Lehigh Valley. I plan to house hack initially but will move on to another property eventually. Do any fellow Lehigh Valley investors have recommendations for home inspectors or contractors? Thanks in advance.

I'm work from home today so I will be actively replying. Thanks!

@Kody Thompson I am in Eastern PA. Allentown to be exact.

@Wesley W. I did not. I guess I'm just looking for a rough guess from someone with experience. I'll take a look at local ads though.

Does anybody have experience with renting detached garages? I'm looking at a property that has a 30' x 32' fully insulated garage/pole building with 200-amp electrical service. What kind of monthly rent can I expect to get from that?

@Nick Peters Apologies for the delay. I fixed everything up, was more conservative with the estimates, and added in $1k rent to the unit that I'll be living in. Screenshots below. What do you think? 

Also, do you have much experience with renting garages. I know location plays a factor, but what do you think I could get monthly for renting a a 30' x 32' fully insulated garage/Pole Building with 200 Amp electrical service?

Thanks Nick. Yes, I was only including the income from the unit I’d be renting and not the potential income from the side I’d be living in. Since I only plan on living there for one year before moving to the next hack, I’ll add the income for the unit I’d be living in and post that data here. Doesn’t look like I can add the pdf the calculator generates so they’ll just be screenshots. 

My wife and I are ready to invest in our first property. We have the cash saved, plan to house hack, and have be preapproved for a mortgage through my credit union. My realtor has been great about sending properties my way, but every time I put them through the Rental Calculator, always get horrible results. Maybe the properties are bad deals, but I'm willing to bet that I'm doing something wrong. I've attached a screenshot of the latest property I analyzed. If someone with experience has the time and desire to help, please put it through yourself and see if you get the same results. The MLS# is 639272 if you want to take a look at this listing. This direct link may work. If it shows two properties, it's the 6348 Memorial Road property.

I'm planning on putting 5% down, and renting out the garage detailed in the post. if you need more details, please let me know!

I will be actively responding to this thread throughout the day. Thanks in advance!