All Forum Posts by: Jim Cummings

@David 

@David Gatlin. I would think so. But Lenders abide by the "Golden Rule". That is He who holds the Gold makes the rules. 

That among other reasons is why I suggest you visit with a lender to see what they say about your overall situation. Some people have a somewhat incorrect view of Lenders. Lenders WANT to lend you money - it's how they make Money. They get paid to lend money . NO Lending - NO Payday. Now there are guidelines and directives that Lenders have to follow. Getting yourself Pre-Qualified and Pre-Approved doesn't cost you anything and is good for about 6 months. 

So get on the phone and find a lender you feel comfortable with and lay all your cards on the table and see what the y have to say.  

GO for it!  

@David Gatlin. You will need reasonable credit to qualify for FHA. However, FHA is considered to have easier qualifying criteria than conventional loans. Part of that is FHA is geared to getting people into homes they can afford with smaller amount of funds available.

Best course of action is to talk with several Loan officers - find one you are comfortable with and lay all your cards on the table. A great Lender will help you layout a plan for homeownership.

Let me know what other questions you might have.

@David Gatlin. Suggest you look at what's called "House Hacking" on BP. probably find many articles. Briefly, it's a concept in which you would buy a property - Single Family (SFR) Or Multi-Family (MFR), and you would rent rooms to other folks in the SFR or live in one unit and rent the other units in an MFR. Either one should reduce your housing costs, and you can turn this savings into a stack of cash over time that you can use for new investment purchases.

If you use an FHA loan, you'll need at 7.50% Of the Sales Price to cover your down payment and closing costs. So depending upon what part of Virginia you are located in / want to purchase in will determine how far your $8K will go

Good luck and you are starting on the road to Financial Independence and possibly wealth. 

@Sofia Johnson. Support what @Patricia Steiner says and if it can't get resolved invoke the "Happiness Clause". 

@Krish Oza. ABSOLUTELY - You can Purchase an (MFR) Duplex / Triplex / Fourplex with an FHA Loan as long as you plan to reside in one of the units. You will Sign a Statement at Closing that says you plan to reside in one of the units within about 60 days.

Is someone from the Lender going to come around on day 61 to see if you are living there? Most likely not! But if the Lender discovers you are NOT living there would ramifications (at least that what we are told). 

Don't think there is any written requirement as to how long you must live in the unit to satisfy the owner occupancy rules, but the accepted norm is if you live in the unit for one year you will have satisfied the Lender's Owner / Occupancy requirements. 

After the 1-year period, you could move out of your first MFR and rent it out. Find another MFR, buy it with an FHA Loan and repeat the process.

Good luck along the way. For more specifics find a lender you feel comfortable with and discuss your objectives with them.

@Michael Thorne. My thoughts are you don't have enough time to run title through Title Company. Your somewhat betting that Foreclosure action cleared away the Title issues.

@Dj Scrimsher. Where is located?  With good location, you could probably wholesale and 2X your money. 

Location is very important. I would think adding another bathroom to make it a 3/2 would be important in maximizing the return if you plan to Flip.

@Iesha Padilla. First make a decision - are you willing to accept these folks? Do they meet whatever your criteria is or whatever you would accept.

Then I would say - your' credit is not great, you don't make sufficient money to qualify. But I'm willing to do this: XXXX & YYYY . That could be rent to Dad (making him sign as responsible for rent), 2X or 3X the Security Deposit. Whatever criteria you want to put on the transaction that is legal and defensible. 

GO for it - if you want this or tell them goodbye!

@Vishal Shah. Here is the verbiage I put in a lease involving 3 Single Individuals renting a home that needed to replace one of the tenants.

Hope this helps.

@Krish Oza. FHA does NOT do Investor Loans. You could buy using an FHA Loan. Live in the property for one year - to satisfy Owner / Occupant requirements, and then move out and use as an Investment rental.

If you want straight up Investor Loan, it's 20% - 25% Down Payment Minimum, or some creative finance arrangement.