All Forum Posts by: James Shinn

@Tony Nguyen Thanks Tony, that helps put some parameters on what to look for. I'll reach out to those companies for some more information as well.

@Brandon Hershey Thanks Brandon, sending a PM now. 

Hi All, 

While my initial plan is to purchase a small multi-family using a 203k loan, I have seen some posts here on BP regarding some lenders issuing 1% down loans. Can anyone in the Minneapolis area recommend a lender who offers something like this? On that note can anyone recommend a 203k lender? I just spoke with someone at Kleinbank who was very knowledgeable on more traditional loans but while the bank will write 203k's she has never done one and strongly recommended for me to stay away from them. Am I correct in thinking that if I can find a decent property that needs few repairs it's better to do those out of pocket and go with a low money down FHA loan but if I find an uninhabitable home in the right area that I'm stuck going with a 203k?

Would sharing credit score, income, and debt help frame the question?

Thanks!

@Melvin List Hi Melvin, you've caught my curiosity. I'm looking for a first home which I planned to purchase using a 203k. However, if I can find a home for 1% down I would be interested in going that route even without the ability to bundle in renovations. Think that just depends on what shape the home (duplex) is in when I purchase. Do you have any advice on finding these lenders who offer this rate?

@Bruce Runn

Thanks for the tip, looking forward to meeting the group. 

@Bruce Runn and @Oscar Brooks

Thank you for helping with this scenario, it sounds like right now more savings and education would be beneficial before starting any sort of house hunting campaign. If we have any Bigger Pockets Meetup opportunities coming up let me know if you'll be in attendance, first beer is on me. Or more depending on how many questions I can ask before you get tired of answering.

Thanks guys.

Hi Bruce, 

To be honest I haven't looked into that. How willing are banks to offer a loan to a first time home buyer who's going after a deed? My other concern would be the down payment, with the 203k the payment is 3.5%, very doable for me. With a conventional at 20% that's out of my ballpark most properties I'm assuming. This sounds like a chicken vs. egg scenario, would you recommend any lenders you've worked with in the past for this? How does one go about securing a loan before finding the deal?

Thanks!

Hi All, 

I'm curious if anyone has been able to pull off a 203k loan on a pre-foreclosure home. As with most new members, I've listened to the podcasts religiously and have my thoughts stirring about how best to get into the house hacking game. My goal immediately is not to transition to real estate, I enjoy my job but hate paying rent in Minneapolis ($1,250 for a 700sq ft 1 bed 1 bath!) and would prefer to get into a duplex or triplex in the next year. My thought is if I start speaking with community banks now, start diving into listsource to generate leads and start speaking to motivated sellers I should be able to find one deal in the next 12 months. My reason for wanting to use a 203k loan is my budget is nonexistent, I will be saving hard while still paying off student loans and eliminating frivolous spending. The small down payment and the ability to include renovation costs excites me. 

My biggest fear is the timing between having a seller who needs to get out from their mortgage quickly (preforeclosure) and the length of time it takes for a 203k to go through. I've heard horror stories of these dragging on forever, I don't want to turn sellers off due to the time it takes. 

I'm hopeful that someone here has done this before either successfully and has positives to say, or unsuccessfully and can help talk me out of getting into a bad situation. 

Thank you, and if you're in the Minneapolis area let me know.

-James