All Forum Posts by: Katie Phillips

@Kellyn Cameron no problem! Feel free to reach out anytime!

@Kellyn Cameron oh ok cool! in that case you might be able to get 3% down, but it kinda depends on the lender. I personally decided to go with 3% to save some cash for later

@Kellyn Cameron if you’re looking to invest in multiple properties, I would put down as little as possible. You can put down as little as 3% on a first primary residence. However, if you already a homeowner and partnering with your brother, they will probably ask for 5% down. If you qualify, the conventional loans will have better rates than the fha loan. Ask your lender to draw up numbers based on a couple of scenarios. With 3-5% down, you will have to pay pmi but it probably won’t be much, and there are options to pay it upfront so you don’t have to pay monthly. It really depends on your personal goals

@Kellyn Cameron that’s what I would do! I have heard mortgage fraud is happening more frequently

due to more remote work, so some lenders are sending inspectors to home. Leaving his bedroom open should be fine though!

@Kellyn Cameron yeah, you should leave his unit empty, but if there are multiple rooms in his unit, you could rent those. The safest bet is to ask the about the terms of the loan when you apply, but if it’s technically his primary residence and you can show he does live there, you should be good.

@Connor Seymour Let me know if you would like me to connect you with an agent in Louisville. They might have some off market options worth looking into and would be a good resource for your local market. 

If he's willing to partner with you, I would most likely go that route, depending on the deal. He can get primary interest rates and a lower down payment by living in the house, which would be really beneficial to your ROI. However, he will have to live in it for a year to qualify, so I would rent the other bedrooms while he's gone.

You should look into 203k loans. If you qualify, you can find a great deal on a house that needs to be fixed up. Once you do fix it, you can house hack. Win, win! 

I totally agree with @Gaetano Ciambriello. Some lenders also allow you to pay PMI upfront as a lump sum at a discounted rate, which may be worth it if you are planning to keep the property for a long time. The difference in payment a month should be close to $160 more a month, but you get to keep $39,000. You could do a lot of things with 39k! The beauty of an FHA is a low down payment, take advantage! Your CoC return will be higher as well.

@Kevin Piwowarski

Because you will be living with the prospective tenants, I would start with your personal preferences. Ask about living habits, if they smoke/drink (if thats a problem for you), if they have pets, if friends or a significant other that would be visiting a lot, why they are moving, how long they need a place, and anything else you would want to know. I also like to ask if they have social media they are willing to share, what they do for work, their work scheduleI (I work from home so that matters to me). My best advice is to think about what you would like/dislike about a potential roommate, and ask questions accordingly!

A couple of tips I have learned along the way:

• If you are willing to allow overnight guests, that's a huge plus for a lot of people, and not very common in room rentals. Make sure to establish ground rules, such as number of nights per week, if the person can do laundry, cook, shower, etc, prior to signing a lease. I write that I allow it up to 4 nights per week, and anything exceeding that will be an additional $100 per month. I make it clear the other person must have somewhere else to live and cannot be basically living here.
• The more value you can add to the room you’re offering, the more you can charge. Examples of this would be keeping the house very clean and in great condition, allowing guests, locks on bedroom doors (people love this one!), flexible lease lengths, and a small security deposit. Remember, people who are renting a room generally do not have a lot of extra cash and may not want to sign a year long lease, otherwise, they would probably rent an apartment.
• The more ground rules you can establish before they move in, the better. There will be less issues later if everyone  is on the same page at the beginning.

If you need anything at all, feel free to text or call. My number is (530) 558-5640.