All Forum Posts by: Sean LeBlanc

Here in NH it seems big solar companies are partnering with individual towns.  The towns give them a big chunk of town owned land and get some sort of subsidy from the company over the years. 

I know of one going in on top of a current town Landfill. 

Super interesting stuff.

Its all about the $$$$$$!! I feel people would get SOOO many more offers accepted if they fully understood how agents/brokers make a living. 

Fair or not fair,  safe or not safe, legal or not legal- many brokers are going to ignore offers where they will need to give up half of their commission vs an offer where they get full commission. 

@Todd Kelly when you move over to the construction side of lending just about everything changes. 

If this is your plan I recommend getting in touch with a lender who specialized in construction loans. 

Most construction loans that are used to purchase a piece of land, and also construct a building, require a fairly large down payment, around 20%. 

If you are planning on doing a lot of the work yourself, you may think about forming an LLC and getting a commercial construction loan, instead of a residential

Many lenders will have issue with you doing work yourself on a residential construction loan, unless you are licensed, insured etc. 

Hi @Account Closed,

Its tough to say without seeing your entire financial picture, but in general, I think you would be better off looking to get the primary residence set up in NH first, using the VA loan.

Regardless of how much income is on the application it can be tough to qualify for a new mortgage, with two other mortgage payments in the mix. Since you have lived in your current home for a little while, most lenders will be able to offset that mortgage payment if you get a 12 month lease signed prior to moving out. With the other property being recently acquired, they are likely going to have to "hit" your debt to income ratio for that full payment which could hinder your qualification.  

There are also "reserve" requirements that pop up when you have multiple financed properties, which require a certain amount in your accounts AFTER closing,  that only get more intense the more properties you have.  

If your number 1 goal is to get into a place in NH closer to family, I would recommend looking into that prior to purchasing second HI property. 

Let me know if I can help out in any way. 

Thanks! 

@Naoise M.Have you made certain you would not qualify for a conventional or FHA loan? Do you have someone who could potential co-sign the loan for you with a plan to get the off as soon as you are able?

Let me know if I can help out. There are a lot of programs for first time homebuyers in MA through Masshousing.  The income and deed restrictions are not always deal breakers for the programs. 

Agree with pretty much all comments, especially those from @Wesley W.  I would not change the lease for this specific tenant at this point because A. seems like a potential professional tenant B. Now they have the impression that all property management rules are negotiable moving forward. 

Having said that, I would personally pull that from the lease going forward. From a tenant point of view that clause would put me on edge about hidden mold, which I may have not even considered prior to reading the clause. 

14 Months is of insurance is actually totally normal on financed transactions. With homeowners insurance you always pay one year up front ( 12 months) and then typically start paying monthly installments towards next years premium.  if you put down less than 20%, most loan programs will require you to "escrow" your taxes and insurance. 

At closing, a "cushion", usually 2 months, is deposited in your escrow account. There are federal laws in place that force lenders to retain a certain amount of cushion in your escrow account, the reason for this is so that there is money to pull from if your taxes or insurance increase, instead of just submitting a delinquent payment. 

When taxes and insurance go up, you will get an escrow shortage letter, and they will adjust your payment to make sure the required cushion is always in the account.

If you put down 20%, most lenders will give you the choice on whether or not you want to escrow for taxes and insurance. Some lenders will allow you to waive insurance on less than 20% down, but all will require an escrow for taxes if not putting down 20%. 

As far as the insurance company re-trading on your premium, this has happened to me as well on an older rental property in NH, they did an inspection and discovered old wiring and jacked up the premium, I shopped it around and it seemed to be par for the course on an old building like that.  They all said if I made a few improvements to wiring premium will go down. 

Hi Kevin, 

Welcome !  It sounds like you are in a good position to get started. I am in NH as well, and currently have yet to dive into any out of state investing, but it's something I am considering. 

Look forward to following your journey.  Let me know if I can help out in any way. 

Welcome Will. I am a MA/NH lender and a small time investor. I love the house hacking strategy and have helped many people get started with that strategy. Feel free to reach out anytime to talk financing options. 

Welcome! I am an investor and lender here in Southern NH. I live in Manchester and work in Salem. Let me know if  I can be of help in any way.