All Forum Posts by: Leenie Fo

If my husband, sister & I want to buy a multi-family in San Antonio & she lives in one unit full time and we live out of state, can we still qualify for owner occupied mortgage? What other ways can we do this without the 20% down? Thanks!!  

If my husband, sister & I want to buy a multi-family in San Antonio  & she lives in one unit full time and we live out of state, can we still qualify for owner occupied mortgage? 

Wanted to revive this post. I live in the AV and wanted to connect with like-minded people. My husband & I are newbies and want to get on the path of purchasing some units out of state. 

That’s true @Erik W. some people do look down on manufactured homes. But what’s better a condo or a manufactured home with a yard, garage etc.

It’s so hard to know what to do. 1) Buy something we can afford but it may not be most desirable for appreciation etc 2) continue to rent and maybe get something out of state but then need the 25% down 3) continue to wait & hope the market dips lower.It’s just that it hardly ever seems affordable in Southern CA. I really appreciate your insights these are questions/perspectives I’d not thought of yet. 

Hello @Erik W.! Wow thank you so much for your thorough reply!
So it’s considered a single family residence but is a manufactured home & you own the land. It’s not mobile where you could pick it up and move it. So I just looked and a similar stick built house on a slightly bigger lot (4130 vs 6900) is about 50k more in the area but it is not remodeled at all.

Would it be better to get a smaller version (Less bedrooms and sq fr)? There is one that is about 130k cheaper but needs renovation, such as hvac, updates to everything and likely more when we get an inspection? We’d need to do a rehab loan for this. Or another one that is smaller (In sq ft and bedrooms but has unpermitted garage conversion) and is Partially renovated and it’s thats 34k cheaper. 

@Jaysen Medhurst thank you for your reply and questions. I definitely do not want to be super upside down for years to come. 

• Is there net migration into the area? I know they are trying to build the area out and awaiting approvals from the county etc and it’s been about a year.
• Is there job growth? Not tremendous, it’s a small city but there are shops opening. 
• Is there household formation? I don’t see lots of building. 
• Is new supply keeping up with demand? The houses are selling very fast at or above asking. Condos are going for about the same price as this manufactured home I’m considering.
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  @Nicole Heasley Beitenman Thank you for your perspective! I know we plan to stay for at least 5 years.  

I have a scenario where I have found a manufactured home on a permanent foundation in an area where you own the land & have a very small HOA to pay for water, pool, parks, rec room etc. It's great for my family as a primary residence. We don't own property now. The property we are considering had a complete renovation and is the highest in the complex currently. Our realtor commented that it may have hit its peak leaving little for appreciation. Is this true? What is our worst case scenario if he's correct? It's cheaper than most similarly sized condos and the neighborhood is great for many reasons for us. Please let me know if it would be a mistake to buy this home. Thanks!

Has anyone gotten one of theses? I heard they have a program where they give you a silent second & third loan to cover down payment (3% simple interest) and closing costs at (0% interest). It's only payable when you pay it off or refi. It's my understanding that you can get a HELOC in the future if you want to pull equity out to buy another property. Is this a smart decision if we can find a property to house hack? Thanks!!

@Walter Roby jr, your response was so timely. We found a house we LOVE but the commute daily would be brutal with us going to various parts of the Valley daily as a family. If we found a crazy deal we would possibly do it for a while but it would definitely take a toll. Thank you for the info about how your property increased in value over the last couple years; that is motivating. Is it true that to do a rental property we need 25% down if we finance through a bank/credit union?  

@Alvin Uy Thank you!! what do you think about Palmdale? It’s very affordable but we’d have to commute to the Valley which is the major drawback. The other areas you mentioned, most places are about 500k and up and in Palmdale, places can be found for half. We’d love to get into Inglewood or one of the places you mentioned, but it’s so expensive. :/

Wow @Alvin Uy! Your story is so inspiring! I love your tip about learning about rehabbing. It’s a skill that you can take into any avenue of RE. Thanks for the glimmer of hope that it can be done here, with time.