All Forum Posts by: Derek Brickley

Hey Allen, I don't mean to assume but it certainly sounds like some of the conventional lenders you spoke with might not be entirely familiar with investors portfolio structuring.  For example we largely scaled our portfolio with conventional loans, but when considering our overall application for a new conventional loan we don't get flooded with details on the other properties because it's incorporated into a business entity.  Not to get overly complicated on that and I'm not a CPA, but just an example.  Of course there are other options out there, but feel free to reach out if it would be helpful to look at some of those in more detail.

Yep! Second what's been said. Unless there is a history of STRs in the property already and you have experience with STR, you really wouldn't be able to supplement your income with that. The long term rent can most definitely be considered though for FHA. That self-sufficiency test is sometimes the killer on 3-4 units, but the conventional 5% down option has benefits too and that's how I got into my first multi-unit househack.

Now most of the time we don't see househackers/investors use in-house or portfolio loans from banks because sometimes they have more restrictive guidelines and higher fees for holding it which might cause the numbers not to work or for the deal not to go through entirely.  What caused you to (likely) lean that route over all those other options out there?

Yep very possible, that's not to say lenders don't contribute towards that buydown too.  Depending on the price range we generally offer $2,500 towards cost/buydowns for a preferred builder partners but our partners generally match that if not greater than. 

Two sides of course, as a home buyer you need to do what's best for you and if anyone (us included) can't give you that then we would be the first to tell you.  Keep that in mind.

The second side, is a few dollars lower in payment really the absolute best thing for you? I don't actually have an answer and it's not rhetorical.  How valuable is the first lender as a resource and network connection for you? How trustworthy are they and are you confident in their ability to help? Reputation matters for your offers in the future and can be the difference between getting a deal and losing it, will either of these lenders help more with that over the other?

Typically my analogy is something like: if you're in a happy relationship, you're not going to go looking and see if the grass is greener on the other side... so for you what is it you're really looking for?

Hey Anne!  Yep for one especially in the early stages a hard credit pull would not be useful, just have them do soft checks for the time being and opt out of credit solicitation: www.optoutprescreen.com 

I could be biased... that said typically working with one lender than can help regardless of where you're looking and having a relationship with that will provide the easiest and most cost effective route long term.  Just as you will be out of state, as long as the lender has knowledge of at minimum the state level where you're looking that will be perfect.  Generally a "local" lender may just have more restrictions and even though they know the area, that's really what a great realtor and PM should be able to inform you on.

Hey Dallas! Note that FHA can be a great option at 3.5% down but don't rule out the 5% down conventional option either. Both have pros and cons (my first househack in 2023 was with the conventional one). It's so hard to say generally what problems might come up, but the first that comes to my mind is work history - do you have 6 months on the job and a 2 year work/school history? FHA will be looking for that. FHA does have the benefit of max seller concessions being 6% so if your realtor can negotiate for that it can really minimize your cash outlay. Conventional at 5% down would cap you at 3% concessions, but generally is more lenient with employment history and property condition. Note too with conventional - are you renting currently? That will play a factor for qualifying.

Hey Francisco!  We do indeed, I went to college in Appleton and minored in Spanish plus have a few other Spanish speaking colleagues here!

Hey Sushil!

I second what everyone else has mentioned... There are times when a blanket/portfolio might be more useful but this probably wouldn't be that case here. Once you have a large number of properties (maybe 10ish?) you may find it beneficial to avoid paying lender fees over and over again, on 3 properties though if you go with a lender that doesn't charge a ton of junk fees then you'd save doing it separately. Sometimes too portfolios allow you to include lower valued properties that might not be eligible for regular DSCR lending. Every deal/portfolio is different though so feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

Depending on your loan amount, doing a cash-out refi to get $35k probably isn't worth it.  It would depend the full situation, but I'd pursue the equity line before I touched my first at 3.625%.  That way you have it available but aren't paying on it right away.  If credit is the issue, talk with your lender to run a credit simulation to see what actionable steps you can take to improve it.  

Hey Jaime!  My first househack wasn't in Logan, but we've helped buyers in a few of the counties nearby.  Feel free to reach out if you have any specific questions, as an investor or a lender happy to share any advice I can!