All Forum Posts by: Matthew Porcaro
Matthew Porcaro has started 8 posts and replied 436 times.
Post: Newbie wanting to do something smart with inheritance.

- Rental Property Investor
- Long Island, NY
- Posts 445
- Votes 327
@Erica Winship
Hi Erica - very sorry to hear about your loss, but happy to hear you’re looking for your best interests in the future with what you’ve been given.
I agree with Brett above me. If you’re already currently renting, why not buy a 2, 3, or, 4 unit property, live in one unit, and rent out the rest. Not only can you live potentially mortgage free. You may be able to cash flow as well.
During this time; your tenants are paying your mortgage, and you’re putting equity into the property, that you can use to get into future deals.
For your situation I think this is the best way to get started. You can use an FHA loan for this, which means you only need to put 3% down payment.
Post: Suggested Questions for Lenders

- Rental Property Investor
- Long Island, NY
- Posts 445
- Votes 327
Originally posted by @Leslie Jordan:
@Matthew Porcaro thanks for the great info! Who might offer this FHA program and do you have to ask for it?
Only certain lenders offer the program. What I suggest is googling "203k loan in (your state here)" and look at the big players. Give them each a call, and let them know you're interested and you'd like to learn more.
Be sure to ask them how many 203k loans they've done, and if they have any references from those. This is CRUCIAL as 203k loans can become a nightmare if the loan officer is not on top of their game.
Post: Suggested Questions for Lenders

- Rental Property Investor
- Long Island, NY
- Posts 445
- Votes 327
Originally posted by @Kristopher Werner:
Thank you both so much @Ana Coello and @Matthew Porcaro! Very helpful.
@Matthew Porcaro how is an FHA 203k loan different than a regular FHA? I've never heard of that.
So a 203k is a rehab loan. This means that you are able to wrap the cost of the rehab of a distressed property into your mortgage.
The power in this loan is that with this you are able to offer on foreclosure and bank owned properties, which are only open typically to CASH ONLY offers.
This means you have a leg up against the competition, because you're able to get into a property for only 3.5% instead of the whole price!
Post: FHA 203K construction oversight

- Rental Property Investor
- Long Island, NY
- Posts 445
- Votes 327
Originally posted by @Zach White:
I am interested in buying a 2500 sq/ft foreclosed home and turning in into a quadplex with a 203k construction loan. I read on the HUD website that the lender would probably get someone to oversee the gerneral contractor. Overall, it seems like the lender is going to have more control over the rehab process than I would, which sounds far less risky than it would be for me to oversee it myself. It seems like it would be a big risk for a bank to loan a bunch of money for a rehab and then trust the homeowner to manage it. I'm curious if anyone has any experience with the process. How much would I be involved in the rehab process? I would really appreciate some insight.
Hi Zach -
A HUD consultant was required for my rehab on my 203k property. It was a large rehab, about $90k worth of work.
When you ask about your involvement, you will need to stay on top of paperwork, but as far as "running the job" or doing any work, you shouldn't be involved at all. That's your general contractors job.
In my case, I did all of the paperwork for my contractor, gave it to them, and just made them sign. The paperwork is where most contractors slip up, so if you take initiative on it, you can be sure it's getting done quickly and effectively.
Post: Is $1000 a month a good enough amount for a house hack?

- Rental Property Investor
- Long Island, NY
- Posts 445
- Votes 327
That's great! Only a 203k would let you get to this honestly haha. I make $2000/mo net cash flow from my first house hack, which started as a 203k.
Post: Advice on my first deal

- Rental Property Investor
- Long Island, NY
- Posts 445
- Votes 327
If you're barely covering your cost, it's not a great deal. You want your deal to cashflow HEALTHILY.
Post: Newbie from St. Paul , MN

- Rental Property Investor
- Long Island, NY
- Posts 445
- Votes 327
It sounds like you said the value went up quite a bit on the property, so ideally you should have some equity you can pull out to leverage yourself into your next deal.
If so, that's an option you have. If not, you can just continue to save down payments and find more rental property deals to build your portfolio.
Whatever you choose, good luck!
Post: Hud Purchase. What kind of loan should I apply for?

- Rental Property Investor
- Long Island, NY
- Posts 445
- Votes 327
Originally posted by @Hether Klitzing:
Real estate agent said to apply for construction loan/verses regular loan to purchase Hud home. A lot of banks don't mess with loans to purchase Hud homes, seems like a hassle. Any thoughts?
You would want to use a 203k loan for this. This loan wraps the rehab cost into your mortgage. It's the best way to kill two birds with one stone.
Ask around your family and friends for mortgage brokers they know. Call each of them up, and ask them if they have DONE 203k loans (most will say they can do them, but very few have actually DONE them). Make sure they have experience actually doing them start to finish. If they're not familiar, it can be a royal pain. Trust me, I dealt with it.
That said, when all is complete, it's the best bang for your buck and a great way to get a property with lots of equity very quickly.
Post: First time investor in DFW area

- Rental Property Investor
- Long Island, NY
- Posts 445
- Votes 327
Hi Ben - welcome!
Do you currently own a property now? Are you in a position where you could do a live-in BRRRR flip? If you do, you can use an FHA loan to find a 2-4 unit property, and live in one unit while the tenants in your other units pay your mortgage and hopefully give you some cash flow. Once you build up enough equity in the house, you can refinance out and continue down the line.
But, it's a great way to get started, since it's a way you can get a rental property for an extremely low down payment of 3.5%
Post: Beginning investor moves

- Rental Property Investor
- Long Island, NY
- Posts 445
- Votes 327
Originally posted by @Matthew Herrera:
Good evening everybody!
So this is my first post besides my introduction post. I'm looking for some input and suggestions for my plan and maybe get a few questions answered from people smarter than me. :)
I've owned a single family home for 9 years now. I currently live here with my two young children. The original loan was for 147,000 and its paid down to about 117,000. Current home sales on my block for my exact floor plan have been in the 320,000 range.
My plan is to get a heloc for a down payment on a new investment property and to rent my house. I plan to use the BRRRR strategy and to hopefully find a deal in my area.
I still have PMI on my mortgage and would like to get this removed.
1. Do i need to refinance to do this?
2. Can i refinance and get a heloc?
3. Is it possible to put 3% down on my new live in rehab or would i have to put 20%?
Thanks in advance!
Matt
Hi Fellow Matthew - you would ideally need to refinance out of it, but you need to revisit your terms. If you have enough equity in the property, you can do a cash out refi, or refinance first, then take out a HELOC. It really totally depends on your situation, and it's something you need to discuss with your loan officer.
On your next property, you would have to declare it your new primary residence, and as long as your current property isn't an FHA, you ideally only need to put 3% down.