All Forum Posts by: Megan Frank

We bought a 2 family in NH with an oil burner that needs to be replaced. Originally the guy that quoted us said that if our chimney is lined, natural gas would be better but we would have to wait until April so they can dig. He just called back and said after doing some research he feels oil is the better way to go. I have no clue which is better and any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

btw... weonly  put 5% down so that makes a big difference on down payment and coc return

I agree with @John McRae. We bought a small 2 family in Dover that will cash flow pretty nicely once we fix it up. We currently live in a 2 family in Somersworth that we house hacked and are continuing on. We have not had a hard time at all finding quality tenants in Rochester or Somersworth and Dover should be even easier. We have only been doing this for 3 years and our first tenants in both units stayed almost 3 years. The house we bought in Dover already has a tenant in place that has been there for 6 years! I am also interested i Kittery area as my husband works at the shipyard. 

My husband and I are closing on a multi in Dover shortly and will have some repairs that need fixing at the duplex we are moving out of and also in the duplex we are moving into. We have lots of minor repairs; leaky faucet, outdoor light that does not work, closet doors that need to be replaced, crossed hot and cold water lines for shower in the old place and in the new place we need new lights, fans, floors, vanity, etc. We are not handy and plan on hiring someone to help if you are interested. Looks like you might be a great fit! We were supposed to close yesterday but due to the septic design not being approved by Dover have been delayed for a bit. I saw another one of your posts, that you are interested in house hacking. That is exactly what we are doing. Thanks and good luck! 

We are going conventional financing with 5% down. We already wrote a letter for our intended residential use when we tried to finance FHA, but the underwriter would not let us do this property FHA because we already have an FHA loan. Our lender told us we can't get a multi family for less than 15% down for 2 units and more for 3 or 4 units. 2 lenders in the area, Northpointe and Envoy have said this. Maybe I am using the wrong lender? The craziest part is our lender had shown this property to the underwriter who said this would be fine to go conventional. I dont get what changed. Also, the tax card does show the apartment. The property has been rented out as 2 separate units for over 6 years by the management company so I was under the impression that it was legal. Thanks!

Hi Everyone,

My husband and I are in New Hampshire and in a unique predicament, needing some advice. We are supposed to be closing on a single family home that has been converted, with an addition, to include a 1 bedroom apartment. We were told that we are able to secure this home with only 5% down rather than 15% (it is our 3rd investment property) due to the fact that it is a single family home with an apartment, rather than a typical duplex and we are going to be living there while fixing it up. This seemed like a diamond in the rough to us, because the town we are investing in, Dover, NH, has sky high rates and virtually no multi-family apartment homes in this price range. We could not afford 15% down on this property. The set up of the house is a 3 bedroom/1 bath with an addition of a great room and back deck and the 520 sq foot apartment is under that. Market rent would be about $900 for the apartment and $1900 for the house when we eventually move out. The apartment has a separate entrance and the only egress to the house is a door in the back of the bedroom closet, which has another door on the other side, in the basement which remains locked. The electric is currently on 1 meter but there are separate heat sources. It is zoned R-12 and the apartment is listed on the tax card. It is listed as a single family home with an accessory apartment on MLS. http://www.beangroup.com/homes/99_Back_River_Rd_Do...

The problem is, the appraiser came out a few days ago and said that it seems to him it would have to be considered an investment property, since it has a legal apartment. That means we don't have the funds to finance it. The property manager is also the listing agent and is adamant that it is not considered a multi-family home with the town. The lender (or appraiser?) has said that unless the seller/agent can come up with evidence otherwise we cant finance it as a single family home. I know they have been going back and forth with the town. The seller lives in Alaska so it could take awhile for her to come up with any documentation. Does anyone have any advice about how to dig up information on this scenario or advice on what type of evidence might be needed? Or have you ever heard of this being an issue with towns and can you explain why? The multifamily home we are in now is also a similar property which is a single family home with a garage and converted pool house as apartment. I find myself more attracted to these "conversion" type homes over multi-family because of location (out of town), age, and yard space. I am wondering if this is a problem that I could face more often if I continue buying these homes. Thank you!!!

Thank you so much Matt! That was a very informative response. So excited to have found bigger pockets and people who give great advice for free! 

It would actually be our 3rd primary residence. We started with a condo, which we still own and rent out as well. I do plan on checking in with other lenders as well. Thank you!

My husband and I own a 2 family home and live in one half and rent out the other. We would like to move to another multifamily and do the same thing. The properties we own now are all under my name and my husband has never purchased a property. The lender I spoke with said since we are moving from a primary residence in NH (even if it has an apartment as well), into a multifamily home we would need 20-25% down payment, since it is considered an investment opportunity. The silver lining is that we qualified for a single family residence and can go FHA again with only 3.5% down. NH is passing a new law next year, in June of 2017, making it legal to rent accessory apartments in your home to people other than family members. There are a few properties that I am interested in that are a single family home and then there is an extra living space (finished barn on one, basement apartment on another, former nursery on another) and my lender says he thinks I could purchase one of these and go FHA. My plan would be to eventually rent out the single family portion of the house as well as the in-law space and have 2 income streams from the one property, just like a multifamily. The rents around the seacoast area are sky high, so it seems like this would be a viable option. Has anyone else done this? Any reason we shouldn't? Thanks!