All Forum Posts by: Melody R.

Thank you, all, for answering my question. 

@Winston Covington Do or did you have an FHA loan? How was your experience?

@Tyler Hungerford So much good info, thank you! I did not know about the $1 rent cover rule at all. Where did you find this info?

@Brad Sneckner from a lender's perspective, do you see any drawbacks to the FHA loan besides MIP. Are they hard to close? I read that they are good short-term options that should be refinanced out of within 5 years if I plan to keep the property.

I found this Freddie Mac Fact Sheet for LTV breakdown.  Is there a good resource to stay on top of requirements and loan products? I recently learned about the Home Possible Loan and would like to compile a list of loan products that I can discuss with lenders. 

And I pulled this from fhalenders.com

California FHA Loan Requirements for 2021

These are the basic FHA loan requirements for this year. All of these must be met to be approved for an FHA loan. If you are not positive on whether you meet these standards or have questions, an FHA lender can help.

• Down payment of 3.5% or 10% if your credit score is below 580
• 2-year employment history with some exceptions allowed
• Fully document your income for the past two years
• Minimum FICO score requirement of 500 – down payment will vary
• Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) is required for every FHA loan
• Maximum debt to income ratio of 43% with exceptions up to 56%
• The home must be your primary residence
• No bankruptcies or foreclosures in the past two years

Hi! I am looking to buy a 2-3 unit multifamily in Southern California. Is it realistic to plan to put 3.5% down with an FHA loan? I'm aware of 0% down programs like NACA, but I do not qualify since I already own. I would love to know learn how you financed your purchase with little down. At this time, I'm not interested in partnerships or loans from family/friends. Looking for any tips to put little down for a multiunit. 

@Quan Chau you mentioned you got a new toilet, have you determined that the new toilet is not the issue? Still, I would replace the fill valve and flapper. They are inexpensive (under $20 for both) and are typically the cause of water spikes. Secondly, check with the tenants and ask them have their patterns changed at all or did they leave the water dripping. They may not realize that something they are doing is causing this. Did you test for leaks inside the unit too? Did the tenant install a washing machine? You can also check the sprinkler lines, if you have one.

@Alex Kovalenko I manage 82 doors and have never had one person ask me not to run a background check. It is standard practice. Occasionally one may ask to provide their own credit report, which I always say no. They typically make this request because they don’t want a ding on their credit, but for legitimacy purposes I pull my own. Anyways, the answer to your question is to stick with your criteria. The only thing worse than a vacant unit is an occupied unit with a tenant who isn’t paying rent. You can avoid this by keeping your selection process stringent.

@eric turner my comment was meant for you. I’m replying on my phone and I missed that it tagged the last person who commented, and not @eric

@Albert Martin After reading your post and responses, it seems like mindset may be in your way. Start telling yourself you can do it and you will do it. There are ways to house hack in pricey markets and with kids. You also mention that you’re paying below market rent and you don’t want to give that up to buy. Three years ago when you started looking you wrote the market has appreciated a lot. Has that appreciation outpaced your rent savings? Look at the math to help you make your decision. Yes, you may have to sacrifice some square footage when you start owning but what’s more important to you, building wealth or having a bigger apartment even if that means you are renting? Whatever your answer is, it’s okay. You just have to decide and act accordingly.

I second what others have already expressed. I personally would not invest in paying a mentor or spend $12K on marketing, at this point. Get free help, search the MLS, get a great realtor, and put that money into a deal.

Hi @Gigi Smith,

The deposit refund is hers. Make it easy on yourself and resend it, as is, to her new address and with tracking. Keep proof that you sent it a first and second time. The money is legally hers without question.

@Jaideep Balekar congrats and thank you for sharing. It’s helpful reading your success without pulling in partners for $.

@Rena Barron love reading these. Thanks for sharing!

I’ve contacted 6 brokers/lenders, completed the loan application and provided all documents they request but still have not received the loan estimate from 4 out of the 6. The two I have heard from have made mistakes with my file. One got my loan amount wrong and the other contacted me three times to ask questions that were in the email I sent him when I initially contacted him. My question is, is it normal in today’s market for lenders to take weeks to provide a loan estimate? I’m now considering forgoing using any of them and instead applying on better.com where I will have my estimate within a few clicks and my refinance opened this week. On a podcast I heard to get a quote from a broker, large bank, credit union, and small bank which is proving to be harder than I thought, but I will wait it out if this is indeed normal turnaround times.