All Forum Posts by: Rick Jenkins

Hey way to inch towards step one. That’s awesome and welcome to the party! Okay. So, there isn’t a right or wrong here. For example good rentals might be a 2bed 1 bath house and that might not be what you want to live in. They might however be more affordable, make good sense on paper as a rental, and so if your options are DO NOTHING or get this hypothetical 2/1, get the investment. 

Having said that, obtaining a primary is tricky after obtaining a portfolio. Not impossible but just tricky. Lenders for primary residences will want the portfolio stabilized, and will pick apart your DTI a little further. Of course, what lender you work with matters, and I'd recommend finding a super investor friendly lender in this future time you might be in, but, there's that.

Now, if you do obtain the primary first, one doesn’t have to be limited to house hacking via Multifamily. Buying a live in flip, knowing in two years your proceeds are capital gains tax free, is definitely a solid plan. Targeting something in the path of progress helps here, as you don’t want to just count on sweat equity but also probability of appreciation. Or, buying and moving out a year later, not a bad idea, especially if you use a low amount of cash for the down payment and you can save up quickly and in 12 months repeat the process and rent out the first primary. 

I wish you well and hopefully you pull a trigger soon.