All Forum Posts by: Sam Tanner

Thank you all for your thoughts and comments! I really appreciate it.

Hey y’all,

I am based in central oregon and my fiancé and I are looking at purchasing our first home and begin building a portfolio of rentals. Currently our savings are pretty low, mostly because a significant amount of our cash is in the stock market and below water at the moment. 
 
We have two paths we could take. Option one is to buy a pretty cheap little place (using either an 80-10-10 mortgage/HELOC or 80-20 with some help from family) now while rates are still relatively low and housing prices in the Bend area have seemed to have tapered off a bit. With this option we'd end up with a dinky home that's not immediately in the desirable part of town but close enough to command rent that would close to pay for itself but is less likely to rapidly increase in value over the next few years due to its proximity to the highway.

Option two is to wait and build up savings. I estimate that if we wait 9-12 months we will be in a place where our purchasing power will be more in the 700-800k range. This would allow us to purchase a home (at today's values) in the desirable part of town with either an ADU or an STR permit. Obviously the risk here is rates, inflation, and appreciation.

What would you all do? Would you wait, would you buy something cheaper, or would you figure out a way to finagle something nicer now? Looking for any and all opinions, no matter how out there!

@Patrick Drury, thank you for the input! Do you have any recommendations on what financial products I should be checking out. obviously an FHA loan is an option but 3.5% down would probably not be competitive in the current market

Hey everyone, I am brand new here!

My fiancé and I are looking at purchasing our first home. I've spent the last few months researching properties and working with various banks and credit unions to see what kind of mortgage we qualify for. We've looked at properties in Washington, Oregon, California, and Hawai'i (hot markets, I know, but this is where we are from and where our families are) and we've settled on central Oregon/Bend. 

In general, I am wondering if we should be looking to purchase a primary residence, a rental unit, a primary residence plus a renovation/RenoFi loan for an ADU buildout, or maybe even a multi-family where we occupy one of the units and rent the other(s). I know this question pops up quite a bit on here and I have read through quite a few of your thoughtful responses. I figured it bears repeating given inflation, rising interest rates, and current blast-off of the market, especially in the locations we are looking in.

A bit about us that may be somewhat helpful:

• We are first-time homebuyers with no debt to our names (thankfully!)

• We both have low 6-figures incomes or close to it

• We have adequate savings for a down deposit and we have family who have offered to help as well

• We are fairly frugal: we have no interest in fancy cars or clothes, our idea of a great vacation is a backpacking trip, and a night out is usually for some beers at a brewery

Thank you in advance for any insights you all have, I am trying to be as much of a information sponge as possible!