All Forum Posts by: Seth M. Jones

 Thank you Lexi!

 Any specific city that you'd recommend in particular?

 I completely agree with you, and I fully analyze all of my deals. I only mentioned that as a place to start, as it generally is a good indicator of price to rent ratios

@Aidan Mulligan that is because either they're company has set a compensation minimum, or that they personally are trying to make a specific amount on the deal, i.e. $1000, which wouldn't be allowed because the amount is to high of a percentage in relation to the loan.

For clarity, I'd like to echo Jerry Padilla's point regarding conventional financing. You can do as little as 15% on conventional, but you'll have to pay an increased mortgage insurance monthly payment due to the fact that it is an investment. 

If the property could potentially make sense as a secondary residence, you could look at 10% down, but you'd need to discuss the implications of pursuing this type of financing with your mortgage broker or originator. 

The problem that you will continually run into is that many loan officers set their own minimums... As a mortgage broker in the State of Florida, I can work with lenders who have mortgage minimums down to 25k... The problem is that the lower value loans, generally below 50k, is essentially an unprofitable loan for the individual originating the loan. Loan originators are compensated with varying commission structures, but it is normally around a ballpark of 1% of the loan amount, in this case $500. Many loan originators don't even make that much... You're basically looking for two things:

1) A lender that has a low enough minimum

2) A competent loan originator who is willing to work for the nominal paycheck they'll receive

I just wanted to share some perspective so you understand what you're dealing with. I hope this helps.

I believe that Suntrust Bank will go up to 90% LTV for qualified customers, and pay closing costs as long as their is an initial draw (immediate use) of 25k. They have very competitive HELOC's, so I'd recommend reaching out to them.

Lafayette, how are your student loans structured? Is it income-based repayment, or is it a fully amortized loan (or numerous loans)? The first thing that you should look at is how to best structure the debt for mortgage purposes, which I can advise you on once I understand how you have it structured. Beyond that, it sounds like your Debt-to-income ratio is what is holding you back, so increasing your income and paying off debt is really the only thing you can do in order to move forward. Don't hesitate to private message me to discuss further.

Ayne, in my opinion, if someone has the ability to pay off their primary mortgage in order to get a HELOC to accelerate their investing strategy, they should do it. Few people are able to aggressively pay down their mortgage without a substantial opportunity cost (passing by other investments while you use cash to pay down primary mortgage debt).

I'm currently sitting on 6 buy and hold investments, and looking to acquire more, but began looking outside of my area due to very few cashflowing opportunities in my market. I've even relaxed my criteria in order to find deals, but nothing seems to meet my minimum requirements locally. I'm open to investing anywhere Stateside, and am curious if any buy and hold investors would recommend any particular market? Why? 

I'm generally looking for a growing market that has properties that can at least come close to the 1% rule. What markets should I be looking into?