All Forum Posts by: Stephanie Medellin

No, this should not affect your DTI if the balance is $0. It's similar to a credit card that has a credit line, but is not carrying a balance.

If the property will be owner occupied you could do FHA financing for a 4-unit with 3.5%. Otherwise, regular conventional loans will be 25% down for 4 units.

I agree, if everyone is family, and everyone is contributing equally to the down payment, would you consider everyone having equal ownership?  Depending on how many family members are involved and how many apartments you need, you could still potentially benefit from the other apartments.  For example if your family occupies two apartments of a 4 unit building, you could each offset your costs with the other two units, and it's still fair for everyone.  Hopefully everyone has good credit and income and can qualify for the loan.

I would wait to show it until it's finished.  I'd also advise against finishing it to someone's specific tastes.  Its an invitation for them to start asking for anything and everything.  We showed a home for rent while we were still working on it and one man actually requested that we build a bigger closet in the bedroom.  Being new to the business, we didn't immediately say no, but that couple didn't end up renting the house anyway. So glad we didn't waste extra time and money accommodating them.  The other potential issue is what if they aren't satisfied with the final product.  If they see a finished home and they like it, they are much less likely to ask for extras. 

I completed my 75 hour salesperson course through Real Estate U.  All of the classes are online, and presented by different instructors in videos.  It makes it very easy to get through that many hours of material.  Some sections are presented by attorneys, some by mortgage brokers, etc., depending on their particular area of expertise.  It was inexpensive too - $99.  The school exam is proctored, meaning you need to take it in person, but they have locations throughout the state to choose from (many are libraries).

I would say 3 weeks is too long to get a loan estimate (no more GFE's), since they are supposed to go out to you within 3 days of a loan application.  I wouldn't give up on conventional loans because of it though.  But you also deserve a responsive loan originator.

@Steve Jones Since Homepath has an online offer submission process, I think it would be a lot harder for the listing broker to be unethical in this particular case. I've never been a homepath listing agent, but I always thought the offers went directly to the asset managers, similar to HUD's process.

$25 to install a door is dirt cheap in my opinion, especially if it's an old house.  There are a lot of other things to consider besides the time they physically spent at your house doing the work. 

 I would love to see that episode!

And congratulations on your first listing!!