All Forum Posts by: Taylor King

@Jonathan W. Do those down payments seem too high? Have any suggestion to have a lower downpayment on a second home/ vacation home? I would love to find one that allow a smaller downpayment.

@Malcomb Stapel Thank you. It definitely sounded fishy. Thanks for the advice. I will avoid that and probably that lender from now on.

@Malcomb Stapel he stated that I needed to sign a document that stated this new home would be primary. Otherwise as long as bills are paid, nobody checks in things.

I am in contract on a vacation home that I will also use as STR. I plan to use conventional financing. The lender stated that if I say it is going to be my primary house, then the down payment is only 5%. Where as if I say it is going to be a vacation home, the interest rate is 10%. What implications are there when saying that a home will become your primary home? If we split time between the two house does it matter if I make the vacation one my primary? Does it effect taxes or where I send my kids to school if I still have my current house in the school district I want to send them in? If we did end up staying in our current house way more often than the vacation home, are there legal implications? I really just want to lower Down payment and better interest rate but want to make sure I am not going to commit some sort of fraud. Does anyone have any options on obtaining a vacation home for 5% (or less) down?

@Julie Hartman Thank you, he was raising a red flag when he was talking about his prior landlord not paying him for the projects he was doing around his current place. I just wasn’t sure if this was common to do this.

I don’t really want to lose him as a handyman as I have heard great things, but I fear he may not want to work on the house if he “fell in love” with it and then told he can’t live there when its done.

@Nathan G. Thank you, yes he was promising to do all the work while living there, which I am sure would be outside his 9-5, which who knows when will get done.

I was nervous about the refinance portion after renting it too, as I am assuming the rental income plays a valuable part in the appraisal. If I can’t prove a market rent because I lowered it for work a handyman does, then I am sure it will decrease the value.

@Scott M. thank you! This was the way I was leaning but needed to hear what others thought. It sounds too good to be true, until its not and then I am stuck.

So I met with a handyman yesterday who wants to take my rehab on. He was recommended by my realtor who seems really knowledgeable. After going through the house and imagining the possibilities, he was interested in even moving in. He stated he would do work in exchange for a decrease in rent. Has anyone done this with a handyman? What was your approach? Did you still do a background/credit check? What percentage of rent did you take off? Thanks for any info you may have!

@Silvia Sisi

Thanks for reply. I did check on the splits. There are 11 splits that can happen on this property. It is zoned rural residential. It can be leased out to farmers depending on the soil quality. I plan to STR the property and the only way to get to it is via a utility road and then the entrance is an easement on some one elses property. I am not sure how happy renters are going to be to have to drive down this utility road to get there.

Hey everyone,

I am in contract on a house that sits on 80 acres 40 min NE of Traverse City, Michigan. The house may need some minor repairs to make it a rentable/STR property. But when looking at the other 79 acres, what types of things should I be looking for during inspection? Should I have a professional inspect the land in case I want to do future projects on it? Also, does anyone have ideas on what else I can use the property for to gain passive income? I was thinking of doing primitive camping at first and then maybe building treehouse lofts as capital comes in? Thanks for any insight or guidance!!!