All Forum Posts by: Yader Gomez

@Stewart Vargas-Sosa thank you so much for the tips! I'll go check out the books. Is there one in particular you recommend? It really does sound like getting a duplex is the right way for me to get started in REI.

Hello BP,

I'm still a newbie at all this so please feel free to recommend any reading material to get me started. Long-term I would like to own multiple rental properties so this would be the first step.

My girlfriend and I are looking to buy sometime within the next 2 years. It could even be as soon as next year. We have excellent credit, no student debt, no car debt, combined income a little above 110k, and savings of around 35k to use for a down payment so I feel we're in a good place to consider our first buy. But you can only make one first purchase so I want it to be the right one.

The main things I'm hung up on are 1. House hack a duplex vs buy a SFH and wait a few years down the road to buy our first rental once we recover financially and 2. Applying for financing separate vs together.

1. I've been leaning more and more towards a MFH, probably a duplex. The challenge is finding one in a good area and a good size. Depending on the price, I can work with having to fix it up a bit. It's also been tough finding a duplex with each unit being over 1000 sq ft and having 2 bathrooms. I've found a few but they're not common. I feel like now is the time to do this before we have kids and won't be able to manage living in a smaller space typical of a duplex house hack. 

Is there a benefit to doing things the old way and paying through a SFH home first? House hack just seems to be the way to go. The price of the duplexes in Orlando may also make it tough to perfectly house hack since rent in the area may fall a little shy of the mortgage payments. But I'm okay with a significantly reduced mortgage instead of a free one. It would still accelerate the pace at which I would earn equity compared to having a SFH which generates no income (we wouldn't want roommates).

2. Is there a big advantage to applying for a loan separate? My agent suggested this so the other person's credit will be in better standing for the second purchase as well as eligible for first time buyer benefits. The downside seems to be that applying for loans separately for our first and then second purchases would lower our borrowing power. This is more of a concern for the first purchase since by the time of the second purchase I would hope to have an income generating MFH to help us build up a down payment.

This is a lot but any help would be greatly appreciated as I'm still learning even the basics of REI. Thank you!

Hi Josh, I haven't house hacked myself yet but it all depends on what suits you and what's available in your area.

For a single family home, you get a larger space than you would a multifamily home and these are easier to find in all parts of town compared to multifamily homes. The downside is that house hacking a SFH means roommates in the shared spaces. You would have to do a good amount of screening. MFH tend to be smaller and harder to find but everyone gets their own space and once you leave, you have multiple spaces you can rent out. Good luck!