Funding Rental Property Purchases

The single most obstacle that barricades potential realget the owner of the property to sell you it for no
estate investors from entering the lucrative arena ofmoney down.
owning rental properties is funding. Finding differentI personally have bought three properties using only
means of obtaining funds to pay closing costs,5% down with the option of 0% down using a
putting money down on loans, and minor repairs ifmortgage broker. It has worked great, but now I
needed upon purchase is not an easy task unlessfind that that method is getting harder to use.
your are already wealthy. Getting the money thatInterest rates are rising rapidly, meaning that I must
you need to get started isn't necessarily easy, butnow find homes that are extremely cheap relative to
below are a few methods that I personally found tomonthly rent because interest rates are eating up my
work along with a few that I have heard work wellprofit.
but not yet tried.3.) The old "second mortgage trick." With the entire
Methods for Funding Rental Properties :loan equaling 100%, take out a 30yr fixed loan for
1.) Good Credit - I mention this method first because80% of the total value. Next, take out a 15% down
this can often be more of a hurdle than a benefit. Ifpayment at 15 years fixed to cover 15% of the
your credit is good (700s or so) then you have20% that is going to be needed as a down payment.
already got an advantage over the rest of theLastly, you must get 5% of the second mortgage.
crowd. Good credit ensures that you can get theThis is great because it leaves you with only needing
best interest rates on the market (for investment5% of the property value and it also gets you out of
properties) and easily obtain loans for thousands ofpaying PMI while giving you a tax-deductible second
dollars.mortgage. PMI is NOT tax deductible (This method
2.) No-down payment - This method is a very realalso works with a 20% second mortgage, giving you
method, but often comes with some prerequisites.a no-money down deal).
First, to get a no-money down loan you often haveYou will notice above that I use fixed rates for
to visit a mortgage broker. This isn't a bad thing,everything. Interest rates are rapidly rising in the
except you are certain to pay higher interest ratesUnited States, and I would not encourage any real
than if using a traditional bank. Second, if you go to aestate investor specializing in long-term rental
traditional bank and have never purchased a homeproperties to use adjustable interest rate loans. They
before (including one for personal use), you may bequickly form alligators, or loans that get larger in size
able to fall into the category of a first-time buyer.every year even though you pay the entire monthly
This enables you to buy with no-money down andpayment every month. This is because the interest
get out of paying PMI (private mortgage insurance).rate rises yet you continue to pay the minimum
Check your local banking system for moreinterest payment. Your equity quickly disappears.
information about that. Lastly, you may be able to