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Eric Theriault Kissimmee, FL

May 2, 2019

Hi all!

I live and work in Orlando Florida which, as you all know, is a great area for vacation rentals. As I am a first time homebuyer, I was wondering if anyone has any experience with using first time homebuyer programs (FHA loan, streamlined 203k, etc) for the purpose of a “vacation rental property”.

Now specifically my plan after the purchase would be to put it on AIrbnb (full time) and “live” elsewhere. I have a couple friends in the area with extra rooms they are willing to rent to me (cheap) so having a place to actually stay won’t be a problem.

I think the trickiest comes in here with the financing. As the loan is supposed to be my primary residence, for all intents and purposes that would need to be the case for the underwriting. In that case it seems that using future bookings/rental income from the property would be a no go. Transferring existing bookings would also be extremely hairy, if not impossible as well. 

So has anyone done this or worked with anyone who has? Ideally I would shoot for quickest turn around time to rent it out as possible so the more turn key the better. I’m interested in a furnished place in the Kissimmee area most likely. For reference, I have a great credit score (~800) and strong financial and employment history. I was able to get preapproved for an FHA loan over $300k pretty easily about 2 years ago (didnt even up purchasing after that due to some life situation changes), and only think that would be even stronger now as well.

If you have any experience with this I’d love to connect, and would also love to hear anyone’s thoughts on possible pros/cons of this time of game plan.

Cheers!