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How Many Mortgages Can You Have?

by eBridge author

How many mortgages can you have? To expand your real estate investment portfolio, you may be asking how many mortgages you can take on.

Purchasing numerous homes can be a terrific way to grow your assets and make money, especially if you make good judgments along the way. However, before you take the leap, you should carefully analyze your ability to take on several mortgages and assess your level of experience.

Are you interested in learning more about multiple mortgages? Take a look at our thorough overview to get a sense of the amount of properties available to you and your financing alternatives.

How Many Mortgages Can You Have?

The number of conventionally funded properties allowed by Fannie Mae was increased from four to ten. Most lenders make restrictions very tight for borrowers seeking more than six mortgages.

While you may be able to qualify for more, there are some problems that come with receiving up to ten conventional mortgages. For starters, lenders may be hesitant to sign off on so many mortgages since they regard you as a higher lending risk. Lenders may be hesitant to allow you to obtain multiple mortgages at the same time. You may also be required to make a larger down payment, have more cash on hand, and have a higher credit score. When you own numerous properties, you may also have to deal with higher mortgage interest rates.

However, keep in mind that you can still receive numerous mortgages, but the qualifications may be more difficult. Continue reading to find out how to complete the task.

What Are the Pros and Cons of Having Multiple Mortgages?

Now that you know more about what it takes to qualify for multiple mortgages, it’s time to consider the advantages and disadvantages of having so many properties financed. We’ve compiled a list for you to consider. Take a look at them to see if having several mortgages is good for you.

Pros

The major advantage of financing so many properties is that you don’t require as much cash on hand. In this instance, all you have to worry about is covering the down payment and closing charges for any new purchases.

Plus, depending on how you leverage the value in your existing homes, a home equity loan or home equity line of credit may be enough to pay that amount (HELOC). You can utilize this form of financing to increase your cash flow and put your rental money to better use.

Cons

On the other side, you could end yourself with a significant amount of mortgage debt. If something happens to change your income, it may become difficult to keep up with your monthly mortgage payments. If this occurs, you may risk foreclosure and a significant drop in your credit score.

Furthermore, as you approach the loan maximum, your mortgage provider may charge you greater interest rates, resulting in a bigger overall payment.

Other Ways To Finance Multiple Mortgages

Beyond conventional loans, as a real estate investor, you have various options for financing multiple mortgages. Hard money loans, blanket loans, portfolio loans, and cash-out refinance loans are all available here.

Hard Money Loans

Traditional lenders do not provide hard money loans. Hard money loans, on the other hand, are made possible by private funding from individuals and businesses. Lenders are frequently on the lookout for properties that will not sit on the market for long and have high resale value.

A secured loan is another term for a hard money loan. To put it another way, the lender accepts property as collateral. To put it another way, if a borrower defaults on a hard money loan, the lender seizes the property.

Hard money loans have a less stringent approval process. If you, like many other borrowers, are unable to obtain conventional loan approval, you may consider this option. Furthermore, compared to the time it takes to secure a traditional mortgage, a hard money loan might be closed in as little as a few days (about a month).

Hard money loans frequently have high interest rates, ranging from 8% to 15%, as compared to the low rates available with a traditional loan.

Because lenders may only want to finance 70 percent — 80 percent or less of the property value, hard money loans may require a significant down payment. As a result, you may require a significant amount of cash on hand before a hard money lender will accept you.

Hard money loans, on the other hand, can provide real estate investors and house flippers with a speedy opportunity to acquire many properties.

Blanket Loans

Blanket mortgages allow you to use the same loan to finance numerous properties. For real estate investors, developers, and commercial property owners, these mortgages are ideal. Blanket mortgages make the purchase process more efficient and often less expensive. Another good reason to have a blanket mortgage is that if one of the properties in the agreement is refinanced or sold, a language in the agreement “releases” that property from the original mortgage. The other properties that were part of the original mortgage are still owed money. In other words, you are not required to repay the entire amount.

Furthermore, when you buy a property with a blanket mortgage, you get the same financing terms for all of your properties. In a similar way to hard money loans, the lender provides property security in exchange for a blanket mortgage. Defaulting on the loan could put your existing properties in jeopardy.

When applying for a blanket mortgage, keep in mind that you may be subjected to stringent criteria. Furthermore, due of the various restrictions that exist from state to state, you cannot utilize a blanket mortgage to purchase homes in many states. Finally, when compared to a traditional mortgage, a blanket mortgage has substantially higher closing expenses.

Portfolio Loans

Instead of selling a portfolio loan on the secondary mortgage market, a lender originates it and “keeps” it. A portfolio loan, in other words, remains in the lender’s portfolio. Borrowers’ underwriting standards are determined by lenders.

A portfolio loan, like a hard money loan, will reduce the time it takes to get financing for your properties.

Portfolio loans may cost more than conforming loans due to higher mortgage rates or a prepayment penalty if paid early. One rationale for the higher prices is because your lender cannot sell the loan and thus assumes the entire portfolio risk.

Borrowers must also have a lot of assets and money, and put down a substantial amount.

Cash-Out Refinancing

A cash-out refinance, a sort of mortgage refinance, can help you tap into the equity you’ve built up in your other properties over time. When you borrow more with a new house, you get a lump sum of cash in exchange for taking on a larger mortgage.

You pay off an old mortgage and replace it with a new one when you get a cash-out refinance. This is how it works: Let’s say you owe $100,000 on a $200,000 house, but you’ve already paid off $100,000 of the principal. You can use a portion of the $100,000 in equity to refinance your home.

Depending on how much cash you need to invest in more rental properties, your new mortgage would be worth more. A few days after your cash-out refinance closes, your lender will offer you the funds you need to purchase the new home.

Managing Multiple Mortgages

When you have numerous mortgages to pay off, you’ll need to devise a strategy to keep track of them all. If you go with an unconventional loan, you may not want to rely on your lender to keep track of your debt. You should know each property’s principal balance, payout schedule, and payment dates.

Furthermore, you may not use the same lender for all of your homes, necessitating additional planning. It’s possible that you won’t have the same mortgage payment dates with each lender. If you wish, you can stagger your payment dates or have them all due on the same day.

The Bottom Line On Multiple Mortgages

Do you want to embark on a multi-property real estate investment strategy? Before you start, consider your degree of experience and the danger to your assets and cash.

Fannie Mae has permitted ten conventionally funded homes, but you may not want to go that route. You can use hard money loans, blanket loans, portfolio loans, and cash-out refinancing to buy more rental properties.

Lenders may refuse to lend money for several homes due to the risk of default. However, lenders may want greater down payments and higher interest rates to compensate for the possible risk.

Finally, once you have many mortgages to manage, choose a management approach that works best for you. Consider taking control of your debt repayment instead than relying on your lender’s website and amortization schedule. Additional software management tools and resources can help you handle cash flow, taxes, and insurance.

Schedule payments to meet your needs, but pay on time to qualify for future mortgages. You may wish to do so if you need to bring in additional professionals to help you handle your mortgages.