Is it Wrong to Claim Your Investment Property as a Second Home?
It's illegal to mislead your lender about whether your second property will be used to earn income. A common lie that homeowners make to mortgage lenders is to classify their purchase as a second home, when they actually intend to use it primarily for rental income. Intentionally misrepresenting the intended use of a property to obtain more lenient mortgage terms is called occupancy fraud and can lead to hefty fines.
Occupancy fraud may also put you in default of your loan agreement, which can mean forfeiting your home. Many high-tech lenders also now have access to digital verification processes that identify the most likely instances of fraud. Some mortgage companies will go so far as to schedule random site visits to verify who actually resides in the property.
Unless you lie which is considered mortgage fraud (seriously doesn't worth it because appraisal report will mark it as tenant occupied), this has to be treated as investment property. I just went through the same situation, got a house tenant occupied until next Jan. But if I couldn't move it within 60 days after closing, it has to be considered investment property. 25% down, 2.875% 30 yrs + 1pt.
打算在女儿就读的大学附近买一个multi-family home, 这两天有一个上市的房子比较满意，但里面的两个unit分别都有租客，租期都到今年的7月底。我女儿现在大二下半学期仍住校，一个月前刚和好朋友签了12个月的lease（今年6月到明年5月），合租了校园外边的一个房子。今天找了一个lender问贷款的事宜，他说，买90-120天有租客的房子，要交25%的首付，利率按投资房算3.5% 30年。可我的打算是，租客到期后，一个unit出租，另一个留着明年给女儿住，或女儿不住的今年我也常去住住，离女儿近一些。那我的这种情况，利率要是按投资房算，心有不甘呀。我的这种情况该如何是好呀？
It's illegal to mislead your lender about whether your second property will be used to earn income. A common lie that homeowners make to mortgage lenders is to classify their purchase as a second home, when they actually intend to use it primarily for rental income. Intentionally misrepresenting the intended use of a property to obtain more lenient mortgage terms is called occupancy fraud and can lead to hefty fines.
Occupancy fraud may also put you in default of your loan agreement, which can mean forfeiting your home. Many high-tech lenders also now have access to digital verification processes that identify the most likely instances of fraud. Some mortgage companies will go so far as to schedule random site visits to verify who actually resides in the property.
Unless you lie which is considered mortgage fraud (seriously doesn't worth it because appraisal report will mark it as tenant occupied), this has to be treated as investment property. I just went through the same situation, got a house tenant occupied until next Jan. But if I couldn't move it within 60 days after closing, it has to be considered investment property. 25% down, 2.875% 30 yrs + 1pt.