Refinance out of my FHA loan or get a 2nd, conventional loan now?
Hi BP community! So I've been researching REI for years and have been itching to get involved but I am still at the beginning of my investing journey. I bought my first home in Chicago in 2019 using an FHA loan, but it has served only as my primary residence for the past two years. Recently with my credit score being in a good place, interest rates remaining low, and equity building up in my property, I thought it would be a great time to refinance the FHA into a conventional loan to get some savings (approx $280/month) and finally look to get that first multifamily property using a new loan.
However, the issue is that I was told by my mortgage lender that refinancing would cause me to have to remain in my current property as a primary residence for another full year before I could apply for a new conventional loan with primary residence intentions. I would like to apply for the new loan as a primary residence in order to eligible for a much lower rate/down payment, rather than purchasing a building as an investment property. I'm now weighing the following two options: refinance out of the FHA now/wait a year to buy a new building or skip the refi and go straight for a multifamily building now. If I skip the refi, I'm told the new property would become my primary residence, making the FHA house an investment property and harder to refi later. If I refi I would get the savings now, but I would miss out on another whole year of investing and rates could potentially go back up. Just looking for any feedback if anyone has thoughts. Thank you!!