You probably DON'T need to wait 6-12 months to refinance...

You probably DON'T need to wait 6-12 months to refinance...

Syracuse, UT · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 27 votes

I want dispel a myth that I hear repeated quite often on BP and elsewhere... this seems especially important for folks looking to use the BRRRR strategy...

Here's the myth:  "Investors must always wait 6 to 12 months to refinance a newly acquired property onto a conventional loan."

In my experience, this is not true.  You can refinance immediately in most cases.  

The rules are different depending on whether you paid cash or used a loan to acquire the subject property.   Without trying to be exhaustive on all the details, here are the basics:

If you paid cash 
(including borrowed cash from HELOCs on other properties, lines of credit.)

  • You can "cash-out" up to 75% LTV (70% LTV for 2-4 unit properties) immediately. (This is done using Fannie Mae's "delayed financing" exception. 

If you got a loan
(including hard/private Money, etc. w/a lien on the subject property)

  • You can do a "rate/term" refinance (no cash-out) immediately up to 85% LTV. (2-4 unit properties are limited to 75% LTV)
  • You can do a "cash-out" refinance after 6 months of ownership seasoning

Keep in mind that during the first 12 months, the LTV is going to be based on the lower of the purchase price or the appraised value.   However, if you can document rehab costs to justify the higher appraised value in the mind of the underwriter, you can use the APPRAISED value to calculate the maximum LTV as soon as the rehab is finished.

Hope this helps a few of you out there!

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Investor · Columbus, MT · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y

Good Info!  Its great to see how there are other options out there!  

I think the main reasoning for waiting the 6 month Minimum is to get ALL your cash back. For those folk with deep pockets who can keep putting 15-25% down on each house that is no issue but for those of us with limited funds the 6 month waiting period can be worth holing out to get 100% of the original investment back. 

We have done this successfully about 4 times now and it works well for us. I want to be able to have a minimum of 25% equity in the property when I get done with the deal and still be able to refi all my money out.  It takes finding a good deal and in the end you can keep growing as much as possible and still have a safe margin of error if the market corrects. 

SO its not that we cant refi right away its that we cant refi and get 100% back of that low interest fixed rate debt. 

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  • Investor · Columbus, MT · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    Good Info!  Its great to see how there are other options out there!  

    I think the main reasoning for waiting the 6 month Minimum is to get ALL your cash back. For those folk with deep pockets who can keep putting 15-25% down on each house that is no issue but for those of us with limited funds the 6 month waiting period can be worth holing out to get 100% of the original investment back. 

    We have done this successfully about 4 times now and it works well for us. I want to be able to have a minimum of 25% equity in the property when I get done with the deal and still be able to refi all my money out.  It takes finding a good deal and in the end you can keep growing as much as possible and still have a safe margin of error if the market corrects. 

    SO its not that we cant refi right away its that we cant refi and get 100% back of that low interest fixed rate debt. 

  • Syracuse, UT · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 27 votes
    9y

    Thanks @Joshua D. - I'm totally with you!  I'm one of those guys who probably only has enough funds to do one deal at a time, and I would also like to get my money out and repeat the process at a faster pace than once every 6 months.  It's a bit of a puzzle to me because I live my life within the world of the Fannie Mae guidelines I laid out above...but I do have a few ideas.  I'd love everyone's feedback and/or other suggestions.  Here are the two options I see for speeding this up so I can buy 4-6 properties a year instead of 1-2:

    Option 1 - If the refinance is considered a "rate/term" refinance there is no waiting period. I have a hard money lender who has agreed to lend the full purchase price PLUS rehab costs a single loan at closing. (in total we'll be at approx. 75% of ARV). The rehab will take a month or so, and then I would refinance the single lien with no cash-out to me...I've reviewed this with my underwriters and it would be considered a "rate/term" refinance, which has no 6-month waiting period. The underwriter would have to approve an exception to use appraised value instead of purchase price, but I think i can make a strong case with receipts/photos of the rehab. This is my "Plan A" on a deal I currently have under contract & i'm working with a hard money lender who has had success with this scenario...but I haven't closed any like this. "Plan B" is below...

    Option 2 -Find a non-conventional (portfolio) lender who plays by their own rules. I've heard people on the podcast say that they have found small banks/credit unions who will approve cash-out refinances up to 75% or even 80% of appraised value without all the seasoning headaches that Fannie Mae creates. The interest rate will probably be higher, but I'm hopeful that it won't take very long working to phones here in Utah to find a couple of these options. I also like this option because I wouldn't have to deal with Fannie's limitations that kick in after I have 4 financed properties.

  • Real Estate Agent · American Fork, UT · Member since 2016 · 46 posts · 17 votes
    9y

    I love this strategy, and its a great information to have.

  • Salt Lake City, UT · Member since 2016 · 25 posts · 20 votes
    9y

    @Nelson Barss, Please post back here if you find some great portfolio lenders in Utah. We are looking to start investing in the next year or so once we have the funds, and are very interested in the BRRRR strategy here as well. We've done flips in years past in WA, but we were never successful at turning them in to rentals, in part b/c we didn't have the kind of resources here on BP to help us figure out BRRRR basics. Thanks for the info!

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