Creative Financing Advice

[Zachary Weimer]

Hi everyone,

I’m a 25-year-old real estate investor looking for creative financing options and lender introductions for a property in Bay St. Louis, MS (Hancock County). I’m open to multiple structures and focused on matching the right capital to a conservative, cash-flowing deal.

My Profile
1099 contractor in logistics management / brokerage
~7 months in my current role with consistent income
Prior construction management (W-2) background for about 3 years before transitioning into logistics management
Solid credit (700s)
Comfortable with documentation, reserves, and lender oversight

Current Ownership Experience
I already own a property with a main home and a guest home.
The guest home is rented and performing.
Current mortgage, taxes, and insurance total around $1,820 per month. The guest home has been rented for $1,545 (not including utilities) since May 2025. The main home was rented for $1,845 (not including utilities), but the tenants only stayed one month and broke the lease. That situation is separate from this deal.
I’m actively working on leasing the main home and am currently looking for a property manager since I’ve moved out of state.

Home in Dallas was bought for 250k and it appraised for 290k. Thought of HELOC to pull money but prefer better options.

Target Deal
Purchase price around $170,000
6 bed / 4 bath total — two units, each 3 bed / 2 bath
One side is vacant and fully renovated with fresh paint, new flooring, and appliances
Property type is a small multifamily duplex
Located in Bay St. Louis, MS

Deal Snapshot
One unit is occupied by a Section 8 tenant with roughly 10 years of payment history.
I’m focused on durable, predictable cash flow rather than appreciation speculation.
I’ve spoken with a local property manager with 10+ years of experience in the area, and current market rents are averaging around $1,200 per unit.

Financing Paths I’m Exploring
USDA loans (owner-occupied scenarios)
Non-QM or bank statement loans
DSCR loans
CDFI or community-based lenders
Seller financing, subject-to, or hybrid structures
Private lenders

Would love to hear your thoughts!

[Michael Smythe]

Quote from @Zachary Weimer:

Hi everyone,

I’m a 25-year-old real estate investor looking for creative financing options and lender introductions for a property in Bay St. Louis, MS (Hancock County). I’m open to multiple structures and focused on matching the right capital to a conservative, cash-flowing deal.

My Profile
1099 contractor in logistics management / brokerage
~7 months in my current role with consistent income
Prior construction management (W-2) background for about 3 years before transitioning into logistics management
Solid credit (700s)
Comfortable with documentation, reserves, and lender oversight

Current Ownership Experience
I already own a property with a main home and a guest home.
The guest home is rented and performing.
Current mortgage, taxes, and insurance total around $1,820 per month. The guest home has been rented for $1,545 (not including utilities) since May 2025. The main home was rented for $1,845 (not including utilities), but the tenants only stayed one month and broke the lease. That situation is separate from this deal.
I’m actively working on leasing the main home and am currently looking for a property manager since I’ve moved out of state.

Home in Dallas was bought for 250k and it appraised for 290k. Thought of HELOC to pull money but prefer better options.

Target Deal
Purchase price around $170,000
6 bed / 4 bath total — two units, each 3 bed / 2 bath
One side is vacant and fully renovated with fresh paint, new flooring, and appliances
Property type is a small multifamily duplex
Located in Bay St. Louis, MS

Deal Snapshot
One unit is occupied by a Section 8 tenant with roughly 10 years of payment history.
I’m focused on durable, predictable cash flow rather than appreciation speculation.
I’ve spoken with a local property manager with 10+ years of experience in the area, and current market rents are averaging around $1,200 per unit.

Financing Paths I’m Exploring
USDA loans (owner-occupied scenarios)
Non-QM or bank statement loans
DSCR loans
CDFI or community-based lenders
Seller financing, subject-to, or hybrid structures
Private lenders

Would love to hear your thoughts!

 1) MORTGAGE OPTIONS: you are unlikely to qualify for a conforming mortgage, due to 1099 making you self-employed for less than 1 year. Standard lender criteria is minimum 2-years self-employment, income averaged from those 2 years based on taxable 1040 income (after you deduct expenses).

So, you may be stuck with DSCR nonQM loans. Although they typically only focus on your credit score, be sure to ask about length-of-employment requirements.

How were you planning to do an owner-occupied USDA if you're living in Dallas?

2) DEAL ANALYSIS: how much is the 10-year, S8 tenant paying?

3) TENANT SCREENING: what mistake did you make with the tenant that broke the lease after only one month? 
How are you making sure any PMC you hire won't make the same mistake?

4) FINANCING ALTERNATIVES: how long has the target property been on the market?
How long has the vacant unit been vacant?

Making offers asking for seller-financing requires one of the following to get acceptance:
- Motivated seller that needs/wants $x now, rather than waiting on the market
- Seller that wants to defer paying 100% capital gains now, via seller-financing
- Finding what seller is "greedy" about and structing terms that meet their greed and meet your goals. Could be:
--- Sales price (they want more than they paid for it)
--- Monthly payment (want money to cover some other payment of theirs)
--- Interest rate (want a higher return than savings rate @ bank)
--- Or...?