I have purchased and renovated 3 SFR's over the past year. Two are buy and holds in my LLC and the other is about to be listed for sale. My question is related to my primary residence and the local area.

I am potentially going to list my primary residence for sale and interested in buying a fixer upper as a live-in. Does anyone have experience with 203K? Any recommendations on lenders and GC’s? I’m also open to other funding options.

Chad, there are numerous options in the BP Market Place, including those we offer

@Chad Mayo I have experience with 203k loans. The most important advice I can give you is to use someone who has experience with the process. Dealing with an inexperienced company can cost you a lot of money and heartache.

It’s been quite a few years since I’ve used a 203k loan. See if you can find someone by the name of Chris Draper in Louisiana. He’s the most knowledgeable guy on 203ks and gave me great advice over the years. He may or may not still be involved with 203k but can definitely get you on the right track.

Good luck!

Joseph

I am a local lender who does a significant amount of 203ks.

I recently went through the approval process before the deal fell through, and the hardest part for me was to find a licensed contractor willing to bid the work at the level of detail required by the lender. There are still a lot of projects in the Baton Rouge area, and a few of the contractors I called were not bidding jobs under $100k; others were booked for months. I only looked for a few days before the inspection came back and our negotiations were unsuccessful, but don't underestimate the time it takes to find a good GC that you are comfortable with. Also, the additional approvals can extend closing times, and you can save some headache by requesting an extended closing period (45-60 days) at the start. 

Any advice on finding and vetting the lenders?

Cordell, if you can't qualify through established local Banks or Mortgage lenders, I would not get involved with any lender or affiliate of a Lender that I could not negotiate with eye to eye or reach in person. If its has to be a long distance lender, make sure you talk to someone that has had success with that Lender.  I would use follow Bigger Pocket Pros in comparing experiences.  Never deal with a lender that needs cash from you up front.  Appraisals or cost to close an approved loan should be the only exception.  Take this as wisdom from the fool I have been.

You should not be operating a real estate business as Cordell Seals anyway. "Cordell Seals Home Improvement", "Seals Investments LLC" for example, or any legal business entity, even if it a Start -Up can get funding faster and more funding then you personally plus, your business entity can provide the protection that no amount of vetting of lenders could ever match.