BRRRR now or Conventional in ~2 years
Member since 2026 · 1 post · 5 votes
BRRRR now or Conventional in ~2 years
Most Popular Reply
Alfath AhmedBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votesQuote from @Thomas Ziemba:
Hello!
My name is Thomas Ziemba, I'm 21 years old, graduating from FAU in May, and I work in real estate as a loan officer for Total Mortgage. I'm itching to buy my first deal. With that said, I am wondering if I should wait about a year and a half, build my W-2 income (I've been working part-time while in school), and purchase my first multi-family property with a conventional loan. The other option I have is to do BRRRR, get a bridge loan, and refi into DSCR. This comes with more risk with many more moving pieces.
I'd love to get some opinions from experienced real estate investors! Please let me know your thoughts.
Thank you!!
Good stuff man! It's good that you are getting started early. I bought my first investment property at 22 years old and I am 27 now. It was the best decision i ever made.
The BRRRR strategy is great. I would look to connect with a good investor agent that can connect you with good contractors, hard-money lenders/DSCR lenders, and property managers that can lease and manage for you.
Your agent should be getting you off-market deals. Buy them at 75% ARV rule. They can also help guide you in building a Scope of Work to get a clear/better indicator of your rehab costs.
I have a map I built that I can share with you that highlights the best areas to invest. PM me and I'll share it with you.
ReafCo | Ahmed Group 530 Reviews
7 Replies
- 7moArman AhmedPro MemberReal Estate Agent · Columbus Cleveland Dayton, OH · Member since 2024 · 2k+ posts · 927 votes
Quote from @Thomas Ziemba:
Hello!
My name is Thomas Ziemba, I'm 21 years old, graduating from FAU in May, and I work in real estate as a loan officer for Total Mortgage. I'm itching to buy my first deal. With that said, I am wondering if I should wait about a year and a half, build my W-2 income (I've been working part-time while in school), and purchase my first multi-family property with a conventional loan. The other option I have is to do BRRRR, get a bridge loan, and refi into DSCR. This comes with more risk with many more moving pieces.
I'd love to get some opinions from experienced real estate investors! Please let me know your thoughts.
Thank you!!
Congrats on graduating soon and getting your foot in the door with real estate as a loan officer, that gives you a huge advantage! If your goal is to start building a portfolio fast, a BRRRR in a strong cash-flow market can let you recycle capital and scale quicker than waiting for conventional loans, especially if you’re open to out-of-state markets like the Midwest. There, duplexes and small multis are often undervalued, cash-flow from day one, and you can work with a solid local team, investor-friendly lenders, property managers, and contractors to smooth out the risk and manage remotely. Conventional loans are lower stress, but if you’re ambitious, BRRRR with the right team and market can accelerate wealth-building early. - 7moAlfath AhmedBusiness MemberReal Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
Quote from @Thomas Ziemba:
Hello!
My name is Thomas Ziemba, I'm 21 years old, graduating from FAU in May, and I work in real estate as a loan officer for Total Mortgage. I'm itching to buy my first deal. With that said, I am wondering if I should wait about a year and a half, build my W-2 income (I've been working part-time while in school), and purchase my first multi-family property with a conventional loan. The other option I have is to do BRRRR, get a bridge loan, and refi into DSCR. This comes with more risk with many more moving pieces.
I'd love to get some opinions from experienced real estate investors! Please let me know your thoughts.
Thank you!!
Good stuff man! It's good that you are getting started early. I bought my first investment property at 22 years old and I am 27 now. It was the best decision i ever made.
The BRRRR strategy is great. I would look to connect with a good investor agent that can connect you with good contractors, hard-money lenders/DSCR lenders, and property managers that can lease and manage for you.
Your agent should be getting you off-market deals. Buy them at 75% ARV rule. They can also help guide you in building a Scope of Work to get a clear/better indicator of your rehab costs.
I have a map I built that I can share with you that highlights the best areas to invest. PM me and I'll share it with you.
ReafCo | Ahmed Group 530 Reviews - 7moDrew SygitBusiness MemberProperty Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 9k+ votes
Quote from @Thomas Ziemba:
Hello!
My name is Thomas Ziemba, I'm 21 years old, graduating from FAU in May, and I work in real estate as a loan officer for Total Mortgage. I'm itching to buy my first deal. With that said, I am wondering if I should wait about a year and a half, build my W-2 income (I've been working part-time while in school), and purchase my first multi-family property with a conventional loan. The other option I have is to do BRRRR, get a bridge loan, and refi into DSCR. This comes with more risk with many more moving pieces.
I'd love to get some opinions from experienced real estate investors! Please let me know your thoughts.
Thank you!!
It's NEVER too early to start looking at deals to find one that makes sense as a risk.
Maybe you'll find a seller willing to do seller-financing or a carryback 2nd.
Maybe you'll network and find a money partner.
Maybe you'll find seller willing to do a subject-to or with an assumable loan.
Logical Property Management4.9458 Reviews - Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes7mo
Congrats, I also got into house hacking early. If you find a good deal just jump in now! If not once get the conventional pre approval will be easier to finance. Getting started young is life changing and the equity can really snowball.
- 7moBenjamin AakerPro MemberRental Property Investor · Brandon, SD · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
If you can get the DSCR loan right now and the numbers work, you should go for it. With no experience, that will be tough, so make sure you are saving money and continuing to work that W2 to get a conventional loan as a backup plan.
- Lender · Miami, FL · Member since 2024 · 37 posts · 15 votes6mo
Quote from @Thomas Ziemba:
Hello!
My name is Thomas Ziemba, I'm 21 years old, graduating from FAU in May, and I work in real estate as a loan officer for Total Mortgage. I'm itching to buy my first deal. With that said, I am wondering if I should wait about a year and a half, build my W-2 income (I've been working part-time while in school), and purchase my first multi-family property with a conventional loan. The other option I have is to do BRRRR, get a bridge loan, and refi into DSCR. This comes with more risk with many more moving pieces.
I'd love to get some opinions from experienced real estate investors! Please let me know your thoughts.
Thank you!!
Both paths can work, but one thing we see pretty often with investors is that DSCR financing lets people move sooner because the loan is based on the property’s cash flow rather than personal income.
A lot of borrowers we work with will buy a property with a bridge/rehab loan, complete the renovation, get it rented, and then refinance into a DSCR loan once the property is stabilized. That approach lets them start building a portfolio without waiting years to build W2 history or debt-to-income capacity.
Conventional loans can be great in certain situations, but they tend to rely heavily on personal income and DTI, which can slow things down once you want to scale.
With DSCR, the main focus is whether the rent supports the loan, so it tends to be more flexible for investment properties.
At 21, the biggest advantage you have is time, so starting with a solid first deal and learning the process early can go a long way regardless of which route you choose.
- Lender · Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2026 · 18 posts · 15 votes6mo
Since you're already working as an LO you probably know this, but DSCR rates right now run a lot higher than conventional investment property rates, and the closing costs are heavier too. We're talking 2-3 points plus lender fees on most DSCR products versus maybe a point or less on conventional. On a $150k-$200k deal those costs eat into your recycled capital pretty fast.
The advantage of DSCR though is you don't need two years of tax returns showing the income, which sounds like your situation. If you can find a deal where the rent covers the DSCR payment at a 1.0 or better ratio and the numbers still work after you factor in 3-4% in closing costs on the refi, go for it. Just make sure you're running the actual refi numbers before you close on the purchase, not assuming you'll get 75% ARV at some rate you saw online. I've seen a lot of newer investors get stuck at the refi stage because they didn't price it out properly up front.
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