I run a small investment group based in Cleveland. We bought a rental two years ago that needed a full gut/TLC rehab, did the work ourselves, and it's been rented and cash flowing well ever since. We're about to BRRRR another single family here in Cleveland and want to line up the right lender before we're deep into the next deal.

We’re a younger group of investors, and our trade line history is thin simply because of our age, not any credit issues — everyone on the team has good credit across the board. We know trade lines matter and we’re actively building ours, but we don’t have the year or so of seasoning a traditional lender typically wants, and waiting that long isn’t realistic for where we’re at right now. It’s easier to walk through the specifics on a call than to type it all out here. What I can say is the numbers behind us are solid — real cash flow from actual rent collected, reserves well past the standard 6 months PITIA, and clean books going back to day one on the property.

If you’re a lender or broker who’s willing to look past trade line count and actually evaluate the deal, the reserves, and the credit itself, I’d like to talk. Also open to hearing from anyone who’s run into this same wall early on and found a lender who worked with them.