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All Forum Posts by: Stephanie Medellin

Stephanie Medellin has started 18 posts and replied 1145 times.

Post: Marilyn Martuscelli Buyer

Stephanie Medellin
Posted
  • Mortgage Broker
  • California
  • Posts 1,172
  • Votes 623
Quote from @Mohammed Rahman:

You're thinking exactly along the right lines. Here's the simple breakdown:

If the house is listed "cash only," it usually means it’s in rough shape — bad enough that a regular bank won’t touch it with a mortgage. So yeah, you can definitely use a hard money loan to buy it first. Hard money lenders don’t care as much about the condition of the property; they care more about the deal making sense (like how much it's worth after repairs).

Then, once you fix it up, you can refinance it into a conventional loan — that's called a "cash-out refinance" or just a "refi to permanent financing." A lot of investors do this — it's basically a mini BRRRR strategy (Buy, Rehab, Rent/Refi, Repeat). Even if you're not renting it, the process is similar.

Now, about your second idea — having the rehab/conventional loan in place upfront — there are rehab loans like the FHA 203k loan or Fannie Mae's HomeStyle loan. Those let you borrow the money to buy the house and fix it up in one shot. BUT: those are still conventional products and the house usually has to be livable (no broken heating, no major structural damage, no missing kitchens, that kind of thing). If the place is too far gone, lenders won't approve it even with a rehab loan.

Summary:
Hard money first → fix it → conventional loan later is the most realistic path if it's truly beat up.
Trying to do a rehab/conventional loan first could work if the house isn't that bad — but you’ll only know after a tour and talking with a lender.


Rehab loans like FHA 203(k) and Fannie Mae Homestyle don't require the house to be liveable - you and your contractor would include whatever needs to be done in the scope of work to make it liveable. If it won't be habitable during renovations, you can finance 6 months of payments (principal, interest, tax, and insurance payments) to cover these costs while the home is uninhabitable.

Of course the numbers still have to work, so you have to buy it at a price that makes sense relative to the market and the cost of the renovations.

    Post: Refinance from rehab loan to DSCR without not hitting rehab loan ARV

    Stephanie Medellin
    Posted
    • Mortgage Broker
    • California
    • Posts 1,172
    • Votes 623

    I'd look at the difference in total rents between 3 larger units and 4 smaller units.  Is the difference big enough to justify all the additional costs?  How long will it take to recoup the cost?  From a tenant's perspective, is the layout with 3 existing units more desirable than chopping the units up and making them smaller?  Maybe the larger units will result in less turnover?

    Does it cost more than the 25k in value that you'd be adding to get the architect and add that extra unit? I'd imagine there would be large cost savings by not adding another kitchen, bathroom, or making changes to the layout. The overall loan-to-value ratio matters more than the ARV.

    Roofs don't typically add value in the way you would think.  A leaking or very old roof will detract from your value (particularly if it impacts financing), but you aren't going to get a lot of "extra" value from a new roof.  It's simply expected that a roof is in good condition, or has some useful life left.

    It's a little concerning that the area is run down and not maintained - that makes me think there may not be a lot of good comps to use.  If your building is the only nice building in the area, it will be harder to appraise because it doesn't sound like there are many similar comps.  Hopefully buildings are selling for close to the 250k you're expecting, even in poorer condition.  It's hard to predict the appraisal value 9 months from now, since a lot of properties may sell before you're ready to refinance, and the comps that exist now may be too old to use at that point.

    Post: One closing instead of two

    Stephanie Medellin
    Posted
    • Mortgage Broker
    • California
    • Posts 1,172
    • Votes 623

    You can buy properties as an investor and use a conventional renovation loan (single family homes only for investment properties). The renovation loan will order an "as-completed" appraisal - meaning the appraiser will look at your plans for the property and value it as if it was already completed. The lender controls the funds for the renovation, and releases the funds in draws as work is completed. These are 30 year fixed rate loans, so there's no need to refinance when the work is complete, but qualification won't be as simple as a DSCR loan.

    I'm having trouble understanding why you would also need a bridge loan to fund the renovation when you've already paid "full price" for the property upfront. Isn't the renovation money built into the ARV purchase price?

    Post: Raising Cash for Down Payments

    Stephanie Medellin
    Posted
    • Mortgage Broker
    • California
    • Posts 1,172
    • Votes 623
    Quote from @Arnold Caceres:

    Hello BP,

    I am in search for a rental property and have 2 bank pre-approval letters for the funding. However, I'm afraid I'll fall short in cash to close and for the 15-20% down payment the bank requires.

    What are some strategies you use to raise cash for down payments without having to dilute my ownership? 
    thanks 


     If you already own your own home, have you considered converting that to a rental and buying a new primary residence?    

    Post: How to Talk to Multiple Banks for Investment Loans (Without Hurting Your Credit)

    Stephanie Medellin
    Posted
    • Mortgage Broker
    • California
    • Posts 1,172
    • Votes 623

    If you already know your credit score and you're upfront with your financial situation and with what you're trying to accomplish, you should be able to get a general idea of what options are available without another credit pull. 

    If you're looking for something specific, it's ok to call around and ask if a lender has that option available.  They will probably ask some questions to determine if it's even the best product for your scenario.  Many times these unique programs may not be the best fit, and there could be something more mainstream that you can qualify for.

    Post: Purchase a property with two people on the title but only one on the mortgage?

    Stephanie Medellin
    Posted
    • Mortgage Broker
    • California
    • Posts 1,172
    • Votes 623

    No need for any complicated entities to own a property together.  You can have two people on title and only one on the mortgage.  This is very common, totally above board and done through the closing process with lender approval.

    Post: House Hacking 1st time investor

    Stephanie Medellin
    Posted
    • Mortgage Broker
    • California
    • Posts 1,172
    • Votes 623

    @Anissa Allen I'd be happy to help answer any financing questions. There are low down payment options for multi-units when you plan to live in one unit and rent the others, starting at 3.5% down for FHA loans and 5% down for conventional loans. It's a great way to get started in an otherwise expensive market.

    Post: Any first-time homebuyers get down payment or closing cost assistance on a 3-4 unit

    Stephanie Medellin
    Posted
    • Mortgage Broker
    • California
    • Posts 1,172
    • Votes 623

    @Oliver Martinez  Many lenders will have the option to give a lender credit with a slightly higher interest rate - these credits can help cover your closing costs.  Combine that with a seller credit and you should be able to structure your purchase with only the minimum down payment out-of-pocket.  

    To pull this off, you need a good closing cost estimate. You will also need to be pre-approved at an interest rate that has a lender credit.  Then, when writing your purchase offer, you can ask the seller for the remaining amount needed to cover your closing costs.  If you're already under contract, obviously you can't count on getting that seller credit, so make sure you're writing that into your offer.  

    Many down payment assistance programs end up being more expensive than taking a slightly higher rate with a lender credit.  

    Post: Can I purchase a four-plex for $2M using FHA 203(k) loan?

    Stephanie Medellin
    Posted
    • Mortgage Broker
    • California
    • Posts 1,172
    • Votes 623

    The way around the self-sufficiency test is a conventional loan with 5% down, which doesn't have this requirement. 5% down is for owner occupied properties only (just like FHA). We have conventional renovation loans too.

    However, the loan limits for this option will be lower than FHA. Again, these are effective for San Diego County 2025:

    • 2-unit property – $1,032,650
    • 3-unit property – $1,248,150
    • 4-unit property – $1,551,250

    This means you could buy a 4-unit property worth $1,632,984 and put 5% down to reach the maximum loan amount of $1,551,250.  

    If you buy a property in need of renovations, the cost of renovations being financed must still fit within this maximum loan amount.  The value will be based on the lesser of:

    purchase price + renovations   

    -OR-

    as completed value.  

    The appraiser will look at your plans or scope of work, and appraise the property as if the work has been completed.  As always, the comps need to support the higher value, so you can't over-improve for the neighborhood with a renovation loan.

    Here's an example:

    Buy a $1.2 million dollar 4-plex in need of updating.

    Each unit needs $100,000 of renovations, bringing your total to $1.6 million.  Comparable 4-units are selling for $1.7 million, so your value is supported.

    You would bring 5% down, using the lower $1.6 million value.  That's $80,000.  Your $1,520,000 loan amount is under the limit.  All other qualification criteria still need to be met (income, credit, etc.)

    Post: Can I purchase a four-plex for $2M using FHA 203(k) loan?

    Stephanie Medellin
    Posted
    • Mortgage Broker
    • California
    • Posts 1,172
    • Votes 623

    Hi Mike, welcome to the community! The maximum FHA loan amount for San Diego county is $2,072,250. The numbers you're seeing are for the maximum loan amounts nationwide, which only apply to the highest cost counties. You would think that San Diego county falls into that category, but the loan limits there are just slightly under.

    Here are the FHA loan limits for San Diego County in 2025:

    SFR 2-Unit 3-Unit 4-Unit

    $1,077,550$1,379,450$1,667,450$2,072,250

    When you're doing a renovation loan like 203(k), the loan limit is the max, inclusive of any renovation costs that you're financing.  If the purchase + renovations are over the limit, you would just bring the rest to closing from your own funds.

    Keep in mind for 3-4 units on FHA, the property must meet a self-sufficiency test. This means that 75% of the rental income on all units must cover the monthly principal, interest, property tax, and insurance payment. It can be hard to meet this requirement in some higher cost areas.

    I'd be happy to talk further and go over some numbers.  I have several options available for 203(k) loans.