It was the biggest/longest project for me to date outside of normal SFH.House hacking is a great option, but if you are looking to get a traditional loan - it may be a little harder with all the work.

My response often catches them off guard, especially those steeped in traditional real estate underwriting:We don’t chase cap rates.

You’ve done a great job positioning the property: strong equity, solid cash flow, and a great rent-to-cost ratio.Here’s a quick breakdown of your options and how we typically look at it at Easy Street:Option 1: Cash-Out RefinanceIf you go this route with a traditional lender, you might get a lower rate than your 9% HELOC.But conventional lenders often cap cash-outs at 75% LTV and may give pushback depending on how long you've held the property or if it's in an LLC.Also, full income verification and stricter underwriting apply.Option 2: DSCR LoanThis could be a great fit if the property is a long-term rental.A DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio) loan is based on the property’s rental income—not your personal income or tax returns.We offer 30-year fixed DSCR loans, and I’ve closed some recently at rates as low as 7%, depending on credit and leverage.You’d need at least a 1.0–1.25 DSCR (you’re at about 1.57, which is strong), so you’d qualify easily.Option 3: Pay Down the HELOCOnly makes sense if you're sitting on cash and want to reduce monthly payments or prepare to refinance later.But with $500/month cash flow, the property’s working well for you already.If you pay it off, you lock up capital that could otherwise go toward growing your portfolio.🔎 My Take:If you're not planning to sell or move personal assets into the property, I’d recommend refinancing into a DSCR loan:Lock in a fixed 30-year termPotentially lower your interest rate from 9%Free up your HELOC for the next deal!

Was the cost of building it different from a traditional builder?

Now, traditional "Subject To", very different these days from SubTo, has a very thin sliver of use in real estate.Some investors might choose "Subject To" over CFD or Deed of Trust either from laziness, lack of knowledge, being cheap, or in more sinister circumstances, to defraud the seller.

Verification of Credit:While traditional credit checks may be difficult without a U.S.

Some use them as rentals.the biggest reason for doing things this way is a traditional bank won’t loan on  property that won’t appraise at their desired price.

As many have pointed out, 5-10 units is doable with a traditional DSCR lender. 

We’re one of the few property managers that require W-2’s and a bank statement and we go way beyond the traditional, “income must = 3x rent” qualifier.Below is more information about what our Applications Department does to screen applicants and find the best tenants possible for your property.Required InfoWe require the following from each applicant over the age of 18, that is not a dependent of another applicant (as evidenced on a tax return):Copy of acceptable state picture IDRecent YTD paystubRecent W-2Recent Bank Statement, all pages, no info blacked outRecent tax return if self-employedApplicants are often slow about turning this information in, asking us why we need it and then taking several days to submit.

Would love to know how much this cost you or traditional costs involved.