a couple of great tidbits from a mortgage broker

[Erik Perotti]

Hi All -

Had a great conversation with a mortgage broker, and two things stood out.

Refi before HELOC - I look to use a HELOC to finance my first BRRRR(s), and have been eagerly analyzing deals expecting the final piece of the credit to be ready soon. But, if you don't have your refi buttoned up first, you will likely not be able to go back and take care of it after the HELOC. In my case, my fixed interest rate on my primary is 4 7/8%, and bouncing down to 4.5% will save me $hundreds/mo.

The HELOC itself - credit unions can provide a higher LTV than the big boys. I found USBank through BP, but I expect that my LTV will be 5-10% higher with a credit union. Or, since this is 'starting out', let me rephrase. US Bank says I can borrow against 80% of my home equity. The credit union may allow 90% or more.

Networking is gold. The stuff you learn makes a huge difference. Bummed to delay my first property, psyched to be going about it the right way.