Guidance on How to Finance First Deal

[Sara Ribble]

Hi there!

A little background: I started getting serious about REI this year. I made the decision to sell my home that I had bought 2/2020 and made about an 80% return on my investment into the property taking into account capital gains tax. I'm living with my parents to give me time and figure out my next move. I've easily got 3-6 months here, so I don't need to rush into anything that doesn't make sense (my parents want me to stay forever).

I'm in CA right now but will need to relocate to the Seattle area for my husband's work. I have an investment-minded realtor that I like who is giving me access to off-market deals that he finds through his own network. I also have everything set up for a conventional loan. It seems like my best play is to get a cosmetic fixer-upper (either SFR or Condo/Townhouse), live in it for a while, and then use it as a rental.

I have about 250k in cash that I can put towards a place. I know to be able to be competitive or even get one of my realtor's off-market deals I need to be able to close quickly and preferably with cash. The last thing I want to do is have to compete against others in the market who are willing to go 20-100k over the asking price. So far I see my options as:

- Form an LLC to get a commercial loan. Then either wait or rent out the property until I can refinance, and then I can use the property as my primary residence. Or if I get lucky and find something that qualifies as multi-family, I can get around that stipulation for a hard money loan?

- Try to pool money from family and personal loans, probably upping my cash offer to 400k max. 

I think the less painful option would be to try and get the commercial loan, but I'm having trouble wrapping my brain about what the process looks like and how easy it would be to refinance, pay it off, and then be able to live in the property. 

I'd love some advice. What would you do? 

Thanks in advance!