Question on All Cash Deals

[Junior Louis]

I saw this multi-family property that I would love to pursue but its bank owned and the lender is saying All cash only. I'd be house hacking this home. Realistically I can't fundraise the amount through family and friends. What recourse do I have if I want this deal? I was thinking getting a private loan or a hard money loan and then refinancing after renovations into a traditional mortgage. Will that strategy work?

[Clayton Silva]

First and foremost, I would ask why they are requesting cash only.  A lot of realtors are new/inexperienced and think that cash is somehow better than a loan.  The seller gets paid either way (regardless of loan or cash) and it makes little difference typically unless there is something significantly wrong with the property.  I've found that half the time, the realtor saying "cash only" has no idea what they are doing/talking about and the other half of the time, the home needs significant repair and won't qualify for a conventional loan.  That does NOT mean it won't qualify for any loan, just conventional ones.  We often can still make these deals work with different lending options.