How do I move from residential multifamily to commercial?

[Randy Mattila]

My wife and I purchased our first property (a C-class fourplex) in 2017 which we house-hacked for three and a half years. This spring we sold that property to do a 1031 exchange and bought two B-class fourplexes in a great area. We are also house-hacking in one of the eight new units as well. We have made the best use of FHA loans to get to this point.

The problem is that we will have to either find a way to significantly increase our income to make a 25% down payment on a $500,000+ property or wait until our properties appreciate enough to refi and free up our FHA loan for another purchase. Either way it may take a few years unless we make some adjustments.

I am looking for advice on how we can speed up the process of adding another multifamily to our portfolio?  I feel like I need to begin transitioning to commercial multifamily and start using OPM to purchase bigger deals and solve my lack of capital.  However, it's intimidating to think of asking family members or investors to trust me to invest their money.  I feel like I need more experience and credibility before I can take that step.

Thoughts?