Guidance - Missouri

[Nathan Dagley]

I recently bought two foreclosures from the USDA. They are nice little houses that I paid $7,250 and $10,200 for in rural communities of Missouri roughly an hour from Poplar Bluff, Missouri, Jonesboro, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee. I've done light rehabs on them (flooring, paint, light fixtures, outlets, etc.). I am looking to keep these houses and use them as long-term rentals OR owner finance them through a licensed mortgage loan officer to be compliant with the DODD Frank and SAFE Act laws. I have met with a couple of realtors who estimate 50-70k for market values. If I hold onto them I would like to get my cash out and look for additional properties. My dilemma is that these properties sit in rural America. Small towns 10k +/- populations. Who are some lenders that lend in small-town America? Would you sell or hold? These are solid homes, unlike the other two I recently wholesaled this year for a quick profit versus dumping money into major repairs. The only real estate loans I have ever used have only been on my primary house. I have never used a DSCR/hard money lender for any of my properties. I am skeptical of all the lending options I am learning about. I feel very confident both of these homes would rent for $750-850/month.