Question.. Buying with cash then refinancing? Financing Question

[Greg P.]

Hello, I'm looking to purchase a Duplex for 30k cash. It will need about 10k in rehab. After I fix it up, will I be able to refinance for about 70% of the ARV? I would of bought this property with financing in the first place, but I don't have 2 years of work history, just 8 months so it wasn't possible to get financing. But, since I'm buying this with cash, will I be able to refinance? I've heard it was easier to get approved if you're looking to refinance. Advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

[Peter Giardini]

While I totally agree that the lending market has changed drastically in the past two years... if the subject of refinancing is approached correctly... there are many lenders who will do these deals.

The key is finding the right lenders and creating a relationship with them prior to needing their money.

Many investors have either tried to obtain funding using mortgage brokers or by approaching large institutions like BofA or Wells. This doesn't work. These banks are too big and in almost every case you will be speaking to residential loan officers who in my experience don't know what to do with investors.

The approach that has allowed me to obtain funds almost at will... yes even in todays market, is to create relationships with commerical loan officers of small local banks. These banks will have Savings and Loans or Community Bank in their name... and they keep their loans in their portfolio, allowing them more flexibility in their underwritting.

I will post an article on this subject later today outlining the steps every investor should take to create these critical lender relationships.

Pete