Refinancing Baltimore City Rental property

[Tarik Larue]

Greeting BP family,

Just finished a 2 unit rental in beautiful Baltimore city using a hard money loan. I'm looking to refinance into a conventional loan ASAP. Can anyone recommend a good local community bank or credit union in the DC or Baltimore area? I was thinking of MECU, Bay-vanguard, Midstate or Monument to name a few.

Is there usually a minimum credit score that the banks require or is the process mostly asses/ income based?

Should I get signed (long term) leases done BEFORE I look for a refinance loan?

What's the minimum amount of time I need to own the property? I've heard it was 6 months.

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Larue

[Michael Krupp]

Hey Guys, as a hard money lender and investor, I will share my thoughts. I have a bunch of rentals as well. We do lend to new investors based on their qualifications and we do rentals. We do not lend 100%, we lend 90% of purchase, and 100% of rehab up to 65 % LTV based on the ARV. Borrowers always need skin in the game. Our typical loans are 12 month interest only, and can be extended, though I will do on a case by case basis, 60 month or 5 year fully amortizing loans on solid properties in Baltimore city for qualified borrowers. I highly suggest for all investors to use a local lender whether hard money or bank on most rehab type loans. For refinances, it is less important. I can elaborate if requested.

For refi's you should check out Eastern Savings Bank - Scott Freitag, SECU, MECU, Farmers & Merchants Bank - Kevin Bankert, People's Bank, and Revere Bank, to name some.  For the larger banks, you need strong credit, finances, and experience typically.  Loan seasoning or the time you need to hold the loan is typically 6 -12 months, every bank has their own requirements, criteria, and terms.

You do typically want to make sure the property is rented and has a DSC or Debt Service Coverage of 1.25 or better. If you need further explanation, you can email me or google this.  If you do have solid DSC then the property may even stand on it's own and your personal qualifications are less important to some banks.