Conventional Mortgage versus Bridge Loan on first rental property

[Jeffery McBride]

I'm looking to purchase my first rental property through Memphis Invest and I've been working with their mortgage lender to get pre-approved. I found out that I can't qualify for a conventional mortgage due to a foreclosure in 2011. In March of 2018 I can qualify for a conventional mortgage or I can get qualified now for a bridge loan which has an interest rate of 7.375% and $7,000 closing costs with a 2 year prepayment penalty. My questions is, is it worth it to buy the property now using the more expensive bridge loan and refinance it in two years or use my downpayment money to payoff my remaining bad debt which is a HELOC (Interest @ 3.99%) and save up a new downpayment to purchase a property in March of 2018.

[Dean Letfus]

Difficult question for somebody else to answer. As Memphis gets almost zero appreciation I would wait. It's not like you will miss out on anything, especially when you are buying from the most expensive turnkey operator in the city.