Brrrr refinancing woes - Colorado Springs CO

[Ted DeKowzan]

Hello BP Community,

As I’m sure you are all aware one of the biggest challenges with real estate investing is financing. Whether it’s financing the purchase of a property or refinancing an existing investment property both have their own unique set of challenges. I currently own a small portfolio of investment properties in Colorado Springs Colorado. I was lucky enough to acquire these properties with a 40% to 50% in equity upon purchase. I financed the purchase of these properties with a typical 20% down commercial loans with good rates.

It has now been a little longer than a year and I’m considering refinancing the properties to recoup the capital used for the down payment and access the additional equity. As the Brrrr strategy suggests I plan to use the funds to acquire more properties. I’ve made improvements to some of the properties and there has been a fair amount of appreciation in the area. During the past year the banks I’ve approached about refinancing all required a 6 month or 1 year seasoning period. Now that I’ve owned the properties for a little over a year I thought that refinancing wouldn’t be very challenging. What I’m running into is that many of the banks, including the bank that currently holds the note,s will only finance 70% of the appraised values with a refinance. Not only would I take a hit on the current cash flow the refinance would not provide me with a significant amount of funds to reinvest.

I'm hoping the BP Community could share some of the banks, credit unions and financial institutions that finance investment properties in Colorado Springs. I'm hoping to find a bank that would provide at least an 80% LTV and an amortization of 20 plus years. I would even consider a bank that would offer a line of credit secured by the properties. I appreciate any suggestions, contacts or insight.

Happy Investing,

Ted DeKowzan