Financing for Young Construction/Architecture Professionals

[Austin Henry]

My partner and I are looking to buy our first home here in Seattle and need help finding financing for the purchase. Specifically, we are trying to find financing for a fixer-upper home that would not qualify for a conventional mortgage. The strategy we are leaning towards is to BRRHH: buy, rehab, refinance, and then house hack. I know that fixer-upper loans are a very common product that young, first-time home buying couples are looking for and it is similarly not a very attractive commitment for lenders to get themselves into, but my partner and I are more qualified than most, and certainly most our age.

She has worked as a designer in architecture firms for the past 3 years and also started a small business with other graduates from our university that specializes in home renovations and add-ons. I have worked for commercial general contractors for the past 3 years and have also built out an RV/van conversion that I lived in for two years during college (and didn’t spend a dime in rent!). Furthermore, I am thinking about getting my general contractor’s license in order to give us some additional legitimacy as first-time rehabers and to potentially qualify for more financing options.

I'm reaching out to the BP community to see if anyone has had luck in situations and markets like ours and what strategies they have used. Local banks? Hard money lenders? 203(K)? All cash mortgage companies like UpEquity? I’d love to hear about strategies that have worked in competitive, expensive markets like Seattle for young folks like us. Any opportunities to network with investors/professionals in the area would be much appreciated as well!