BRRRR - Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat
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Updated over 1 year ago on . Most recent reply

Live-in Flip: Using private/hard money for renovations?
Hello all, long time lurker but first time poster!
Looking into getting into my first RE deal, I originally planned to house-hack a duplex but have been looking at the possibility of doing a live-in flip - since distressed SFH are more available than well-priced multi-units. The plan would be to live in the house while doing renovations, living there for a year and then renting out the house - or possibly selling.
My question is, has anyone done this with using private/hard money for the purchase price + renovations then refinancing out of that into a traditional mortgage? Since the property will likely not qualify for traditional financing and I do not have funds readily available for a medium-effort renovation, I figure I can use the traditional BRRR style method most flippers use.
Is there any difference doing this while living in the property? When it comes to refinancing with a traditional mortgage, since I would live there for a year - is it preferable to refinance with just 3.5-5% down or would I want to take out the mortgage with 80% LTV? Does it make sense to just put 5% down and take money out of the deal, or does what I leave into it depend on the numbers to make the rental cash flow.
Appreciate you thoughts and insights!
Most Popular Reply

If the property is owner occupied you will not find a traditional HML or private lending company lend on it. Maybe an individual private lender but too much risk.
- Chris Seveney
