All Forum Posts by: Carrie Doan

Can someone clarify how a refi with a bank factors in DTI for approval? I would like to BRRR with a private loan, then refi with a bank, but I'm concerned our DTI may be too high. We have 2 mortgages on other investment properties (no other debt) and I'm wondering if a rate/term refi is based solely the property value or the borrower's DTI ratio. How are people are utilizing the BRRR strategy with say, 50+ properties while keeping the DTI low enough to qualify?

@Matt Motil Thanks for the tip on wholesalers - the market here seems pretty hot right now and you are right - anything on the MLS is going very fast. Can you recommend the best way to find wholesale connections? Local meet ups?

Hi there BP friends!  I have spent the last 6+ months learning everything there is to RE, read nearly every pertinent book, listened to webinars/podcasts, attended landlord classes, analyzed countless properties.  I thought it would be a good idea to search for a very local buy & hold small multifamily to start out; however, the deals I am looking for are few and far between and the ones that do come on the market are snatched up in a hot second.  I notice myself losing motivation lately and on a recent BP podcast Brandon Turner said something to the effect of 'just get something done' (speaking to newbies about that first deal).  

In light of all this, I'm wondering if I'm overanalyzing or waiting around for something that may not come?  Do I branch out to other neighborhoods or wait for this specific property to (maybe) come available?  Torn between when to take action and when to enlist patience.  Any thoughts/encouragement much appreciated....

@Melissa Gittens thank you for the advice; I am drawn to the idea of partnering, but don't know how to get started.  Do you have any recommendations on where to look/how to find a good partner?  Is it just a matter of networking?

@Tom S. Wow - impressive!  I'm curious - how did you score that deal?  Did you seek out the owner of a vacant property that caught your eye?  

Thanks for spelling that out, brings a lot of clarity...

@Tom S. Thank you! So it sounds like the jist of it is: if we do conventional we will tie up the cash with a downpayment but save money in the long run, and if we go with HML then we keep most of our cash freed up but will pay more in fees/interest. Does that sound right?

Also is there a certain amount of money that would qualify a property as a rehab?  or is it just anything above the purchase price that needs financing?

@Tom S.  thanks for the tip - would you recommend doing a conventional loan for our first property if we can manage the down payment?  I wonder how 'more money down' relates to 20% down on a regular mortgage and if it would just make more sense to get the lower interest rate that way if we can swing it...

@Grant Rothenburger thanks for the encouragement!  I have had my eye on that meetup group for some time now and hope to pop in for further education sometime in the near future...

@Alex Deacon I appreciate the advice and absolutely will send you a PM once we are ready to investigate brokers

@Alex Deacon thank for the clarification! I got one more for for ya: I presume if I am considering a BRRRR strategy that I would also want to make sure I have my refi ducks in a row before even beginning the initial offer on the property - should I also have a prequal with a bank set up to make sure I am covered for the refi 6-12 months down the line?