Let me clear a couple of things up just because this post is half to get ideas of what to do next which I got a couple great ones, thank you! But also, I'm being super vulnerable as this is quite painful but I'm also hoping that someone else might benefit from reading this and learn from my experience.
1. @Joe S. I definitely never intended to take an entire year to refinance. My first strategy was to STR the property and refi but the STR rents were less than 1/2 of what was projected. As mentioned in an earlier post, that area fell by 40% in STR in the last year. Then I tried to sell it I believe at $550,000 but no takers there and this is when I learned the neighborhood I bought in wasn't ideal. I live in MN and fully trusted my original realtor when he said it was a great area and I bought right after the hurricane so every corner had garbage and debris waiting for city pick up, now a year removed, it's much clearer that my neighbors are not interested in cleaning up their properties as other areas are now. I would caution anyone buying remotely to have a local realtor who has been in the area for a long time to weigh in and not someone who just moved there themselves. That is definitely a lesson I am taking out of this. Lastly, I switched to a LTR & because Kiavi said that they only refi on LTRs but I needed to establish that and just like that poof, a whole year gone. Yes, definitely would do it different and just sell at a loss had I known.
2. I think it's worth maybe saying that the overarching goal for me was to STR/LTR and refi and eventually move down there after my kids are done with school so it was okay to me to have it not be a homerun as a business because I was kind of looking at it as a second home that made some money. Of course, now I know better with a hard money lender to do it this way.
3. @Nicholas L. Kiavi has a cash requirement. Meaning that your rent values has to cover all your expenses plus a certain percentage. I don't remember exactly what it was now but like @Don Konipol they are looking at it like a business and if the property doesn't perform as a "healthy business" then they are out on refinancing. I didn't realize this until I started the refinance process and was locked into a rent rate that didn't meet these requirements. And yes, they won't even consider STR properties.
4. I DID call several lenders and did lock in a refi deal. It was the crap appraisal value that made everything fall apart. No one is interested in refinancing a home that appraisal rate is lower than what you owe on it.
5. @Drew Sygit what is a deed-in-lieu? I don't think I've heard this one before.
5. I guess I just want everyone to know that I'm not new either. I did flip two other properties just this year in MN. This is my first property not in my state and first one I attempted to refinance into a STR/LTR. I just have never heard of anyone talking about this happening before in recent years. I was around for 2008 and was a general contractor back in those days too but I wasn't investing yet.
Again, thanks for all the responses! I hope this feed might help others too.
