All Forum Posts by: Mike Marino

Hello BP,

I started looking for small multifamily properties in the $300k-$600k price range and There are a few things that are a little unclear to me: 

A little about myself

I am a self employed and have been working in brokerage. I want to purchase my first property that I can afford which is small Multifamily. I have a downpayment saved, good credit, but do not own assets and my income is historically up and down due to commission checks from brokerage

Im concerned that I’ll waste time looking for deals and making offers to ultimately not get financing - Should I be reaching out to lenders first to see an amount I would get approved for and then look at deals that fit? Or do I just look for deals and put the right one in contract and THEN look for the lender ? My concern then is if I ultimately cant get financing I don’t want to lose my deposit. But if I tell any broker or seller that my offer subject to financing, I dont think it will be taken seriously. Or, am I overthinking this and will the lender actually just look at the deal and not care so much about me?

I know on commercial deals the lender typically looks at the deal mostly, but I know that they do look at the borrower as well. It seems elementary but Im confused on this and in the deals I broker Im usually never involved when the buyer gets financing because most of them have been dealing with their lenders for years

If someone can point me in the right direction that would be extremely helpful!

Hi BP,

I am looking to BRRRR a single family home in Pennsylvania in the purchase price range of $40k - $60k that needs about $10k-$30k in renovations. I know it is difficult to find a lender in this price range and the interest rates/points will be higher, but does anyone know of any HML's that will lend on these amounts? Most HML's I am speaking with need a minimum of 65k - 75k in purchase price only but that is a bit high for me right now.

Thanks in advance!

Congrats @Brian Knitter. What repairs did you get done for $1,000? That seems like a great deal 

@Jonathan Taylor 

I am looking to BRRRR a single family home. Ideally I am looking to use hard money and then go to a bank to refinance (preferably a smaller local bank). Can you tell me the process of how I should get my financing lined up before I purchase something?

Should I get a pre approval letter from the hard money lender before I even make offers?

At what point do I contact smaller banks for the refinance? I haven't picked a property yet but I want to make sure that I can actually refinance once I buy and rehab a property. I do not want to do the BRR part and then go to refinance and I don't get approved for some odd reason or get the terms that I had estimated previously

What questions should I ask the hard money lender? I know to understand their interest rate, points, any other fees. Anything else?

Is the refinance loan considered a commercial loan even though it is a Single family home? Would anything change if I had the property in my name vs an LLC (Planning to put it into an LLC)

Are BRRRR refinance loans typically recourse or non recourse?

Thank you so much! I know that was a lot of questions but any information at all would be greatly appreciated!

I am looking to take on a single family BRRRR project within the next few months. Obviously I cant really do much right now due to the pandemic so I am researching but I have a few questions regarding the financing:

Ideally I will use hard money for the acquisition and rehab and then go to a bank for the refi.

Do I need to get pre approved for a certain amount for the refinance portion from the bank BEFORE I even start looking and making offers? At the point of when I refi is the bank looking more at me or the cashflowing property?

Can someone explain exactly how the approval and application process for getting the hard money loan/rehab loan/refinance loan works for a first time Investor?

Anything would be greatly appreciated. Thanks BP!!

@James Nosack

Thanks for the feedback. In regards to #2 yes I definitely am not making any moves for quite some time. For now just planning and learning for when I am ready to pull the trigger

@Evan Polaski Thank you for the feedback. 

1) Makes sense. I had a feeling I would have to do this at some point

2) I assumed many of the HMLs aren't doing much right now which is why I am spending most of this time doing my research now . If you dont mind could you or someone else tell me the top few questions I should ask each lender when I call ?

3) Good point. I figured that I would underwrite a slightly lower ARV just to keep it on the safe side for my deals. Ideally I would like to do a cash deal with my own money, but hard money is just an option I am willing to explore

Thanks again very helpful !

Hi Everyone,

Long time lurker and first time post. Thankful to have such a community to learn so much from!

I am looking to BRRRR a single family home (just learning everything I can at the moment), preferably OOS but close (Looking in PA & CT - I live in NYC). I am just getting a little hung up on a few nuances and I wanted to see if anyone could provide any clarification in these aspects, mostly about putting my team in place:

1. In regards to figuring out renovation costs, I know I can’t have contractors walk a bunch of houses with me and give me renovation estimates before I make an offer to purchase something. If I waste their time I will lose credibility. I’m still learning what to look for and how to ballpark renovation costs but since I’m new I do not want to overlook a big repair that could be an issue. I also just don’t want to tour a bunch of homes and not really know what to look for and how much everything should cost and spin agents' wheels. Does anyone have any insight on how I can accurately learn renovation costs in a particular market without wasting a bunch of contractors’/Agents time?

2. I may or may not try to get a hard money loan for the acquisition and rehab. At what point should I be contacting a hard money lender? Should I be in contract or should I be building a relationship prior to going into contract so that when the time comes I will have the lender in place?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!