All Forum Posts by: Roi C.

Hi,

I guess this is a newbie question, I'm sure this has been covered before but I couldn't find the exact answer for my question.

I'm looking to purchase a few properties and rehab them with my own cash. Once the properties are fixed up they will be rented.

At that point I would like to refinance these properties and pull out as much cash as I possible can from each property.

I've contacted a few lenders to ask about a cash-out refinance and they don't really want to talk with me right now. I'm getting a feeling like they want me to contact them only once I buy and fix these properties and have all my numbers straight. However, refinancing is a crucial step in my strategy and I would like to know what I'm getting into beforehand. Also, its important for me to know what the closing costs and the LTV cash-out is going to look like.

Some lenders mentioned that I will need to wait a 6 month seasoning period for them to offer me an X percentage of the value, and If I want to refinance sooner they'll give me less. I don't know if these are the state laws or if these are lender specific policies.

Important to mention, the properties that I want to buy are in TX and I do not own these properties yet.

I though it would be pretty simple for a lender to tell me what my refinance options (and costs) are if I tell them the value of the property, how much equity I currently have in it (100%) and my credit score.

Am I approaching this the wrong way? Is there something that I'm missing here, or did I just contact really unprofessional lenders?

I understand that these people don't want to waste their time over "hypothetical" questions like "if I were to buy at X and do Y, how much can you finance for Z..." but I do feel it's important for me to understand the full process and get a clear picture of what to expect a few months from now when I try to refinance one of these properties.

Any suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

@Andrew Postell

Thank you for the detailed reply. That's great advice!

Can you please explain this "When can I use rental income to qualify?"

Do you mean that by adding the potential rent income my total income will increase and the loan terms should reflect that? So basically my income should be calculated based on my current income + projected rent?

I just want to point out that I'm looking to get a loan for properties that I want to purchase, not properties that I currently own and want to cash-out/refinance.

Hi @Magin Mason, thanks for the quick response!

I'm not looking to do quick flips at the moment. My strategy for these properties is to purchase, rehab, rent and hold for 5-7 years.

Hi,

I am in the processing of identifying investment deals in the Houston, TX area. I do have enough cash to close on some deals in the areas that I'm looking at, however I want to see what kind of terms I'm able to get by leveraging my money and getting a loan from a mortgage lender.

Can anyone please offer any tips on how to choose the right mortgage company, and any red flags I should stay away from?

Should I look at known national companies, or small local lenders? Or maybe speak directly with banks, or credit unions? Is there any advantage of going with a larger lender vs a smaller one?

Also, if you have any specific lender that you can recommend in Houston, I would appreciate if you can PM me their info.

We have a very good / excellent credit score. My main goal is to check how many mortgages I can get approved for, at what interest rates, and what's the maximum amount of dollars I can use for each mortgage. This will really help me to narrow down my deal-hunting.

Thanks a lot!

@Bryan Pham I haven't really looked into those areas. I'm not sure if these houses will be easy to resell after they're fixed up. Maybe people will forget about the Hurricane and continue buying at normal prices in 1-2 years, I'm just not sure and don't have enough data to rely on.

There are many homes close to my area that got flooded and are selling for about 100k below the pre-Hurricane price, however after talking with some friends that do general contracting, the bids they are give people to fix these flooded homes are usually 70k+, depending on the amount the damage. I think there are great opportunities for contractors here, I don't think these prices are favorable for investors.

Hey @Bryan Pham

Prices in many parts of Houston went over the roof over the last couple of years. At the moment I am still undecided about the zip codes I want to invest in, I still need to do more research and consult with more people. That being said, with the funds I currently have at my disposal, the places that caught my eye were:

• Katy / Cinco Ranch - on the West
• Northline / Eastex / Jensen - on the East

I'm supposed to have a chat tomorrow with a Realtor that I've worked with in the past, so i'll wait to hear his input about these areas, and/or suggestions about other areas that might be attractive.

If you have any experience with these areas, or other areas in Houston I'll be happy to hear.

Hey Y'all!

After watching many videos, listening to hours upon hours of podcasts and lurking the forums I've decided it would finally be a good time to introduce myself:

My name is Roi and I moved to Houston, Texas 8 years ago (I can't believe its been so long already). I'm a full time Web and eCommerce entrepreneur looking to get seriously involved in Real Estate investing.

Other than purchasing my own home in Houston I have been involved in several out-of-state deals for family members that live overseas. The deals that I've been involved with so far have been pretty good and made me want to pursuit real estate investing as a side-career, and hopefully one day in the future turn it into my full time business.

Real estate investing is not an easy thing to do! There is a lot to gain if done right, and a lot to lose if done wrong. I don't expect this to be an easy ride and I know there will be bumps along the way. I am looking for long term success and not afraid to get my hands dirty.

I found this community here at BP to be very friendly and helpful. There is an abundance of great knowledge and information that is passed here on daily basis and I've already learnt a great deal from these forums. I would like to personally thank each member that shares his/hers experiences with the rest of us. I'll try my best to be active and add value to conversations whenever I can.