A unique wraparound loan
For many years now investors have had only one choice when it comes to investment property loans that allowed for renovation cost wraparound financing. These types of loans are used so you can incorporate the fix up costs to renovate the property into the total mortgage for the house. This type of loan is called the FHA 203K renovation loan. The problem in the past with this form of loan is that you had to occupy at least one of the units in the building you were purchasing.
Homestyle Renovation Loan
Therefore, for most investors, if you were not going to live in the investment property, this type of loan would not be available to you. In addition even if you were 
purchasing a multi-family house under five units, and if you were not going to live there, this type of loan would not be for you. It would only work if you’re going to live in one of the units. Now Fannie Mae has come out with their Homestyle Renovation loan. This loan is a sign of the times, as the federal government tries to help banks lessen their inventory of foreclosed properties. Now as an investor, you can purchase a property and wrap the renovation costs in with the total mortgage. And you don’t have to live there.
Increasing your leverage
This type of loan is great news for investors who really want to leverage properties. Instead of sinking a great deal of your available cash into renovation costs, you can now wrap a large portion of those renovation costs into the mortgage. This frees up your other capital for purchasing other properties. This Fannie Mae Homestyle Renovation loan can be used to purchase basically any house, condo or townhome, or multifamily property,. And the property can be in any condition, and loans will typically carry loan to value ratios in the 50 to 75% range, depending on the property.
Licensed contractors
Like the FHA 203K type of renovation and purchase loan, you’ll need to use a licensed contractor. The contractor will have to be familiar with what Fannie Mae requires, It will be helpful to use a contractor who has had a great deal of experience dealing with the FHA and its paperwork requirements. Ultimately the contractor is responsible for generating all the paperwork as to the renovation work to be performed, in order to 
get the loan approved. Just like the 203K, you’ll need to use a contractor that’s been approved by Fannie Mae.
Nevertheless, this is still an exciting proposition for property investors. Now you’ll be able to truly leverage multiple properties at a time using this type of loan. Again the only caveat is that you will ultimately have to bring a tenant to the table in order to get the loan. As with the 203K type loan, you’ll have a window of time in which to get the unit occupied, after the renovation work has been completed.
Types of repairs
Some of the repairs usually done in loans like these include major work like roof repairs or replacements, new heating units, new air-conditioning , as well as complete kitchen and bath remodeling. Unlike the old FHA 203K loan however, where only one property could be financed at a time. This new Homestyle Renovation loan can be used to finance multiple properties. This makes it a gold mine for investors looking for new investment property loans.
Create a team
Before looking for more investment properties, you really want to create a team to help you buy these kinds of distressed properties. You want to find real estate professionals with experience dealing with foreclosures and short sales. You’ll also want to get recommendations for mortgage loan people who are familiar with this new style of loan from Fannie Mae. It’s very important that these mortgage people can close on a loan like this in the shortest time possible.
You want to find mortgage loan officers who can put you at ease that a loan can close within 30 to 45 days, much like the time it takes for most average non-FHA loans to close. Otherwise you’re going to have a big problem on your hands if the loan takes forever to get approved, and you can’t close on time. It’s also a good idea to have your contractor on board as you look at properties that need a lot of work. If your contractor has done work with the FHA 203K type loan before, all the better.
Searching for distressed properties using investment property loans
So if you go out searching for investment properties these days, and if you look at a lot of distressed and or foreclosed properties or short sales, make sure you have your 
team all set to go: your contractor, your mortgage person, as well as your real estate agent. Make sure they’re all familiar with this new Fannie Mae Homestyle Renovation loan. Because once you see something you like, you’ll really want to jump on it as quickly as possible and put in a bid on it immediately.
And after a bid has been accepted and a contract executed, you want to get the paperwork rolling as quickly as possible for this type of investment property loan. That way the whole process will run smoothly, and you can then concentrate on your next project.
photos courtesy of 203konline.com, lendersoup.com, 203krehabnow.com, moneypress.com, workaway.info, brokersbestmtg.com, buildingmoxie.com
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