Investment property loans in Boston and Massachusetts

What a non-owner-occupied loan is

A non-owner-occupied property is one the borrower does not live in: a triple-decker bought to renovate and sell, a two-family held as a rental, a condo leased to tenants, or a lot where a new home will be built. Lenders treat these as business-purpose loans, and the rules differ from the mortgage on a primary residence.

Boston Fix and Flip Loans lends only on non-owner-occupied property. We are the Massachusetts division of Optimus Capital Corp, a nationwide hard money lender that works only with real estate investors. The division is run by Andrew Shanti, who has worked in lending and real estate since 2005.

How to choose a lender for a Boston investment property

The right lender depends on what you plan to do with the property. Three kinds of lender finance investment real estate, and each one approves the loan on something different.

Lender type	Approves the loan on	Fits best
Bank or conventional mortgage	Your tax returns, employment and debt-to-income ratio	Borrowers with strong documented income and only a few financed properties
Hard money or bridge lender	The deal: price, rehab budget and after-repair value	Fix and flips, ground-up construction and purchases that have to close quickly
DSCR lender	Whether the rent covers the payment	Rentals held long term, self-employed investors, LLC borrowers and investors with many loans

Questions to ask before you pick a lender

Older Massachusetts housing and tight closing dates rule out some lenders. These questions show quickly who can close your deal.

• Will you finance the rehab as well as the purchase? At a 720+ credit score we finance up to 90% of the purchase price and 100% of the rehab budget, within 70 to 75% of after-repair value.
• How fast can you close? Fix and flip loans average up to 21 days and can close in about 7 days when title and insurance are complete. Rental loans take about 30 days, including the appraisal.
• Do you lend on two- to four-family homes? Yes. They can be financed with a fix and flip loan or a DSCR rental loan, and on a rental the rent from every unit counts.
• Will you check my personal income? We do not. There is no job history or debt-to-income review.
• Can I borrow through an LLC? Yes. We lend to LLCs, and to foreign nationals through our rental loan programs.
• Is there a limit on how many properties you will finance for me? No.
• Do you finance non-warrantable condos and condotels? Yes, usually at slightly lower leverage than a standard rental.
• What is the prepayment penalty? None on fix and flip loans. Rental loans offer a 3-year or 5-year penalty, or none at a higher rate.

What we finance in Massachusetts

• Fix and flip loans: up to 90% of the purchase price and 100% of the rehab, for 6 to 24 months with interest-only payments.
• DSCR rental loans: up to 85% loan-to-value on a purchase and 80% on a cash-out refinance, fixed for 5 to 30 years.
• New construction loans: up to 90% of cost for experienced builders, including the land.
• Mid-rehab, portfolio and commercial loans for projects under way, groups of rentals, and multifamily or mixed commercial property.

Boston limits short-term rentals to owner-occupied homes, so rental deals in the city are underwritten on long-term rent. For neighborhoods and local rules, see hard money loans in Boston or all of Massachusetts.