InvestorHQ

Day: April 18, 2025

  • How to Use Your Home Equity to Buy an Investment Property (Without Giving Up Your Low Interest Rate)

    Introduction

    Do you have a low mortgage interest rate that you locked in years ago—but now you’re itching to invest in real estate?

    Good news: you might not need to touch that low-interest mortgage at all.

    In this post, I’ll show you a smart way to use the equity in your home to buy another property—without refinancing. This strategy is especially useful for homeowners in the U.S. who have paid 40% or more of the home.

    What Is Home Equity and How Can You Use It?

    Let’s start with: What is equity?

    Equity is the difference between how much your home is worth today and what you still owe on your mortgage.

    For example, if your home is worth $500,000 and you owe $300,000, you have $200,000 in equity.

    How do you those $200,000 that into cash?

    There are a few options:

    • Cash-out Refinance: You can refinance your mortgage to pull cash—but if you have a low interest rate compared to today’s rates, there’s no need to consider this one today.
    • Second Mortgage: A separate loan with fixed payments.
    • HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit): Like a credit card secured by your house.

    Strategy: How to Tap Into Your Equity Without Touching Your Mortgage

    The key is to not refinance.

    Instead, you can use a HELOC or a second mortgage to pull cash from your equity, keeping your original mortgage—and its low rate—intact.

    Then, use the cash you pull as down payment on an investment property.

    Step-by-step guide

    1. Calculate your available equity: Use sites like Zillow to get an estimated value of your property, or hire an appraiser for an accurate value.
    2. Explore loan options: Talk to lenders (like us) who offer HELOCs or second mortgages. Pro tip: Some private money lender also offer equity-based loans. We have access to over 500+ of these lenders.
    3. Get pre-approved: Most lenders can give you a pre-approval in 1–3 days to know how much you can actually get in cash-out.
    4. Choose your investment property strategy: Do you want to use the funds to do a fix & flip? build & sell? or buy & rent. Do you want to buy a single-family? Airbnb? Or maybe a duplex or four-plex? Most American home-owners with $200,000 in equity could buy a small building – and they don’t even know it.
    5. Use rental income to pay the loan: If you’re buying a rental, use that cash flow to cover the mortgage of the new real estate and the loan from your cash-out. 90% of the times it pencils out and you may even have additional cashflow.

    Why This Strategy Works

    • You keep your original low-interest mortgage.
    • Access cash without selling your home.
    • Great for scaling your real estate investments.

    This strategy allows you to build wealth through real estate while keeping your biggest financial win—your low mortgage rate—untouched.

    Final Thoughts

    Using your home equity can be a powerful move if you want to invest in real estate—without giving up your killer interest rate.

    If you’re ready to find out how much equity you can use, or want help finding investment deals, InvestorHQ is here to help.

    Contact us for a free consultation or quick no-commitment quote without impacting your credit score.

  • 4 Real Estate Loans for Business Owners (That Don’t Require Tax Returns or Income Docs)

    4 Real Estate Loans for Business Owners (That Don’t Require Tax Returns or Income Docs)

    Introduction

    If you’re a business owner, you already know the game: write everything off to lower your taxes, and next thing you know—you can’t get approved for a traditional loan.

    But guess what? There are a less-common option available for you that don’t require a W-2 or tax returns to buy real estate.

    The loans below are specifically built for entrepreneurs like you—who run lean, write off everything, and still want to invest and grow.

    Let’s break them down.

    Loan #1: Fix & Flip Loans

    Buy a property, fix it up, and sell it for a profit—all with one loan.

    Lenders only care about the numbers of the project, not your taxes or job.

    A fix and flip loan can be used to buy the property and finance the renovation costs.

    For example, you find an “ugly” property for $300,000, add $50,000 of renovations and sell it for $450,000. The typically covers 85% of the property and renovation (sometimes even higher if you have experience).

    You can use this loan to fix & flip single-family and 2 -4 unit multi-family properties.

    Lender looks at:

    • Property value
    • Renovation costs
    • Sale potential (ARV)

    Ideal if you:

    • Have access to contractors or can handle remodels
    • Want fast Want fast returns but don’t want to tie your cash to the project to build equity
    • Have access to good deals

    You’ll need:

    • 650+ credit score (no credit score if you’re an international investor)
    • A property with solid profit margin (lenders look for 15% net profit margin to approve a loan)

    Typical Terms:

    • 15–25% down
    • 3–24 month loan duration
    • 12–13% annually (interest-only payments)
    • Principal is paid when property is sold

    Loan #2: Build & Sell Loans

    Do you own a piece of land? Want to build on it and flip? This one’s for you.

    Build & Sell loans are similar to Fix & Flip loans, but with ground-up construction

    You can use the loan to buy the lot or build on one you already own and sell new construction for top dollar.

    You can use this loan to build single-family and multi-family properties.

    Lender looks at:

    • Lot value
    • Build cost
    • Sale potential (ARV)

    Ideal if you:

    • Are a builder or contractor
    • Want fast returns but don’t want to tie your cash to the project

    You’ll need:

    • 650+ credit score (no credit score if you’re an international investor)
    • A property with solid profit margin

    Typical Terms:

    • 15–25% down (or less if you own the land)
    • 6–24 month loan duration
    • 19–11% annually (interest-only payments)
    • Principal is paid when property is sold

    Loan #3: Buy & Rent Loans

    If you want to buy rental properties without showing tax returns, income, or employment verification, this loan is for you.

    To get approved for this type of loan, the lender only cares about the revenue and expenses of the property. If the monthly rent can pay the mortgage, insurance, and taxes, you can get approved.​

    You can use this loan to buy single-family and multi-family properties.

    The rentals can be long-term, mid-term, or short-term like Airbnbs.

    Lender looks at:

    • Property being turn-key for rental or already with renters
    • Rental comparables
    • The rent should cover monthly expenses

    Ideal if you:

    • Want to buy rental properties but don’t qualify for traditional loans
    • Want to buy property rentals and not depend on traditional requirements like your income, taxes, or debt-to-income ratio

    You’ll need:

    • 650+ credit score (no credit score if you’re an international investor)
    • No income or tax docs needed

    Typical Terms:

    • 20–30% down (30% if you’re an international investor)
    • Up to 30 year loan duration
    • 6.5-8.5% annually (varies with downpayment and ratio)

    Loan #4: Fix & Rent Loans

    Buy, renovate, refinance, and rent. This hybrid loan lets you fix & flip a property, then turn it into a long-term asset.

    It first uses the Fix & Flip loan and then it refinances it using the Buy & Rent loan.

    Use it to:

    • Pull cash out if you create equity
    • Transition from short-term loan to 30-year mortgage

    Who it’s for:

    • Self-employed investors who want to buy low and not pay for renovations out of pocket
    • Owners who prefer to hold, not sell

    Final Thoughts + CTA

    Just because your tax return says you “don’t make money” doesn’t mean you shouldn’t qualify for real estate financing.

    At InvestorHQ, we help business owners like you invest smart—without traditional bank headaches.

    Talk to us about your goals and needs and we’ll help you qualify for loans for your real estate projects.