The Situation
You completed your BRRRR renovation. The property is rent-ready or already has a tenant in place. Your hard money or bridge loan is costing you 10 to 12% interest-only every month. On a $150,000 balance at 12%, that is $1,500 per month in interest carry on a stabilized property. Six months of waiting costs $9,000 in direct interest before you factor in insurance, taxes, and property management costs layered on top. The property is not appreciating faster because you are waiting. It is just costing you money. Meanwhile, that $150,000 is capital you cannot redeploy into the next acquisition. Your BRRRR cycle is frozen. And the option to switch lenders exists.
Why Some DSCR Lenders Have Seasoning Requirements
DSCR lenders are not required by any regulatory body to have seasoning requirements. The restriction is a Fannie Mae guideline, and DSCR lenders are private lenders not subject to Fannie Mae rules. A 6-month seasoning requirement on a DSCR lender is a conservative internal policy decision, not a legal or regulatory requirement. It exists because the lender chose to adopt it.
Some lenders adopted seasoning requirements to reduce fraud risk (flips disguised as BRRRR), to reduce exposure to declining markets, or simply because they copied conventional underwriting guidelines without examining whether they applied to DSCR. Whatever the reason, the requirement isn't universal.
The Timeline Impact of 0 vs 6 Months
The direct cost is $9,000 in extra interest on a $150,000 hard money balance at 12% over six months. The indirect cost is larger and harder to calculate. An investor who recycles capital every 90 to 100 days from rehab completion to refi close can complete three to four BRRRR cycles per year on the same capital base. An investor locked into a 6-month seasoning requirement plus a 28-day close period is waiting roughly seven months between cycles, completing fewer than two per year. Over five years, that difference is not marginal. It compounds into significantly more properties, more rental units, and more monthly cash flow, all built from the same initial capital. The seasoning requirement does not just cost you money this month. It shapes the size of your portfolio years from now.
No 6-Month Wait Here.
Submit your deal. We have no seasoning requirement. Close in 28 days.
Submit Deal Summary →Is Switching Lenders Mid-Deal Worth It?
The math is usually yes. If you've been quoted a 6-month seasoning requirement, switching lenders means: submitting to a no-seasoning lender, waiting ~28 days for the new lender to close, and paying off the hard money with the new loan proceeds. The switching cost is approximately one month of processing time. The savings from not waiting 6 months typically far outweigh that one month.
One note: confirm there is no prepayment penalty on your existing hard money loan before switching. Most hard money lenders don't charge prepayment penalties, but confirm.
Alternative Strategies If You Cannot Switch Lenders
If switching lenders is not an option because of a prepayment penalty or a relationship constraint, here are ways to reduce the cost of waiting:
- Request a hard money extension. Most hard money lenders will grant a 3 to 6 month extension for a fee of 1 to 2 points. On a $150,000 balance, that is $1,500 to $3,000. Compare the extension fee against the cost of starting the process over with a new lender. If you are already 4 months into the seasoning period with 2 months remaining, an extension is often cheaper than switching.
- Rent the property immediately. Getting a tenant in place starts building rental income history. A signed lease and rent receipts at the time of the refinance application show the lender actual income, not just projected income from the appraisal. This does not shorten the seasoning clock, but it strengthens the application when the period expires.
- Use the wait period to source your next deal. The six months you cannot refinance is time you can spend identifying your next acquisition, negotiating the purchase price, and lining up the hard money commitment. When the refinance closes and the capital recycles, you deploy it immediately rather than spending additional weeks finding the next deal after the fact.
Your Immediate Next Step
Submit your deal to Get Brick Capital via the intake form. Include your property address, current hard money balance, estimated ARV, monthly rent or market rent, and credit score range. No credit pull. We send your rate within 24 hours. If the rate works, we close in 28 days. Your 6-month wait disappears.