Refinancing a rental house isn't easy


By Marcie Geffner - Bankrate.com

Buying a house is an attractive proposition in these days of low mortgage interest rates and fallen prices. But if you want to buy a new home, while renting out the old one, you could face a glitch. It might be hard to refinance a house that you're renting out.

That's because "things change when you're no longer dealing with a primary residence," warns Ben Chenault Jr., regional manager at Fairway Independent Mortgage in Birmingham, Ala.

"A lot of people want to jump on the great deals, but they still have their current home and don't want to wait for that home to sell," Chenault says. "They think, 'Aha! The rental market is good; I'll just rent it out.' But what if someone stops paying the rent? Are you sunk? If the answer is 'yes,' you probably shouldn't do it."

Read on: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130408/BIZ01/304080312/Refinancing-rental-house-isn-t-easy