Seasoning Period
A seasoning period is the time a borrower must hold title, or a loan must age, before a lender allows a transaction such as a cash-out refinance. Fannie Mae generally requires at least one borrower on title for six months before a cash-out refinance closes.
Seasoning is the clock BRRRR investors plan around, because the strategy’s refinance step cannot happen until the relevant clock has run. Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide B2-1.3-03 sets two distinct rules that are often conflated: at least one borrower must have been on title for six months before the new loan’s disbursement (unless an exception such as delayed financing applies), and cash-out proceeds can pay off an existing first mortgage only if that mortgage is at least 12 months old.
Those are the conventional rules. DSCR and portfolio lenders set their own seasoning, commonly around six months but it varies by lender and program, so the practical timeline for any specific deal comes from the lender, not from a rule of thumb.
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Related terms: Delayed Financing Exception , Cash-Out Refinance , BRRRR Method
Source: Fannie Mae, Selling Guide B2-1.3-03 (cash-out refinance transactions)
Last updated . Part of the FinExplained finance glossary .