Hard Money Loans

You may have heard of a concept called hard money lending, and you may be wondering how it differs from conventional bank financing. Either type of financing is available for both commercial and residential real estate loans. The key differences are in three parameters: 1. Cost 2. Timing 3. Availability The cost of hard money is generally higher than conventional financing. Hard money lenders offer loans at a higher interest rate and with more points due at closing. A hard money lender is generally taking a bigger risk and feels justified in making more money off the loan. In addition, the money loaned is typically personal money rather than institutional money, which means that the profit margin must be higher to make it worth the lender’s while. The amount of time required to get a hard money loan is vastly shorter than the time it takes to get a conventional loan. This can be a huge advantage when a loan is being sought to avoid foreclosure or to close on a hot real estate deal that is only available for a short time. Some hard money lenders can close in as little as 24 aE” 48 hours. Conversely, most conventional bank closings can take up to 45 days for residential properties and even longer for commercial loans. Another key advantage to hard money lending is that loans are available to people who may have less than perfect credit or have financial problems. Conventional loans are based on the creditworthiness of the borrower, as reflected in his credit bureau report and FICO credit score. Hard money loans are based solely on the equity standing in the property to be furnished. Hard money lenders are basing their loan terms off of the real estate collateral. For example, a Hard money lender is going to be more willing to make a $100,000 loan on a property worth $200,000 than he is to make a $180,000 loan on a property worth $200,000. Hard Money lenders base their loans off of the collateral in the property. They are more concerned about underwriting the loan based off the property being their asset than the borrower. As long as the property is full of equity, it is usually a safe loan for a lender. Hard Money lenders will usually base their loans off of the value of the property and not necessarily the purchase price.

If you are purchasing a property way under market value, you may want to consider a hard money loan in order to reduce or eliminate your down payment. Some hard money lenders will even allow you to roll all of your acquisition costs, closing costs, construction costs and even mortgage interest payments into the loan in order to purchase a property with a true, no money down loan. So, if you are buying a property that is selling far below its value or refinancing a property that is full of equity and need a loan in a hurry, it may be worth it to consider a hard money loan. You need to be aware that the cost of credit will be higher, both in points and in interest rate, but the cost may not be your primary concern. If you will be rehabbing the property and selling it, you will only have to pay the higher interest rate until the property is sold. Your profit margin should more than pay for the higher cost of the money you were able to borrow quickly without a high credit score. Jason Balin DC MD VA Hard Money Lender

About Author
Jason Balin www.hardmoneybankers.com DC MD VA Hard Money Lender

Using Hard Money to Fund a Construction Project You are ready to start construction, but the loan process is slowing you down. You should consider obtaining a hard money loan to get going on your project today. Hard money loans can be obtained quickly and with little upfront cost to you. What are hard money loans and how can I obtain one? Hard money loans are a type of real estate loan that is provided by private investors, through brokers. The collateral for this type of loan is the value of the property. In the case of a construction loan it is the improved value of the property. In order to provide security to the lender, the hard money loan will have higher interest rates than a conventional loan, and will be limited to around 65% of the improved value of the property. The lender will also only lend from the first position, so that in the event of a foreclosure, they are the first party to recover their investment. Hard money loans are short term loans, so you need to have an exit strategy before obtaining one of these loans, such as a plan to sell the property when completed or to refinance the property through traditional institutions.

Although the loan is limited to 65% of the improved value of the property, construction loans will generally cover all of the costs of construction, assuming that costs for construction are less than the value of the property upon completion. If you have a business that is growing at a rapid pace and you are ready to expand by constructing a new building or updating your current building. Obtaining enough capital to obtain traditional financing for this construction can take a while. In this case, it would be worthwhile to pay a higher interest rate for a hard money loan, and be able to start construction within days. Hard money lenders are available all over the country; a web search will turn up many lenders available in your area. Several websites will give you access to multiple lenders. Before approaching a lender, have your plan in place. Have complete details on all of the costs associated with the construction project, an appraisal of the completed property, as well as details on your exit strategy. Provide this information to the lender(s), and you should receive approval within a day or two, and be able to close on the deal within a week.

About Author
by: Hard Money Bankers, LLC www.hardmoneybankers.com

Using Hard Money to Fund a Construction Project You are ready to start construction, but the loan process is slowing you down. You should consider obtaining a hard money loan to get going on your project today. Hard money loans can be obtained quickly and with little upfront cost to you. What are hard money loans and how can I obtain one? Hard money loans are a type of real estate loan that is provided by private investors, through brokers. The collateral for this type of loan is the value of the property. In the case of a construction loan it is the improved value of the property. In order to provide security to the lender, the hard money loan will have higher interest rates than a conventional loan, and will be limited to around 65% of the improved value of the property. The lender will also only lend from the first position, so that in the event of a foreclosure, they are the first party to recover their investment. Hard money loans are short term loans, so you need to have an exit strategy before obtaining one of these loans, such as a plan to sell the property when completed or to refinance the property through traditional institutions. Although the loan is limited to 65% of the improved value of the property, construction loans will generally cover all of the costs of construction, assuming that costs for construction are less than the value of the property upon completion. If you have a business that is growing at a rapid pace and you are ready to expand by constructing a new building or updating your current building.

Obtaining enough capital to obtain traditional financing for this construction can take a while. In this case, it would be worthwhile to pay a higher interest rate for a hard money loan, and be able to start construction within days. Hard money lenders are available all over the country; a web search will turn up many lenders available in your area. Several websites will give you access to multiple lenders. Before approaching a lender, have your plan in place. Have complete details on all of the costs associated with the construction project, an appraisal of the completed property, as well as details on your exit strategy. Provide this information to the lender(s), and you should receive approval within a day or two, and be able to close on the deal within a week.

About Author
by: Hard Money Bankers, LLC www.hardmoneybankers.com

Using Hard Money to Fund a Construction Project You are ready to start construction, but the loan process is slowing you down. You should consider obtaining a hard money loan to get going on your project today. Hard money loans can be obtained quickly and with little upfront cost to you. What are hard money loans and how can I obtain one? Hard money loans are a type of real estate loan that is provided by private investors, through brokers. The collateral for this type of loan is the value of the property. In the case of a construction loan it is the improved value of the property. In order to provide security to the lender, the hard money loan will have higher interest rates than a conventional loan, and will be limited to around 65% of the improved value of the property. The lender will also only lend from the first position, so that in the event of a foreclosure, they are the first party to recover their investment. Hard money loans are short term loans, so you need to have an exit strategy before obtaining one of these loans, such as a plan to sell the property when completed or to refinance the property through traditional institutions.

Although the loan is limited to 65% of the improved value of the property, construction loans will generally cover all of the costs of construction, assuming that costs for construction are less than the value of the property upon completion. If you have a business that is growing at a rapid pace and you are ready to expand by constructing a new building or updating your current building. Obtaining enough capital to obtain traditional financing for this construction can take a while. In this case, it would be worthwhile to pay a higher interest rate for a hard money loan, and be able to start construction within days. Hard money lenders are available all over the country; a web search will turn up many lenders available in your area. Several websites will give you access to multiple lenders. Before approaching a lender, have your plan in place. Have complete details on all of the costs associated with the construction project, an appraisal of the completed property, as well as details on your exit strategy. Provide this information to the lender(s), and you should receive approval within a day or two, and be able to close on the deal within a week.

About Author
by: Hard Money Bankers, LLC www.hardmoneybankers.com

Using Hard Money to Fund a Construction Project You are ready to start construction, but the loan process is slowing you down. You should consider obtaining a hard money loan to get going on your project today. Hard money loans can be obtained quickly and with little upfront cost to you. What are hard money loans and how can I obtain one? Hard money loans are a type of real estate loan that is provided by private investors, through brokers. The collateral for this type of loan is the value of the property. In the case of a construction loan it is the improved value of the property. In order to provide security to the lender, the hard money loan will have higher interest rates than a conventional loan, and will be limited to around 65% of the improved value of the property. The lender will also only lend from the first position, so that in the event of a foreclosure, they are the first party to recover their investment. Hard money loans are short term loans, so you need to have an exit strategy before obtaining one of these loans, such as a plan to sell the property when completed or to refinance the property through traditional institutions.

Although the loan is limited to 65% of the improved value of the property, construction loans will generally cover all of the costs of construction, assuming that costs for construction are less than the value of the property upon completion. If you have a business that is growing at a rapid pace and you are ready to expand by constructing a new building or updating your current building. Obtaining enough capital to obtain traditional financing for this construction can take a while. In this case, it would be worthwhile to pay a higher interest rate for a hard money loan, and be able to start construction within days. Hard money lenders are available all over the country; a web search will turn up many lenders available in your area. Several websites will give you access to multiple lenders. Before approaching a lender, have your plan in place. Have complete details on all of the costs associated with the construction project, an appraisal of the completed property, as well as details on your exit strategy. Provide this information to the lender(s), and you should receive approval within a day or two, and be able to close on the deal within a week.

About Author
by: Hard Money Bankers, LLC www.hardmoneybankers.com

Third Party Loans Pave the Way The new TV show “Shark Tank” will teach one a lot about bridge loans or hard money as it is called. Hard money is a loan obtained from a third party who is not necessarily a lender like a bank or a mortgage broker. In small towns there are always a handful of locals who have enough capital sitting around to help a cousin or friend of a friend buy their first home. Often a home that is not lendable like a single-wide or one that needs considerable fixing up. On a larger scale a bridge loan would be a more formal financial arrangement for a commercial venture. For example, a plumbing contractor wants to fix up bank owned properties he has purchased for pennies on the dollar. The lending party will provide that cash to get the job started knowing the contractor will be able to pay it back once the remodeling is complete and the home has been rented or resold. Either way hard money is a great way to generate operating capital to get a business service started or bail out an existing construction job. In these tough economic times, commercial real estate developers are often the first to falter financially.

Take a large condominium project that started during the boom as an example. The first tower was completed and sold out quickly, so the second tower was started. When the bottom began to fall out, it is likely several of the first tower investors started to fall back on their note payments. Then construction costs soared and the 2nd tower project stalled. This is the perfect time for that developer to turn to a real estate capital lender like Madison Realty Capital. The developer is not going to qualify for a bail out from a bank or your typical mortgage broker so a bridge loan provider is the only option. There are not downsides since there are no other options at this juncture. The interest rate may be high and the loan term may be short, but if the developer offers an equity stake in his condominium venture, that bridge loan can turn into a win-win. At some point the market will turn around, the bridge loan or hard money will have helped you through the hard times or the start-up. Now the future will be newly paved without any further financial headaches. Ideally, the money borrowed will be paid back and any further interim financing required will be less of a mystery. Indeed future hard money loans would be available at better interest rates with a proven track record of successfully completed projects.

About Author
Contact Jeffrey Shiller, Esq. www.hardmoneybankers.com DC Hard Money Lender Jeffrey Shiller, Esq www.hardmoneybankers.com

Who knows the term hard money?

Hard money is private money lending, money you will receive from individuals that will loan you their money against your real estate, hard money lender is the bank and the bank will Loan you their money and put a lien against your real estate, the same with hard money lenders.

What is the difference between the hard money lender’s programs and the bank across the street?
1. Hard money lenders can help investors with large loan amounts, while banks will make it very difficult on the borrower to loan these large amount, so the loan would probably end up with an insurance company to loan the money and the requirements are high.
2. Hard money lenders can fund any hard money loan within a week, while for the banks it will take at least a month or even more.
3. Hard money lenders will ask for very little documentation, while the banks would ask for almost everything you have, taxes, income, assets, history of the property before and plans for after the purchase, business license, basically they will definitely want to see more from you to loan you some money.
4. Hard money lenders have guidelines but they can make exceptions without processing it through a whole underwriting team- while the bank need to go through different departments and underwriters and processors just to make an exception, and then the exception will not get excepted.

As you see to get a hard money loan is much easier then to get a loan from a bank because of the whole process, the banks are big companies and big companies have many different rules inside their companies, and to get an exception for these rules is almost impossible, and that is why many investors would rather go with a hard money lender.

So now you’re probably thinking what is the catch with the hard money lenders?
OK, so let’s talk about all the reasons why you should not consider applying for a hard money loan:

1. Hard money lenders for their services will charge you 4 to 9 points on the loan- while the banks will charge you only 1 to 2 points.
Example: If you have a loan amount of $1,000,000 and your hard money lender will charge you 5 points up front then you will pay $50,000- while the bank will charge you 2% which is $20,000, that is a bit difference but under different circumstances for some people it’s still a great deal.
2. Hard money lenders because of the fact that they will loan you money without showing your credit history and your income they will set the loans interest rate 9%-15%- while the banks will set your loans interest rate to 7%- 10%, again that is a huge difference if you’re thinking about it but for these people that want the hard money loans it’s still a great deal.

You have to understand that most investors or home buyers can not qualified today with banks for any type of Loan, hard money lenders can get you the deals you want (foreclosures, reo’s) without even thinking about showing all the unnecessary documentation, all you need to have is some money in your pocket if you’re purchasing, and if you’re refinancing then you need enough equity since the hard money lenders will probably go up to 65% at the most, also to find good hard money lenders it’s not so hard, it’s actually very easy because there are many private hard money lenders that are looking for real estate properties and notes to buy so they can make their points up frond and of course the high interest rate, if you will think about it, it’s much better then put the money in the bank.

Example: If a hard money lender put $1,000,000 in the bank and the bank will pay him 5% a year- while if he will loan the money to an investor that want to purchase a property or to refinance a property, he will charge his 5 points and he will get 15% interest rate on his money, that’s a big difference.
Good luck to you all investors out there.

Commercial hard money should only be thought of as an option after you have exhausted all other sources and have come to the conclusion that you just won’t qualify for a conventional loan.  The choice, though hard for many borrowers, is normally simple.  Either lose your business or building or accept the terms offered by the hard money lender. 

It’s a survival tactic.  You’re giving yourself something very valuable in exchange for the expense of the loan – time.  Time to repair, time to restore whatever the issues are.  Whether it’s getting the business back to profitability, paying down debt, time to continue leasing out the property, restore personal credit, etc.  We see so many borrowers let the egos get in the way and end up turning this into something it’s not.    

What it really is is an act of courage that you are facing the problems head on and doing everything you can to solve it.  And no matter how bad it is, you can still have some pride in that.  Many people simple hide and let the problems overwhelm them.

Remember the old sales saying of comparing apples to apples.  You just cannot compare a hard money loan to a bank loan you may have been eligible for 3 years ago.  You have to be realistic and compare it to your current alternatives.  And here’s what they are 1. Take on a partner 2. Lose the business 3. lose the building. 

Say you have a building worth $2,000,000 and owe $500,000.  You have $1,500,000 of equity you stand to lose vs. paying for an expensive loan.  Or say you take on the wrong partner because you are pressed for time and need cash.  Now you stand to lose whatever equity you have in the business, building and have additional legal issues by having to get rid of the partner.  And even if it works out with the partner you will likely have to give up much more to the partner than pay in fees to the lender. 

Most hard money lenders charge 6% on the front of the loan, which is obviously very expensive.  Say, using the numbers above you wanted an additional $500,000 to bring the total loan balance to $1,000,000.  You would pay $60,000 in fees…  Versus losing $1,500,000.  It’s hard, but simple.  Don’t let your ego get in the way of this one.  Face the problem head on, and fix it.   

Why would any borrower accept 15% rates and 5% on the front of a hard money commercial loan?  Because their other options are worse.  For example they may lose a substantial amount of equity out right or have to take on a partner that may take a higher percentage of their equity than a hard money lender would charge in fees.

Also the commercial hard money loans are easier and more reliable to attain than finding, negotiating and bringing on a partner or waiting months for a conventional loan to close (assuming the borrower qualifies).  Partners also have the high potential of creating legal issues if the project does not work out as planned.

Hard Money Commercial Loans  

For borrowers seriously considering going with a hard money commercial lender it is wise to only use a source that has been referred to borrowers by an experienced, unbiased third party.   This segment of the industry is filled with unethical people that have the bad habit of taking $15,000 good faith deposits with no intention of funding loans.  For many borrowers this $15,000 may be their last chunk of cash and they can’t make the mistake of going with the wrong commercial hard money lender.   Borrowers have almost no recourse either as most have to sign agreements stating that the fee is non refundable and the Letter of Intent is only a letter of “interest”.   Which of course, relieves the hard money lender of funding the deal. 

It would be an understatement to say that the decline in the real estate market changed the lending environment. Lenders who used to allow stated income loans no longer offer them, or they may claim to offer them but decline 99% of the stated loan submissions offered. This is extremely bad for investors who have made their incomes solely from real estate investing, or other self employed endeavors.

Primarily because when they do their taxes they have a lot of items to deduct from their income, and so their tax returns do not effect the true gross income that they earn. W2 employees do not have this problem, as they are qualified based on their full gross income and even if they do write off their incomes, the tax returns are hardly ever requested when W2′s are provided.

A good Residential Hard Money Lender, understands this is the case for full time real estate investors, and they will not have much taxable income on purpose at the end of the tax year. Even if tax returns are requested, its just to verify that the investor really does what he said on the application provided, and not to calculate debt to income ratios.

Another benefit to obtaining a Residential Hard Money Loan is that the loan is based on the After Repair Value, and not the Purchase Price. With a conventional lender, it doesn’t matter if you are buying at 10% of value; they would still require a certain percentage down payment on that purchase price. In other words, conventional lending methods ignore the fact that you are getting the property at a deep discount.

When you obtain a mortgage with a Residential Hard Money Lender you can rest assured that the After Repair Value (ARV) is being considered in the transaction. In a lot of cases the deep discount an investor is getting will allow room for the lender to roll in closing costs, rehab costs, etc… This decreases the amount of capital that an investor has to put into their projects, and therefore leaves more capital available so that he can do more deals.

If you have a real estate investment in mind, and are concerned with minimizing risk, and maximizing return on investment, you should consider utilizing a Residential Hard Money Lender. Its easier to qualify, and they are more flexible on the structure of a transaction.

Are you an investor looking to minimize risk, and maximize ROI by partnering with an aggressive Residential Hard Money Lender? Does including closing costs, rehab costs, and basing your loan on After Repair Value sound appealing?

If so, you owe it to yourself to see if you too can qualify for an Investor Rehab Loan by visiting this website: http://www.residential-hard-money-lender.com/