Hard Money Loans

When shopping for hard money loans online, there are certain things to look for and certain things to avoid. As with any internet transaction, when personal information is requested, the consumer needs to use caution.

The FTC says that con artists have “gone high-tech”. There are numerous reports from people who have been taken in. In many cases, alternatives to conventional financing are the best way to go. You just need to choose your lender carefully. Here, we hope to give you the information that you need to find a legitimate company to deal with.

Many of the companies that advertise hard money personal loans online are payday lenders. While the payday loan is not a true scam, the fees that the companies charge are equivalent to yearly interest rates in the double digits. This type of loan is not the right choice for anyone who has an option, but is definitely wrong for the real estate investor. If you are new to investing, looking to buy, build or flip a property, you should be looking for lenders that advertise rehab funding, construction loans or something similar.

Brokers are another group that advertises hard money loans online. If you use a broker, you are paying him or her to go out and find financing for you. They may or may not be able to provide this service. Avoid the ones that ask for large up-front fees, anything more than a few hundred as an application fee. There have been reports of consumers that paid thousands of dollars to brokers that “guaranteed” financing. Not only was there no loan, they lost the money that they paid to the broker.

Legitimate companies offering hard money personal loans online rarely list their services with a broker. They can do their own advertising. They may have associates that refer clients to them, but the consumer does not pay a fee for the referral.

Remember that anytime an online site asks for credit card or other personal information, they should be a registered secure site. They should have a complete privacy policy available for your inspection.

It is much safer to use a lender that has you send your information to them by regular registered mail, rather than e-mail. They might request a copy of your credit report, but they would not need your credit card numbers. You might feel like regular mail is slower, but it is safer. You could always send the application overnight. You can get pre-approval while you are still looking for the right property, so there is no real need to rush. Not all companies offering hard money loans online have a pre-approval program, so look for one that does.

Currently the FTC lists no complaints with hard money lenders, though there are many with payday lenders, but if you have a concern about a specific company, you can check Federal Trade Commission’s website (www.ftc.gov) and run a search for the company name. If nothing comes up, then no complaints have been filed with that company.

You can definitely find hard money personal loans online, you just have to know where to look.

James has been in real estate for over 30 years and is an expert on residential and commercial hard money loans. He is a regular contributer to Hard Money Guide, a comprehensive resource for those looking to secure funding for real estate projects.

Author: James Whitmore
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Solar panel, solar power

Why A Hard Money Loan.

The reason real estate investors choose to use hard money loans is that they are a source to purchase and rehab property to make a substantial profit that they may not have without the use of this expensive money. These short term loans are expensive and even if they were legal for a home owner to borrow from the private lenders offering these loans it would never be advisable. So how hard are these short term loans, you ask? The answer is threefold. They are restrictive in loan to value, they are high in rate and high in fees.

Restrictive in Loan to Value.

The maximum loan to value for most private loans range from 50% to 75%. No deals are done at the higher loan to value for two reasons. First the hard money lender requires lots of equity in case of default they can list and sell the property quickly because they will in theory be below market value. The reason I say in theory is because there are so many REO’s, Short Sales and foreclosure properties on the market today that what was normally considered an exceptional deal is common place. Therefore, private lenders are more particular about the properties, borrowers and loans they choose to fund.

Secondly, any real estate investment that has less than 30% equity are not good investments for the investors unless they are purchasing the property for the cash flow. In that case they are long term investments and not suitable for the short term nature of these expensive bridge loans.

High Interest Rates.

Whether as n real estate investor buying and or rehabbing commercial or residential investment real estate the interest rates are much higher than conventional commercial or residential investment lending. The rates are higher much because the risks are much higher and there source of these funds are limited. Risk and Reward. Supply and Demand. The risks are higher because these loans are not underwritten based on the standard conventional guidelines and there is a very limited or no secondary market for private bridge loans. This is generally not an issue because the borrowers know these are only short term loans. The terms range typically from 3 to 24 months. Therefore, the higher interest rate is of minimum importance because both lenders and borrowers know that the borrowers have an exit strategy to quickly payoff these high interest rate loans. Most lenders require a viable and verifiable exit strategy before they make will the loans.

Higher Points.

Because these loans are short term in nature the hard money lenders always charge discount points. They may charge 1 to 5 points. In addition the private money brokers will charge 2 to 5 points. An average a borrower will 5 to 10 points. Plus closing costs. These are high fees. They only make sense when an real estate investor will make substantially more money and they have no other way to fund the deals.

Why Use Hard Money Lenders.

Simply to make money. As a real estate investor you have choices in financing your deals. You can choose conventional financing that requires at 30% to 35% down payment for properties that are in good shape. There are many other conventional mortgage criteria including credit, cash reserves, seasoning of funds and property. These all make conventional financing almost impossible.

Another option is to use your own funds and not finance a deal at all. But, most astute real estate investors know that if they can make a net profit of $25,000, $50,000, $100,000 or more using a hard money loan they do not like the fees but they we pay them versus not making any money because of lack of financing.

Louis Jeffries has been a Mortgage Banker for over 20 years. A Investor Rehab Specialist Louis will help you fund you next rehab or construction project. Contact Louis louisj@alldominionmortgage.com 708-299-3244 Visit The Blogs Investor Rehab
Hard Money

Author: Louis Jeffries
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
US State tax list

There are different standards and strategies that real estate investor’s use when evaluating properties. In order for us to get involved with a property, the following standards are judged for the worthiness of any rehab project:
“You should look for the worst house on a decent block”
1) Whether your strategy is to “flip” properties, or to hold them for their rental cash flow, it’s important to be able to draw potential buyers, or strong potential tenants, as quickly as possible. With this in mind, you should look at properties on streets that are maintained properly. This does not limit you to higher end homes. There are many “blue collar” areas that properly maintain the condition of their homes and yards. However, a street that has poorly maintained properties or many vacancies do not lend themselves to fast turn around sales or well suited tenants.
Always remember that this is an investment. You take on a large risk, and a lot of work as a rehabber. No matter how much loving care you put into your property, you can do nothing about the condition of your neighbor’s property.
2) Make certain that there is no structural damage to the property. This could be a fatal blow to your investment!
“You make your money when you buy a property, not when you sell it!”
Purchasing Formula
There are many formulas used for the successful purchase of a rehab project. It’s important to use one. There must always be a comfortable cushion between the purchase price and the selling price of investment property. This cushion price will help you achieve a successful investment, even if you have repair cost over-runs, or hold on to the property longer than you had anticipated. Remember, every day that the property is not sold or rented comes right off your bottom line. The interest, taxes, insurance, and utility bills compound each day. Buying the property at the right price will protect you from Murphy’s Law.
Our Funding formula:
1) Establish an after repair value for your property.
(Get “area comps” and view each one. Pick out the property that has a street that is most similar to your house’s street, and a structure that is closest to your house’s structure, and then compare the square footage, amount of bedrooms and bathrooms that are all listed on the “comps.” This will help establish a real fair market value for your property).

2) Multiply the ARV x .65 (After Repair Value)
(This will give you 65% of the ARV).
3) Establish a comprehensive and accurate list of repairs that you plan to do to the property, and estimate the costs for each repair.
(This is important. If you are knowledgeable and experienced in doing repair work, you may not need help. If you are not experienced or skilled in this, find someone who is and have them draw up a plan. Even if it costs you a little money to get them out there, this could save you thousands of dollars).
4) Subtract the cost of repairs from the 65% value of the ARV. (After Repair Value) This should be the maximum price that you pay for the property! This is a conservative formula, and it usually works well. Remember, anyone can buy a property at close to fair market value, but with your costs and risks, you must do better!
Written by Jim Olivero

Welcome to Real Estate Investing Today brought to you by hard money loans arizona. My name is Ryan Wright and I want to tell you about the dirty secret of real estate investors and what the dirty secret is; real estate investors that are successful know that the first thing they need to worry about is finding a good deal that if they find a good property they will find the funding. Funding is not as important as finding a good property.

There are so many real estate investors that are hesitating or deliberating or waiting on making an offer or finding a good deal and they are trying to figure out where they are going to get the money from before they find that great deal. Successful real estate investors know that if they find a great deal, they will find the money and the money will come if they have a great deal.

Luckily you are connected with the folks at Private Money Lenders, who provides 100% financing regardless of credit score, job history or anything else. They can provide funding on so many different real estate projects. But it is important that you go out with confidence and you make offers and you secure a property and the dirty secret is that if you find a good property they will come and they will come in with rows and there is money available to help you be successful as a real estate investor.

One of the other dirty little secrets that real estate investors have is that lots of time they are able to get 100% financing on their investment property. So it is important to realize to find a good deal. Now, I am sure you want to know about good deals. A good deal is basically defined if a person is able to buy a property for a specific cost or if he is able to resell the property at that particular time with some profit. You can find many good deals, if you search around but the main thing is that you have to give time to your search rather than just rushing into it.

Although, there are few sellers who could tricked you and can gain benefits from the buyers. Another trick these sellers use is that they try to make the deal very attractive and therefore, one has to be careful, otherwise the deals could turn out to be a failure. Therefore, a good deal always require a lot of research, education and experience. So, get experience first or dwell with people who are experienced in helping you find a good deal like Hard Money Loans because this is a very important step in real estate investing and the money will come.

Being a real estate investor, one of the most important things you should do is to find a good source of funds. It is because having someone who can help solve your financial problems will give your investing business a boost. Without such a partner, you won’t be able to make offers to motivated home sellers as well as buy properties that you can flip or rehab. Fortunately, there are lots of hard money lenders who might be willing to help you out, even if you have a bad credit score.

A hard money loan is the perfect alternative for those people who want to secure funds in a short time. It is basically a type of asset-based financing in which the lender relies on the value of an investment property to assess the eligibility of a loan.

Unlike their traditional counterparts, hard money lenders do not require the borrower to provide documents, his credit history, and other credentials. Thus, securing a hard money loan is faster and easier. In addition, most of these lenders are private individuals or small venture capital type groups that have a huge amount of cash on their hands and are willing to finance investment projects.

To find a partner who’s willing to provide you with quick cash, you can join a real estate investing club or visit mortgage companies and ask for referrals. You can also surf the Internet since most hard money lenders advertise their services online.

But if you want to learn how you can use hard money loans to your advantage, you can log on to www.Rehab-Real-Estate.com. This amazing website is home to quality articles, audio files, and videos on hard money lending and real estate investing. Visiting the site can surely improve your skills as a real estate investor because you can learn from the best in the business.

If you are a real estate investor, there is a huge possibility that you would be borrowing money from either a traditional lender or a hard money lender. In most cases, applying for hard money loans is more recommendable versus conventional loans; it is fast, easy, and hassle-free. But because there are a lot of people, especially online, who wish to take advantage of other people’s money, you must take extra precautionary measures before dealing with anyone who is involved with it. Below are the questions that you need to ask before closing in the deal with the lender:

Does the lender have a State license?

Confirm that the hard money lender you will choose has a State license. By doing this, you are protecting yourself from getting scammed and other unimaginable fraud that could get you into trouble. Make a mental note to yourself that every hard money lender must to have a State license because it is an indication that the lender is legitimate. Be smart when it comes to money matters—you don’t want your money to vanish into thin air, do you? Research is also the key here. Arm yourself with sufficient information before making any move to borrow money. You could check out RehabHardMoney.com for further details.

How long have they been doing the business?

Once you have found a potential hard money lender and verified that they have a State license, ask how long they have been in the business and how many successful deals they have done. If they have been doing the business for quite some time now, it can mean that they had a lot of satisfied customers in the past and present, which is a very good sign. However, if the hard money lender has only been lending money for the last couple of months only, maybe a thorough background check should be done first.

How many companies and investors does this lender work with?

If a lot of people, specifically other real estate investors, highly recommend the hard money lender you are considering, chances are, it is good one. The testimonials of these people should be enough proof how good or bad a lender is. If the lender has its own website, check if there are testimonials that could support the lender’s credibility. People’s experiences with the lender are of the most powerful indications that it is legit. By this, you could be sure that your hard money loan will be absolutely legal.

Real estate investing has made a significant impact on the lives of many people. It has helped many investors fulfill their dreams of climbing the career ladder. It has also given others the opportunity to provide the best for their families. So if you are one of those people who want to achieve all these things, then engaging in real estate investing is the perfect career path for you.

Being a real estate investor, one of the most important things you should do is to find good financing. Financing enables you to purchase investment properties, which are prime ingredients to your means of living. Without it, you won’t be able to buy a house that you want to flip or rehab.

But what if you have a bad credit history and banks and other traditional lenders won’t approve your loan? Should you stop being an investor? No, you shouldn’t. Such a scenario mustn’t discourage you from being involved in real estate investing because there is another way to secure funds for your business.

A hard money loan is the perfect alternative for those people who want to secure funds in a short time. It is basically a type of asset-based financing in which the lender relies on the value of an investment property to assess the eligibility of a loan.

Unlike their traditional counterparts, hard money lenders do not require the borrower to provide documents, his credit history, and other credentials. Thus, securing a hard money loan is faster and easier. In addition, most of these lenders are private individuals or small venture capital type groups who have a huge amount of cash on their hands.

To find a partner who’s willing to provide you with quick cash, you can join a real estate investing club or visit mortgage companies and ask for referrals. You can also visit RehabHardMoney.com.

Because the web site allows thousands of hard money lenders and borrowers to meet each other, finding a reliable partner who will back you up is easy. Log on to RehabHardMoney.com today and jumpstart your career in real estate investing.

Everyone knows that the real estate market has been a very good place to be for many years now, and more and more people are looking for a way to make real estate into a business.

Whether you plan to make real estate your full time job or just a side business, it is important to have a solid real estate business plan in place before you begin.

==A Good Business Plan Can Help You Get Started==

That is because a business plan is an important cornerstone to the success of any business, and whether you are seeking startup funding to buy an office, seeking a loan to buy your first investment property, or planning the structure of your business, a good business plan can help you get started.

==There Are Many Facets To The Real Estate Business==

There are many facets to the real estate business, and a great many ways to make money in real estate. For instance, you could start your own real estate business in which you buy and sell distressed properties.

Many people have experienced great success using this strategy, and outlining this approach with a real estate business plan is a great way to drive potential investors to your door.

==Become An Independent Real Estate Agent ==

Another great way to approach the real estate business is to become an independent real estate agent. Real estate agents are able to benefit from a thriving housing market by collecting a percentage of each sale, and the startup costs of such a business can be quite low.

Even so, it is still important to have a solid business plan in place so that you will be able to raise the startup capital you do need.

==Buying Investment Properties==

Buying investment properties is an increasingly popular way to make the real estate business into a great profit generator. Here, a real estate business plan may be even more important.

That is because the real estate investor will need a good source of capital to buy the first couple of properties. After those properties are spinning cash, it may be possible to strike out on your own and pay off the loan, but it will be necessary to pay attention to the creation of the business plan.

The real estate business plan you create will be necessary in order to attract business investors, to fund your startup business, and to keep the business up and running.

Author: Shaunta Pleasant
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger

More and more people it seems have been getting into the market for real estate investing, but the most successful will be those who can create a winning real estate business plan.

This real estate business plan will serve a number of different purposes, and it is important for any would be real estate investor to understand just how important such a plan can be.

Attracting Capital To Close The Deal

On the one hand, a well thought out, professional and polished real estate business plan will help the real estate investor to attract the capital he or she needs to close those once in a lifetime deals.

The secret to success in the world of real estate is that so many of the transactions can be done using other people’s money, and that is where the real estate business plan comes in. The real estate business plan will detail to all those would be investors and money lenders just how the business is destined to succeed.

Using Your Business Plan To Help Guide The Business As It Grows

In addition, a well written real estate business plan can also serve as a blueprint and a guideline as the real estate business moves forward.

It can be quite difficult to get such a business off the ground, especially when a slowdown in the market makes the world of real estate a bit more challenging. Having a real estate business plan at hand will help to guide the business as it grows.

Getting Help From Qualified Professionals

Preparing a high quality real estate business plan is well within the means of most real estate investors, but it is a good idea to ask for help from qualified professionals when preparing such an important document.

For instance, having an accountant or other tax professional take a look at the real estate business plan can provide some much needed insights.

In addition, having the real estate business plan reviewed by a qualified real estate or business attorney can ensure that the document is legally sound and that it contains no errors or omissions. After all, this real estate business plan will form the cornerstone of the new enterprise. It is important that it be a quality document.

Author: Shaunta Pleasant
Article Source: EzineArticles.com

With the real estate market evolving, there are fewer banks approving mortgage loans as a result of the change in qualifying factors. For individuals with less-than-perfect credit or not enough cash for a down payment, the doors have been closed for them and many individuals wishing to become homeowners. Because fewer people are able to qualify, investors had to develop non-traditional ways to help these individuals get into homes. This has led to some creative real estate finance strategies.

There are a number of ways that individuals can obtain their dream home without necessarily going the traditional route to secure financing. Rent to own and lease purchase options are two popular ways to do this. read more…