Tag Archives: wholesale

Hard Money Lenders

Hard Money Lenders (A Primer)

Hard money lenders, are individuals with a great deal of money available for investments. Depending on your investor, some may have limited funds while others have deep pockets.

Based on their own personal criteria, they lend this money, typically on a short term basis to investors who use it for a variety of purposes, primarily buying and repairing properties in distress.

As you develop your relationships with hard moneylenders and prove to them that you treat your investments as a legitimate business, you will be able to negotiate more favorable terms. It is a good idea to learn the requirements of and develop relationships with 2-3 hard moneylenders.

Hard moneylenders will serve as a great resource as you begin your Real Estate investment business, especially if you have limited funds and/or credit blemishes. Having a good hard money lender will help you become more profitable in shorter amounts of time. You will be able to take advantage of deals and act quickly if you need to. You will also be able to refer them to potential wholesale customers in order to help them secure financing and guarantee that your deals close correctly and, more importantly, quickly.

Typical terms for hard money

The terms for a hard money loan will vary from lender to lender, will depend on the investor’s experience, the length of relationship the investor has with the lender, and depending on the lender, sometimes even the credit score of the borrower. However, if the hard money lender does look at the credit score of the borrower, he/she will typically be much more lenient because the property will serve as the collateral

Loan to Value (LTV), Interest, and Points

Generally speaking, a hard money lender will lend between 50%-75% of the after-repaired value of a home with interest rates ranging from 12-18% for anywhere between 6 months to 5 years. In addition, they will charge between 1-10 points as an upfront financing fee.

Payment Schedule

Some lenders will charge interest while some will amortize the loans, though more often than not, for the short term loans, it is easier accounting for the lender to collect interest only payments.

Repair Money

Some lenders will lend repair money and others will not. Many times, this will ultimately depend on the LTV of the property. If you do find a lender that agrees to lend for repairs, frequently the money will be kept in an escrow account from which you draw as the work is completed. In rare instances, or after you have established a level of trust with the lender, he/she may allow you to leave the closing table with the funds

Closing Costs

Provided your Loan to Value (LTV) is within the lender’s requirements, you can often negotiate the closing costs to be wrapped into the loan.

Lending Criteria for Hard Money Lenders

Just as terms vary from lender to lender, so do the criteria. Each lender has his/her own preference with regard to areas in which they will lend and types of investors to whom they will lend.

As you begin to build your list of hard moneylenders, it is important to ask them what their criteria are:

• What is the typical Loan to Value you will lend on?

• Where do you find your comparable sales?

• Do you check credit? (If so, can I provide you with a recent copy of my report?)

• Do you require appraisals?

• Do you charge an inspection fee?

• Are there certain areas that you do not lend?

Property Value vs. Credit

Generally speaking, most hard moneylenders are more concerned with the property value than the credit of the investor. They simply want to know that if the investor defaults, they will take ownership of a piece of property from which they can recover their investment and possibly turn a profit themselves. Basically, the lender wants to feel secure in his/her investment.

Finding Hard Money Lenders

Hard money lenders are, in most cases, private individuals. They are not institutional lenders that must abide by a strict set of rules and guidelines.

This means that they can be extremely flexible, but also very tough at the same time.

More than likely, your local investor club will have several hard moneylenders advertising at each of the meetings. These are great places to meet these individuals, network, and build relationships.

In addition to your local investment clubs, you can find these types of funds in many different places. These lenders can be your doctors, attorneys, friends and even your neighbors. The better the relationship you have with the individual, the more favorable the rates and terms will be.

Try the following question, which we learned to ask from a friend and mentor:

“I know this isn’t for you, but do you happen to know anyone that might be interested in earning 12-15% return on their money secured by a first lien in Real Estate?”

You would be surprised at how often the very person that you are asking says “Yes, I am interested.” You are not asking directly, so the person does not feel threatened. In fact, he/she may even be more inclined to lend you money since you were not asking directly.

5 Reasons to Invest in Probate Property

Probate real estate is one of the most untapped – and profitable – real estate investing niches out there today.

Most investors never consider probate because they either don’t know the niche is out there OR they simply misunderstand it. What this means for you is that there’s a goldmine of opportunity… and the opportunity to serve a market that’s largely underserved.

  1. No competition
    Unlike many of the other markets, there’s VERY little competition with probate investing. Sure, there may be a few other investors talking to the same owners, but NOTHING like some of the other markets. PLUS… with this niche, it PAYS to be nice (you can eliminate your cut-throat competition just by being genuine).
  2. Works in every market.
    Buyers market… Sellers market… it doesn’t matter! There are always going to be probate deals. People always pass away and estates always need to be probated…
  3. Handsome paydays.
    My average paydays are well into 5-figures. And that’s just for WHOLESALE deals. I’ve made as much as $32,000 from a single wholesale deal on a $92,000 property.
  4. Help (I mean REALLY help) people that need you!
    If you’re a little bit of a “softer” personality, this is THE niche for you. You get the chance to really help people that need you. It’s not always about the money. And I can tell you that some of my MOST rewarding closings have been probate deals where the seller looks up and me and from the bottom of their heart, they say “thank you. I can finally move on”.
  5. Multiple streams of income
    There are many other ways to make money with probate JUST in doing what you’re already doing. A few hundred dollars here and several thousand there. Smart investors know that the key to success is leverage. And probate gives you that opportunity.

Claim your access to a FREE EXCLUSIVE video that reveals the secret strategies, tools and tactics that savvy real estate investors are using to create quiet fortunes through investing in probate (http://www.theprobateprofitsystem.com)… and how to generate consistent 5 and 6-figure pay days with probate property.

To use this article on your own website, include the following: To access a proven probate model, where you’ll learn how to find the right leads, select the ideal seller candidates, get your letter opened, and craft a compelling letter that gets a HUGE response, visit Probate Profit System at http://www.theprobateprofitsystem.com.

Flipping Houses: How to Evaluate Any Deal In 10 Minutes or Less

When you’re flipping houses, it’s critical to be able to evaluate deals quickly and effectively.

One of the most important characteristics of successful real estate investors is their ability to take fast – and massive – action. And the one thing that holds people back in real estate is FEAR of taking the wrong action! In the next step, I’ll cover how to create RISK FREE contracts 100% of the time that actually get accepted, so no worries there… but for now, understand that you have to be able to quickly evaluate deals or else someone else is going to snatch up all the really good deals before you have a fighting chance.

So, for right now, I’m going to cover Continue reading

Real Estate Investing Mistake #1: Farm Area

When I first got started in real estate investing, I was the poster child for mistakes! The one thing I did PROPERLY was that I took action. And success favors the people that take action.

The key is to keep moving and not dwell on each individual real estate investing mistake that you make, especially early on! Just keep on going… and take a few minutes to figure out what the lesson was, add it to your knowledge and experience bank, and move on to the next!

In this article series, I’ve highlighted 17 real estate investing mistakes that I made early on and share with you what you can do to avoid making the same real estate investing mistakes I made…

The first mistake new real estate investors make is always thinking the grass is greener on the other side! That “another” market will have better deals, more motivated sellers, and more qualified buyers. Once your business is established with duplicatable systems in place, it can be easy to expand into additional markets. But in the beginning, stick with your targeted farm area. Continue reading

Bandit Signs to Wholesale Houses

Bandit signs are highly effective when it comes to wholesaling houses. Lots of investors will use bandit signs to find motivated sellers, but few will use bandit signs to find buyers and sell property fast!

When using bandit signs to target buyers, here are some tips you can use to save time and money (We’ve spent thousands of dollars testing and tracking).

Types of Signs:
Use white or yellow 18×24 blank bandit signs. You’ll want to use the corrugated plastic ones that come with the metal stands. Continue reading

Flipping Houses: How to Find Buyers

When you’re flipping houses (aka wholesaling), aside from finding a motivated seller with equity, the most important piece of the puzzle is the ability to find buyers. Here’s a strategy that will show you how to sell a fixer upper (that you currently have under contract) THIS weekend!

This will work if you’ve got a property under contract that you need to wholesale OR if you’ve got a fixer upper you’ve already closed on and you simply need to find a buyer fast. In either case, we’re going to assume that you’ve got to find a buyer, and you’ve got to find a buyer FAST!

One of the most successful ways to flip a house is to hold an “event”. This type of event is going to be a little different Continue reading

Wholesale Heat Wave After the Coldest Winter?

Not sure if you have noticed but slowly and surely real estate markets across the country are picking themselves up from off the mat and starting to fight another round.

Admittedly, “heat wave” may be a little strong for the market as a whole but not for the investor markets. You see, investors have always played vital roles in all real estate markets and the “investor market” within the larger market will always be the first sign of where the train is really headed.

As for one of the tools helping to fuel this market, wholesaling properties is playing a critical role on the market resurgence and hopefully you’ve added this strategy to your business as it has several key advantages that are worth cashing in on. Continue reading

Wholesale Your Way To Financial Freedom

I have made a fortune wholesaling houses over the last 15 years and it remains to this day my favorite exit strategy. I can not even think of another strategy that provides the level of monthly cash flow – literally tens of thousands of dollars a month with limited time involvement and essentially no risk. The beauty of wholesaling is that you never purchase the property and you get paid on the front end of the transaction! These are quick transactions that take 30-45 days to close and get paid without putting any money or credit at risk. It’s fantastic!

Some would challenge whether this is still a viable strategy in this economy. It absolutely is. We are experiencing an unprecedented time in real estate: prices have tumbled; sellers are not just motivated – they are desperate to sell; the media brainwashes sellers to believe that they will never get a good price for their house; and we’re at the bottom of the market dip with values poised to appreciate again soon. Continue reading

Real Estate Outsourcing: Is This Why You're Not Successful?

Last week, I was on a coaching call with one of our students… and the light bulb went off in my head. It was that “ah ha” moment. I finally really understood one of the 3 main reasons people are not successful in real estate: Not Taking Action. Truth is, it’s a huge cause for failure in lots of ‘biz opp’ strategies.

It’s what I’ve since defined as the “outsourcing virus”.

This student wanted to know what he could do to get money coming in NOW.

Here’s what got me thinking… and why so many people are struggling in their businesses.

The student I was talking to had invested tens of thousands of dollars in real estate courses, seminars, and systems. Yet, he was still struggling. (Do you know anyone like that?) Continue reading

Multiple Streams of Income

With the recent economic crash felt ‘round the world, it’s never been more important to diversify. You need to introduce multiple streams of income… In other words, diversify your income streams… your investments… your businesses… It’s just how business is going to operate in the new decade.

You’ve got to have a number of ways to bring in money or you’re going to be left holding the bag one of these days.

Several years ago, the phrase “Multiple Streams of Income” gained significant popularity through seminars, events, and tele-trainings. The company essentially taught that there were 4 ways to make money:

  1. Real Estate Investing;
  2. Infopreneuring;
  3. Internet Marketing; and Continue reading