According to various real estate experts and market analysts, now is the perfect time to own a home or to invest in residential properties. With mortgage rates reaching an all-time low and home prices continuing to decline, the current real estate market provides consumers with a great opportunity to secure a place that they call their own.

Despite the “inviting” market conditions, however, many consumers, prospective home buyers, and investors are still finding it difficult to buy residential real estate. One major reason is their lack of personal funds. Another is their failure to qualify for traditional loans due to certain reasons.

Fortunately, there are lenders who are willing to help retail buyers and real estate investors secure financing to buy a home. By providing consumers with hard money residential loans, these lenders are giving them the chance to accomplish their goal.

Unlike banks, mortgage companies, and other conventional lending institutions, hard money lenders are willing to provide financing to borrowers with low credit scores or unverifiable sources of income. In addition, they are also willing to let others use their money to buy and renovate distressed properties, which is something that most traditional lenders won’t do. As long as the borrower is spending the funds on a property with great after repair value (ARV), a hard money lender will allow the former to qualify for a loan even if he or she has a poor credit rating.

How hard money residential loans work

A typical hard money loan has a loan-to-value ratio of at least 65%. This means that you’ll get 65% of the appraised ARV of the property that you want to purchase using hard money. To give you a clearer picture, here’s an example.

Let’s say you’re planning to buy a house worth $40,000. The appraiser tells you that the property is worth a hundred grand once all the necessary repairs and renovations have been carried out. If the property has an ARV of $100,000, then the hard money lender will give you $65,000. So subtracting the property’s purchase cost of $40,000 from the $65,000, you’ll have $25,000 remaining, which you can use to improve the overall look of the property.

To qualify for hard money residential loans, meanwhile, you have to ensure that you’re borrowing hard money for a property that has a high ARV. The higher the ARV of the property you want to buy, the bigger your chance of getting the approval of a hard money lender.

For more information on borrowing hard money loans, visit www.RehabHardMoney.com.

Usually, investors turn to hard money loans when traditional lenders turn their backs on them. An investor’s project may not be one that traditional lenders approve of, so they go for hard money loans. All you need is a good deal and you will get the money.

How much is the loan?
Since hard money loan is based on the value of a property as collateral, a borrower’s income or credit history will not affect the loan. In addition, the amount of the loan is at 60%-70% of the After-Repair Value (ARV) of the property. The ARV is the value once necessary repairs have been made on the property.

Why fast cash?
Hard money loan is considered to be fast cash because transaction takes only a short period of time. Usually, borrowers go through a lot of processes to get their loan approved. Banks require longer paperwork and evaluation before they reach a final decision. Since had money lenders are mostly real estate investors themselves, they easily make decisions once the value of the property is determined. Borrowers will not have much problem on negotiating with lenders since they are more lenient and flexible.

Where to find hard money lenders?
Today, finding hard money lenders weren’t as hard as it was before. Thank god for internet, you can easily search for the right hard money lender that will provide your needs.RehabHardMoney.comprovides a meeting point for hard money lenders and borrowers. Lenders can get steady stream of loans by joining the site. Borrowers who will visit the site will get more information about hard money loans and may actually get one.

The early lenders were ex-real estate investors who had
made a few dollars in real estate and then became
lenders in their local area. Now the industry is rapidly
moving toward larger financial institutions and even
larger banks.

As a newer real estate investor, becoming familiar with
how to work with hard money can be one of the most
profitable things you can do early on. This is truly the
information business. If you are able to secure a contract
on a single family home (non-owner occupied) you may
be able to borrow 100% of the purchase costs and even
some or all of the fix up money and closing costs.

One of the most important, but often overlooked, benefits
of working with a hard money lender like this is that someone
with a vested interest in your success has agreed, by virtue of
approving the loan, that you have a real deal.
This can be such a huge bonus for the new person. It can force
you to do your homework when contracting properties to buy.

Honestly properties that fit into the hard money parameters are
some of the best real estate deals out there. So if you get a
property approved for a hard money loan congratulate yourself!

Some of the specifics you need to keep in mind when shopping
for hard money are:

ARV

ARV stands for after repaired value. This number is
important because the amount of money you can borrow is
derived from what the property will sell for when youre
done with your repairs. So know your values. Know what
completely renovated houses will sell for. Most hard money
loans are based on 60 to 65% of the ARV. That means if you
buy a property that will be worth $100,000 when the repairs
are complete you will be able to borrow up to $65,000 from
the lender. This could possibly even include the repair costs
and closing costs if your contract to purchase is low enough.

I think its important to mention here that some people falsely
believe that it is impossible to buy a house for less than 65%
of what it would be worth fixed up. Remember this did not
become a multi-billion dollar industry because the hard money
lenders arent lending money. It is absolutely possible and done
every day. So get out there and find a house

Interest rate: While this is are rapidly becoming
standardized there is still a lot of fluctuation in interest rate
from lender to lender. Dont get bogged down with the
interest rate. The norm is between 12% and 18% or more in
some states. While this sound preposterous compared to what
a normal home loan interest is think of it as access to
capital. The money will only be out from three to six months
You should look to pay what is now becoming the average
which is 13% to 15%.
But competition is forcing the rates as low as 11%

Points: Heres where you do need to be concerned and do
some shopping. Points vary from two, which is rare, to ten
also rare these days but more common than you would think.
The average these days is in the 4 to 6 point range. Now when
you consider a point is one percent of the total loan amount just
a $100,000 dollar loan could range in fees from $1,000 to TEN
thousand dollars. Now that could cut into your profits.

There are other things to consider when shopping for hard money.
One of the first things you need to check on is the availability of
becoming pre-qualified. Does hard money lender have a process
to get you prequalified for the loan? Also, will they issue a very
important document to you call a proof of funds letter. This is very
important as most banks and Realtors and even some sellers these
days will require proof that you are able to fund the transaction.

Second is the pre-payment penalty. Youll want to look into this.
Most hard money lenders dont have one any more because they
realize the loan is just for a short time, but still – ask the question!
Some actually do have time limits like six months or a year in which
time the loan needs to be re-paid but they usually offer a payment
program to extend the loan longer. First off, you
dont want to have the loan out that long but if you do – you want
to know your options.

Heres the thing. Dont let this process scare you. As Ive stated
above working with a lender like this is a good thing. You do
your part and find a good, undervalued home to put a contract on.
Then work with your lender to get the house approved. Remember
youve already been pre-approved for the loan so use that proof of
funds letter to get your first or next property.

Author: Mike Collins
Article Source: EzineArticles.com