lending

An Insiders Tale: Why Banks are Tightening on Real Estate Investments

by Peter Giardini | January 28, 2010

I just got off the phone with the commercial lending VP at a small local bank. This bank just survived its first Office of Thrift Supervision audit since the financial meltdown. This audit took the better part of two months — all for a bank with less then $200 million in assets. As I mentioned, they [...]

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Mortgages & Lending

Imprudent Use of Leverage: A Contrarian Opinion

by Brian Brady | January 22, 2010

Contrarians zig while other investors zag. They hold to the belief that most people receive news too late and act irrationally. Warren Buffett illustrates the contrarian approach best: A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. Let’s talk about how mortgages can be applied [...]

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Mortgages & Lending

Will Banks Ever Lend Again, and if so, How To Get Your Deals Funded

by Peter Giardini | January 12, 2010

I was speaking with one of my coaching clients this morning whose has purchased some killer deals using his Home Equity Line of Credit and private lender funds. This client now needs to recapitalize to get the cash out of these properties so that he can continue his buying spree. During the course of the [...]

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Mortgages & Lending

Come New Year, The Ball May Drop, But Mortgage Rates May Rise

by Charles Feldman | December 17, 2009

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! But while many of you will have your eyes glued to your flat screens watching a 1080p image of a large, light encrusted ball drop at Times Square, others will be paying closer attention to mortgage rates which many think will go [...]

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Mortgages & Lending

Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Put the Noose Around Investors’ Necks with New Lending & Underwriting Policy Changes

by Jeff Brown | December 10, 2009

There comes a point at which reasonable folk take a step back, survey the latest nonsensical trend in lending, and conclude their own rational thought has been the problem all along. We don’t need a rehash of why we’re sittin’ in the economic rubble of a woefully failed economy. Allow me to sum it up [...]

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Commentary

Obama to Send Approximately an Additional 34,000 Troops to Afghanistan; Why Not Use Them to Fix Housing Instead?

by Charles Feldman | December 1, 2009

Ever notice that governments are so much better at sending in troops for war then sending in help for domestic problems…such as homeowners facing or being in foreclosure? The latest example, I think, is Afghanistan. The President has decided to deploy thousands of more troops (possibly 34,000 according to the Washington Post) to that hell-hole, [...]

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Financing Real Estate

Have the Credit Markets Dried Up Completely? That Depends Upon Where You Are Looking!

by Peter Giardini | November 25, 2009

Back in October of this year a BiggerPockets regular, Rich Weese, posted a web site that provided a graded scale of the overall health of every bank in the nation. While his post did not get a lot of response, the Bank Tracker Web site must be visited by everyone who is currently or hopes [...]

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Mortgages & Lending

Loan Characteristics and Their Effect on Your Prospective Investment Project (Part 2)

by Kyle Koller | November 9, 2009

In my last article, I discussed how lender recourse, prepayment penalties, a loan’s assumability, and fees and costs affect a real estate investor’s strategy. In this continuation, I will explore several other loan characteristics such that you can more successfully plan your next investment project. Fixed Periods Many commercial loan products offer fixed interest rates [...]

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Mortgages & Lending

New Federal Restriction on Prepayment Penalties Won’t Apply to FHA Interest Charge

by Christina Inman | November 7, 2009

On October 1, new federal lending rules took effect under HOEPA–the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act. One that will benefit consumers most is a restriction on prepayment penalties for higher-priced loans (those with an interest rate 1.5% above prime). No longer will borrowers need to worry about an excessive penalty for paying off their [...]

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Commentary

U.S. Commercial Real Estate At Death’s Door; Next Shoe Ready To Drop

by Charles Feldman | November 3, 2009

If there really is an economic recovery underway–no matter how weak–one sure thing that would kill it is a devastating collapse of the commercial real estate market. And, I’m afraid, that is exactly what appears to be shaping up in the not very distant future. A survey by the Real Estate Roundtable (which sounds like [...]

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Financing Real Estate

Is Fannie Mae Killing the Golden Goose?

by Florence Foote | November 3, 2009

One study of mortgages during the Great Depression found that almost half of urban, owner-occupied homes (on which there was a mortgage) were in default by 1934. The government’s answer was to sponsor the creation of Fannie Mae in 1938 (or as it is really called, the Federal National Mortgage Association), which was, and still [...]

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Real Estate

Understanding Private Lending: Interview with a Private Lender Part 2

by Justin Pierce | August 2, 2009

Last week I spoke with a private lender who loaned her own money and brokered here own loans. She operates in Northern Virginia and takes great interest in the borrower. Her operation is small and she does not have any time or desire to foreclose on a property thus she tries to ensure she will not have to by dealing with experience investors who have assets and usually money to put into the deal.

To get a little variation on this topic I spoke with a different flavor of private lender. David Williams is a hard money lender located in Utah. The differences between these lenders are more than just their geographical location.

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Commentary

Questions & Risk for Lenders In The New Credit Environment

by Tom Koziol | February 20, 2009

Risk management rules are being revised as a result of the credit crisis we are currently experiencing. One of the categories under review is Customer Behavior. The proponents of the “strategic adjustments” have come up with supposedly new questions in this category. This makes sense if the questions were truly new questions engineered for the [...]

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Commentary

Major Banks Announce Halt in Foreclosures for One Month; Await Obama Plan Details

by Joshua Dorkin | February 14, 2009

As the spending stimulus package passed the House and Senate on Friday, lenders large and small took action to stem the tide of foreclosures (1 every 13 seconds) until more details were revealed about President Obama’s $50 billion plan (that’s the portion of the stimulus devoted to foreclosures, according to the AP). Fannie Mae, Freddie [...]

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Commentary

Mortgage Brokers Get The Final Dagger In The Heart

by Rob K. Blake | February 14, 2009

Even if you’ve been living in a cave for the last few years, if asked, “Who caused the mortgage meltdown?”…the mortgage debacle that triggered a bank implosion and a real estate market slide that would make a Japanese landlord cringe… You’d answer…”Those greedy mortgage brokers are the cause of this mess.” Why would you pull [...]

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