Hard Money Lender Xpress Loans 911
Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2020 · 6 posts · 6 votes
Hard Money Lender Xpress Loans 911
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Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votesOriginally posted by @Chad C.:
Did they help close any of your deals? I have one where they are looking to help finance $500.5K but I need to pay a $4995 commitment fee. Any thoughts? I'm nervous about doing this. Need some guidance...
No offense but this is crazy stupid.. no one charges 1 point up front just for a commitment fee .. its just not done like this in the industry.
173 Replies
- Flipper/Rehabber · MD · Member since 2020 · 2 posts · 3 votes6y
I want to say that I am totally disappointed with all of you recommending not to use the services of this lender if you haven't used them or even spoken to them. I did my homework prior to signing up with them. I had them put me on the phone with a client who had already received his loan prior to paying my commitment fee. Then I went online and did a Google search of them and that led me to this conversation thread and I personally in-boxed each person who had made a comment on it. I heard back from most of them and even spoke with one of the people on here. After I spoke with that person, that is why I decided to select Xpress Loans 911 to process my transaction. I find it shameless that instead of doing the due diligence and researching them, people who have NOT used them or even heard of them are making such salacious claims against them. In this day and age we live in, it is so very easy to disparage someone's image. A professional image does not recover so easily so before you say something against someone, please caution yourself. BTW, I am the person Chad spoke with on Tuesday. They literally had me give a reference for them the day after I deposited my commitment fee. Yes, I paid $10K but that is because my loan is $3.6M and I had ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEM WITH THAT. I have an opportunity to own an unbelievably incredible business and if $10K will get me there, then so be it. You made your choice not to use them but that doesn't mean that they are crooked in any way. Just my very humble opinion.
I love it when they call this a commitment fee. As if all the work you did to find the property and then search for a loan is not enough to show you’re committed to your deal. Where’s the commitment fee from the lender?
My issue is not with the company, which I’m sure is legit. It’s the practice of charging a large up-front fee.
Charging a flat rate of a few hundred dollars to reduce the cost of an occasional bad deal is one thing. Charging 1% is now a profit center and reduces your motivation to follow through.
I’d argue that bad deals are a cost of doing business. If you are attracting so many bad applicants that they become a burdensome drag on your operations, you probably want to change your marketing to attract a set of borrowers that align more with your lending criteria. Charging everyone, because some deals fall through is just punitive to me.
No one here should be telling any (legitimate) business how to run their operations. If you’ve been successful charging a “commitment fee,” @Account Closed, and business is great, then good for you. Just understand that you’re participating in a practice many scammers use, so you better be ready for some harsh criticism and warnings to prospective borrowers, who have no idea who you are.
Label them what you want, but there is no reason for any up-front fee, in my view. Of course, I’m not running your company. And no, commitment fees might be normal for you, but they are going the way of the dinosaur. This is an incredibly competitive business and not something any borrower has to put up with.
- 6yRyan BlakePro MemberLender · TX · Member since 2018 · 936 posts · 713 votes
@Account Closed is an amazing lender that works on the west coast and has been a podcast guests a few times. He has been investing for years. From the lack of info in your profile and your new account doesn't build confidence in who you are. You may truly be Robert Berg, managing partner at Xpress lending but it would be very difficult to verify.
I work with a lender that has been around since 2008 and has never charged up front fees. You say you do commercial lending. We are talking about fix and flip loans in this context not just pure commercial lender. Hard money lenders are not charging a a commitment fee as a whole. If you are unaware of this then I would say you should preform a SWOT analysis for your company as you are not looking at your competition as a whole. My advice that MOST hard money lenders do not charge an upfront fee is very factual and verifiable. It is NOT the norm to charge a commitment fee. I never said you were a scam and find it odd that you would personally attack people on this site for saying that your company is doing something very openly against the norm.
Some other investors said they felt the program was fishy. Not me, not anyone who didn't know anything about your company, but someone who didn't feel comfortable about moving forward with what you had to offer. Instead of finding out WHY they said this about your company you choose to attack them. Very strange. If I was a managing partner I would want to contact and interview someone who felt that way, not belittle them. I would want to know why they didn't feel comfortable borrowing from me.
In the end, I think you are going about this very poorly and it looks bad on you and your company.
- 6yJay HinrichsBusiness MemberReal Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
Originally posted by @Jeff S.:
I love it when they call this a commitment fee. As if all the work you did to find the property and then search for a loan is not enough to show you’re committed to your deal. Where’s the commitment fee from the lender?
My issue is not with the company, which I’m sure is legit. It’s the practice of charging a large up-front fee.
Charging a flat rate of a few hundred dollars to reduce the cost of an occasional bad deal is one thing. Charging 1% is now a profit center and reduces your motivation to follow through.
I’d argue that bad deals are a cost of doing business. If you are attracting so many bad applicants that they become a burdensome drag on your operations, you probably want to change your marketing to attract a set of borrowers that align more with your lending criteria. Charging everyone, because some deals fall through is just punitive to me.
No one here should be telling any (legitimate) business how to run their operations. If you’ve been successful charging a “commitment fee,” @Account Closed, and business is great, then good for you. Just understand that you’re participating in a practice many scammers use, so you better be ready for some harsh criticism and warnings to prospective borrowers, who have no idea who you are.
Label them what you want, but there is no reason for any up-front fee, in my view. Of course, I’m not running your company. And no, commitment fees might be normal for you, but they are going the way of the dinosaur. This is an incredibly competitive business and not something any borrower has to put up with.
large commercial loans will have due diligence fee's thats common but its just that, an up front underwriting fee and this is for large properties were underwriting is a big en-devour.. Its simply not done these days on fix and flip vanilla loans.. thats my point ..
and of course being BP the original poster never mentioned how big his loan request was.. although one said they requested a loan of 95k which is a small loan as we know. I think lending home charges 150 bucks flat fee to keep the tire kickers at bay.
lastly I am not sure any private lender has done TENS of thousands of loans.. A few thousand to maybe 10k loans I could see but 10s of thousands since 07 I would wonder about that number.. say its 20k loans in 15 years.. thats closing 26 loans each and every week for 15 years seems like a big number
- Flipper/Rehabber · MD · Member since 2020 · 2 posts · 3 votes6y
Thank you Daniel for this. I agree, if you have not dealt with someone, you absolutely cannot make a comment about them. That is libelous and it really is illegal. Congratulations on your deal coming through and I can’t wait to close on mine and report back to you all.
- Flipper/Rehabber · Plainfield, NJ · Member since 2017 · 33 posts · 28 votes6y
Stay tuned ladies & gentleman. I have a story to tell. 🙃
- 6yRyan BlakePro MemberLender · TX · Member since 2018 · 936 posts · 713 votes
@Moses Jean I am curious about your experience.
It is just very odd that we are now getting 3 posters who have a favorable opinions of the company but are all brand new users to the site. Doesn't mean they aren't true but it is just very strange that ALL the positive comments right now are from brand new accounts.
No one is staying that it is a scam for sure but it is fishy to request commitment fees on small loans like the poster who said they requested $2,900 on a $100k loan. That is NOT normal. Doesn't meant it is a bad company but they are not doing common lending practices. Just strange.
- Flipper/Rehabber · Plainfield, NJ · Member since 2017 · 33 posts · 28 votes6y
Ladies & Gentleman Get your popcorn! Let me tell you how Xpress Loans 911 SCREWED US!
Now here is a quick disclaimer, this is just our experience and what we encountered while dealing with them this may not be your reality, but it certainly was ours. There will be things in this story that I will exclude due to pending litigation. Just for context, I am sifting through the emails and text messages by date, so I am correct with our timelines and information. Trust and believe I will be sharing our story!
8/12/2020 – My partner and I found a BEAUTIFUL property in New Jersey. It was multifamily (3 Units). Just because this is a real estate forum, I will share the details.
75K Acquisition Cost.
55K rehab.
298K ARV.
Simple.
8/13/2020 – My partner and I went on our journey to find financing that was asset-based, just because we only had two flix and flips under our belts, so we needed a lender that had a less strict underwriting process.
8/14/2020 – We get the property under contract. Yay for us, right? The drama is only starting to begin.
8/15/2020 – We get a call from a woman named CJ from Xpress Loans 911. She explained to us that they were a “Direct Lender”, they were also “Asset Based”. CJ shared that they had done over 30 million dollars in loans and they were looking to expand. So, I do my normal due diligence. I couldn’t find anything on them besides they’re website and a few small forum entries.
8/16/2020 – My partner and I speak and decide to go with Xpress Loans just for the convenience. We hop on a call with CJ who then notified us that we BOTH needed to pay a commitment fee that would either be refunded at the end of the transaction or applied to the “closing costs”. This made me wary, but we were so excited we said let’s take a leap. Our commitment fee was $1995 each. Against my better judgement, I sent it to them via Zelle. This means that if we wanted to chargeback the transaction we could not. CJ pressed us to pay via zelle not our business debit cards. Again, against our better judgment.
8/17/2020 – We signed our initial paperwork, CJ sent us a DocuSign and said: “Rory Fernandez” was our underwriter. We send over all of the normal documents.
Articles of incorporation
W2s
Contract
Agent Info
Scope of work
Etc.
8/18/2020 – I write on bigger pockets and wrote “We’re still in the underwriting stage”
8/21/2020 I get a text from Rory F asking for Info on the property. This was odd only because we had already sent them info already.
8/26/2020 – I get another text from Rory F, Stating “Good morning Mo! Within 24 – 48 hours from now, you will be receiving a call from us regarding the final loan approval. Thank you”. At this point we’re excited, we’re well on our way to closing this deal.
8/27/2020 – My partner and I decided to ask them about an appraisal. They told us that it would take 3 – 5 weeks to get one done. Now we were scheduled to close on 9/9/2020/ We didn’t have that kind of time. So, we take matters into our own hands and order one from a local company who decides to schedule us for the following week.
8/28/2020 – I get a call from a 704 number and its @robert berg (managing partner) who tells me that we're almost to the finish line and thanks us for the business. At this point, he’s very professional and nice to speak to. He also pleads with me to continue to write about our experience. I explain to him that there have been a few hoops and the communication was lacking but overall, we were ok with the business
9/2/2020 – Our appraisal was done
9/7/2020 – I reach out to Rory to discuss our term sheet and final loan terms and expressing to her that we may not make the closing date. She reassures me that they will do their best as long as the appraisal comes in high.
9/8/2020 – We realize we aren’t going to close so we ask for an extension
9/9/2020 appraisal comes in.
9/10/2020 – Rory reaches out and says she has the appraisal. We celebrate via text. She says she has some paperwork she needs me to sign. She also had problems with sending emails that day. Nothing was coming in.
-Later, my partner and I receive a text explaining to us that they had some disgruntled employees who took information from them and not to answer any calls. This was alarming. We call and ask for more information. They tell us that its “not a big deal”.
9/11/2020 – I text Rory asking if the email is back up. No response until 6 pm later that day saying “No”
I also explain to her that we’re in a time crunch and are concerned with the process. Asked to schedule a call. She schedules one for the next day.
9/12/2020 – She sends the final loan term email. We look at the paperwork and as we get ready to sign it, we see an odd name on the paperwork “Plan D Investments” and “Broker submission”. We question this and call Rory (keep in mind we didn’t know they were brokers) and she explains that this is the investor that they’re going to sell the loan too. We were a little upset but took this on the chin because our exit strategy was to Refinance and hold. We already had a bank on the hook and ready to go.
-Later; We put $15,000 in escrow.
9/13/2020 – Ask for an ETA regarding the closing. Response “Soon” (Closing is on the 17th)
-Rory asks us to go on scoresense.com to pull our own credit reports
9/16/2020 – Agent calls and asks for information regarding the closing. He now can’t reach Xpress Loans.
-Later: we ask for ANOTHER extension. The new date is 9/28/2020
-Rory says my partner has too much debt and we need to create another LLC to make sure he doesn't have financial responsibility.
9/17/2020 We STILL haven’t heard from Rory.
9/18/2020 Rory texts me for the June, July, and August bank statements. I ask what happened to her for the last two days. She says, "the phones were down". Also asks for Financial Disclosure. -Rory says my partner has too much debt and we need to create another LLC to make sure he doesn't have financial responsibility. We follow up with "What other paperwork DO YOU NEED"
9/19/2020 – She asks for our Certificate of Good stating from the state. We send.
-Later; She asks for contractors’ information
-Later; She asks for the scope of work. (Which we already gave).
9/20/2020 – I follow up with information regarding our closing. No answer
-Later; Rory calls but then texts me saying “She will call me later”. Weird.
9/21/2020 – Rory sends texts regarding speaking to the Contractor. She also answers my question about the commitment fee being deducted from closing costs. “Commitment Fee is already deducted from closing cost.
9/22/2020 – I follow up with Rory regarding closing information. She doesn’t respond. Until 4 pm in the day.
She then calls me asking me to tell our contractor to fill out a construction template, a bio, taxes return and bank statements like he’s APPLYING FOR THE LOAN! Now on the construction template, we see that it's published by “Lima One Capital”. I ask Rory about this and she says that was the lender we were using. I ask what about “Plan D investments” She says, “we decided to go with someone else”.
9/23/2020 – I reach out via phone regarding closing documents. At this point, we’re fed up. She keeps asking for more and more documents. We ask about why all the hoops and contestants back and forth.
She then says we won’t be able to close. The lender that she has been using is making her jump through hurdles for our file. Management has decided to move and put us in this new program that is 100% financing. The application fee is $250. Bear in mind our credit has NOT been run AT ALL throughout the whole process.
9/24/2020 – Rory reaches out to get authorization for the credit card info. She asks for business bank statements, my PERSONAL bank statements as well as my partners. I ask again, WHAT OTHER PAPERWORK DO YOU NEED?
9/25/2020 – Sellers Lawyer reaches out to threaten us with losing our escrow payment and termination of the contract since they have not heard anything from XpressLoans.
- I reach out to @robert berg and Rory F to complain about the process and why so many hoops. Also, stress time is of the essence.
9/26/2020 – Title search and wire information from Seller is sent.
- I ask for updates, there is no sense of urgency.
9/27/2020 – I reach out to Robert Berg asking about what is going on with our file. He says he’ll call us back.
-Rory calls with “Final Loan terms”. Sends us an email. The numbers were very high. This actually was the closing documents. We ask how much you need us to bring to the table for closing. We’re told that we need to bring $22,000 to the table. We tell them about the escrow payment (15K). And she acts so deliriously about the escrow payment.
-Robert gets back on the phone and does the math telling us to need to bring $8,200 to the table. We ask about the commitment fees that were supposed to be deducted. He says, “Oh yeah”. So, we figure out that $4,250 is the right number.
- So, I ask, are we closing tomorrow. We get DEAD SILENCE.
-We call up the realtor and BEG for another extension. New date is 8/6/2020
- At this point, we start to believe that they are giving us hell because we are black! There is just NO way we’re going through this.
9/28/2020 – Sellers attorney sends out Time of Essence email
9/29/2020 – Reach out to Rory regarding closing. How close are we. She states the lender has got all of our paperwork and is almost done. We call Rory she informs us that the lender things the home is overvalued. The as is number was 70K and we are purchasing for 75K. DID THEY NOT SEE THE ARV AND THE APPRAISAL???? This is real estate you may overpay sometimes. She also says lender has a problem with old above ground tanks that leaked oil that was in the appraisal. She wants me to go down there and take pictures and also wants us to write a letter to the new Hard Money Lender explaining the spill.
9/30/2020 – Rory texts me asking for MORE financial documents. I wake up to drive the hour to the property and to write this heart felt and factual letter about the oil residue. We also speak to Robert Berg to discuss closing. We start to pander us. Keeps saying the lender has the file and we will close soon. The new lender by the way is (RFG). Robert also shares that the lender has an issue with our file.
- Appraisal being fraudulent.
- Where our money came from.
10/1/2020 – We were just tired of the ********. We call RFG and they inform us that the just got our file on 9/30/2020. Now we’re pissed. We ask about their concerns and none of what Robert was telling us was true. Xpress Loans actually was concerned with the appraisal being fraudulent and that our money came from illicit activities.
- Again, we think this is because we’re black.
We call Rory and she sounds pretty down, and we ask for a no-nonsense answer. She says we aren’t going to make it to our closing table because the lender wants, and we should ask for ANOTHER extension
- A new appraisal
- Us to close in a different LLC
- MORE financial documents
- Their local area’s contractor’s assessment and new scope of work
- This would all take about two more weeks just to get started.
- At this point we call ******** and let them know we no longer want to deal with them.
- We wanted to cut all ties and move forward. We also notify our realtor and lawyers
10/2/2020 – Per our attorney we send out a demand letter. In a nutshell we ask for about 5K back for the money we have put out so far. From the commitment fees and miscellaneous things, we spent money on because of Xpress loans negligence.
We CC Robert and his team. Letting them know of the losses we took. We also get a notification on our personal credit reports that it has been checked by a mortgage lender. Go figure.
- Roberts response was the most vile thing I have ever read in my professional career. Much like his previous responses in the forum but much worse. He starts to spew hyperbole stating that we had bankruptcies and low credit scores and were low IQ people. We never wanted to give them paperwork and good luck on getting any money from them. Remember they never ran our credit throughout the whole process. On 10/2/2020 was the first time they saw our personal credit scores. By the way, our personal credit is in tip top shape :). I just bought a home for my mother. He states we were never forthright in our interviews. I can go on and one but I’ll let you guys decide.
In closing, this is NOT to bash anyone but only to share our story as factually as we can. We will be closing on 10/7/2020 by the way. Xpress loans played games and lied to us. They were not honest with us and scammed us. I don’t know what they’re smoking over there, but I want to stay away from that. I am sure that there will be some responses. If you have any personal questions please slide in my DM’s but not that way, I’m taken. lol
- 6yRyan BlakePro MemberLender · TX · Member since 2018 · 936 posts · 713 votes
@Account Closed in short you are a broker with $30m in experience (per your borrower above). You charge a large non-refundable commitment fee. I merely am saying, 90% of hard money lenders will not charge this fee.
To all who are looking to fund a deal, if you are fine putting up a large commitment fee, please use Xpress Loans. They may be a great fit for you. If you are worried about large non-refundable upfront fees, please visit the Bigger Pockets list of lenders and ask for references and term sheets from recent closings. There are plenty of lenders out there, go with ones in your specific market who you have received referrals for.
Location and being a direct lender matters. - 6yJay HinrichsBusiness MemberReal Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
Originally posted by @Ryan Blake:
@Account Closed in short you are a broker with $30m in experience (per your borrower above). You charge a large non-refundable commitment fee. I merely am saying, 90% of hard money lenders will not charge this fee.
To all who are looking to fund a deal, if you are fine putting up a large commitment fee, please use Xpress Loans. They may be a great fit for you. If you are worried about large non-refundable upfront fees, please visit the Bigger Pockets list of lenders and ask for references and term sheets from recent closings. There are plenty of lenders out there, go with ones in your specific market who you have received referrals for.
Location and being a direct lender matters.sounds like some of the back and forth with Do hard money.. although I would think lending one oh one is to run the borrower through accurant or at least a credit report that would have divulged the alleged BK before they went through all the motions.. I know the HML are still allowing others to broker their money.. but those on BP should understand that there are plenty of direct lenders.. And I have borrowed from Lima one myself they never ask for tax returns.. its a credit report appraisal and proof of experience to give you the pricing and of course skin in the game.. if this borrower was trying for a 100% loan with NO cash into the deal with poor credit and a BK IF that is true then does not matter who you are as the borrower you have to know your not getting a loan unless its from personal acquaintances that like you and trust you regardless of your financial or credit situation.
lastly that deal sounded too good to be true I can see a HML questioning that one.. I mean it can happen.. but its not often in this market someone is in a deal less than 50% ARV AFTER all costs.
Its for these reasons I tried letting some brokers do some loans for me in the way distance past .. nightmare.
Not going to touch the black comment but i will say Courtney at Lima one who is Black is my account rep and is very good.. I would call him direct if there is some worry of being discriminated against.
I have completed 3 Portfolio Loans through Lima for cash out refinance. My loans were through my LLC however they did have a personal guarantee. I closed on a 5/1 at 6.2% last week. The process with Lima, and Brandon went well. However, they utilized Single Source as the appraisal company who did not complete the reports in a timely fashion. I f/u and notified management at Single Source, who did issue a nominal credit, and I finally rec'd my reports and closed on the loan. Again, I have dealt with LIMA over the last 3 yrs and I would personally recommend them in obtaining "cash out refi's, portfolio and bridge loan products.
- Flipper/Rehabber · Plainfield, NJ · Member since 2017 · 33 posts · 28 votes6y
Originally posted by @Ramak B.:
I have completed 3 Portfolio Loans through Lima for cash out refinance. My loans were through my LLC however they did have a personal guarantee. I closed on a 5/1 at 6.2% last week. The process with Lima, and Brandon went well. However, they utilized Single Source as the appraisal company who did not complete the reports in a timely fashion. I f/u and notified management at Single Source, who did issue a nominal credit, and I finally rec'd my reports and closed on the loan. Again, I have dealt with LIMA over the last 3 yrs and I would personally recommend them in obtaining "cash out refi's, portfolio and bridge loan products.
Hi There,
This post wasnt a dig at Lima One. This was for Xpress Loans. I know Lima one is a credible company we just believe that Xpress wasn't being forthcoming with us about what was really going on!
- Flipper/Rehabber · Plainfield, NJ · Member since 2017 · 33 posts · 28 votes6y
Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:
Originally posted by @Ryan Blake:
@Account Closed in short you are a broker with $30m in experience (per your borrower above). You charge a large non-refundable commitment fee. I merely am saying, 90% of hard money lenders will not charge this fee.
To all who are looking to fund a deal, if you are fine putting up a large commitment fee, please use Xpress Loans. They may be a great fit for you. If you are worried about large non-refundable upfront fees, please visit the Bigger Pockets list of lenders and ask for references and term sheets from recent closings. There are plenty of lenders out there, go with ones in your specific market who you have received referrals for.
Location and being a direct lender matters.sounds like some of the back and forth with Do hard money.. although I would think lending one oh one is to run the borrower through accurant or at least a credit report that would have divulged the alleged BK before they went through all the motions.. I know the HML are still allowing others to broker their money.. but those on BP should understand that there are plenty of direct lenders.. And I have borrowed from Lima one myself they never ask for tax returns.. its a credit report appraisal and proof of experience to give you the pricing and of course skin in the game.. if this borrower was trying for a 100% loan with NO cash into the deal with poor credit and a BK IF that is true then does not matter who you are as the borrower you have to know your not getting a loan unless its from personal acquaintances that like you and trust you regardless of your financial or credit situation.
lastly that deal sounded too good to be true I can see a HML questioning that one.. I mean it can happen.. but its not often in this market someone is in a deal less than 50% ARV AFTER all costs.
Its for these reasons I tried letting some brokers do some loans for me in the way distance past .. nightmare.
Not going to touch the black comment but i will say Courtney at Lima one who is Black is my account rep and is very good.. I would call him direct if there is some worry of being discriminated against.
Hi jay,
just to be clear the black comments were probably in bad taste but it was meant for some sarcasm. How can someone be racist if they never even saw your face lol.
- 6yJay HinrichsBusiness MemberReal Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
Robert last comment.. I have some pretty good back ground in HML and although inactive hold a NMLS license.. which is required in 12 states along with state specific licenses to do loans on 1 to 4 unit non owner occ or owner occ.. I know many lenders who come from states that are the 38 or so that require no license get caught up in this and will get cease and desist and the bigger HML if you do check their website you will note NMLS and state license were required Lima one is not going to pay you in a state that requires a license I know that. .. so when U state you loan in 48 states.. and when one checks NM LS and you are not licensed that is telling.. I get the broker stuff I do.. I have a real estate license but don't really use it.. But have owned 2 HML companies over the years where we loaned our own money no brokering.
Unfortunately the pump and dump advance schemes are a live and well right now.. again not saying you don't actually close stuff.. But i just had a client in Seattle send 6k to a fake lender he found on Bp and he lost it.. And of course if you follow Do Hard Money they require 3k up front and some get on BP and say they can never get funded as the deals are not good enough.. Which i get it. 100% financing has to be rock solid.. but those investors who try this stuff usually have to put the advance fee on a credit card then are further in the hole.. or like this guy who was risking your fee and 15K in EM.. when in Fact you have zero control over the funding your relying on a third party.
Bottom line its like flying a small plane you just dont know what you dont know until your in the middle of a crisis.. LOL.. I know I flew small planes for 30 years.
So if your lending in 48 states and actually closing loans in that many states and taking compensation in the ones that require licenses, for instance
Oregon California Nevada one of the Dakotas Tennessee etc.. then your not doing it within the guide lines of the law.. With Nevada being one the prickliest ones..
And for sure Borrowers withhold info ALL the time that is just a given.
- 6yJay HinrichsBusiness MemberReal Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
Originally posted by @Moses Jean:
Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:
Originally posted by @Ryan Blake:
@Account Closed in short you are a broker with $30m in experience (per your borrower above). You charge a large non-refundable commitment fee. I merely am saying, 90% of hard money lenders will not charge this fee.
To all who are looking to fund a deal, if you are fine putting up a large commitment fee, please use Xpress Loans. They may be a great fit for you. If you are worried about large non-refundable upfront fees, please visit the Bigger Pockets list of lenders and ask for references and term sheets from recent closings. There are plenty of lenders out there, go with ones in your specific market who you have received referrals for.
Location and being a direct lender matters.sounds like some of the back and forth with Do hard money.. although I would think lending one oh one is to run the borrower through accurant or at least a credit report that would have divulged the alleged BK before they went through all the motions.. I know the HML are still allowing others to broker their money.. but those on BP should understand that there are plenty of direct lenders.. And I have borrowed from Lima one myself they never ask for tax returns.. its a credit report appraisal and proof of experience to give you the pricing and of course skin in the game.. if this borrower was trying for a 100% loan with NO cash into the deal with poor credit and a BK IF that is true then does not matter who you are as the borrower you have to know your not getting a loan unless its from personal acquaintances that like you and trust you regardless of your financial or credit situation.
lastly that deal sounded too good to be true I can see a HML questioning that one.. I mean it can happen.. but its not often in this market someone is in a deal less than 50% ARV AFTER all costs.
Its for these reasons I tried letting some brokers do some loans for me in the way distance past .. nightmare.
Not going to touch the black comment but i will say Courtney at Lima one who is Black is my account rep and is very good.. I would call him direct if there is some worry of being discriminated against.
Hi jay,
just to be clear the black comments were probably in bad taste but it was meant for some sarcasm. How can someone be racist if they never even saw your face lol.
I get it.. keep in mind Lenders just want money and commissions .. no matter who the borrower is vis a vi race religion creed etc.
I was the largest HML in Jackson MS for at least a decade so understand where your coming from
PS New Jersey is an expensive market to borrow in compared to other parts of the US given the foreclosure rules and risk to the lenders.
on the West coast its not uncommon to get HML at 8 to 10% APR thats rates and points with NO junk fees.. darn near bank rates.
All though in this case and this is why other lenders have jumped in.. its just not normal for those size loans and those assets to pay the large fee you guys paid up front. and well they made their money and you moved on.. so I guess it works for them.. thats one way to get compensated for turn downs.. although I have to say if they are not direct lenders which Mr. Berg I think admitted to.. then they need to disclose that they are just brokers and not direct lenders.. were you under the impression they were direct Private Money Hml lenders .. ?? just curious.
- 6yRyan BlakePro MemberLender · TX · Member since 2018 · 936 posts · 713 votes
Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:
Robert last comment.. I have some pretty good back ground in HML and although inactive hold a NMLS license.. which is required in 12 states along with state specific licenses to do loans on 1 to 4 unit non owner occ or owner occ.. I know many lenders who come from states that are the 38 or so that require no license get caught up in this and will get cease and desist and the bigger HML if you do check their website you will note NMLS and state license were required Lima one is not going to pay you in a state that requires a license I know that. .. so when U state you loan in 48 states.. and when one checks NM LS and you are not licensed that is telling.. I get the broker stuff I do.. I have a real estate license but don't really use it.. But have owned 2 HML companies over the years where we loaned our own money no brokering.
Unfortunately the pump and dump advance schemes are a live and well right now.. again not saying you don't actually close stuff.. But i just had a client in Seattle send 6k to a fake lender he found on Bp and he lost it.. And of course if you follow Do Hard Money they require 3k up front and some get on BP and say they can never get funded as the deals are not good enough.. Which i get it. 100% financing has to be rock solid.. but those investors who try this stuff usually have to put the advance fee on a credit card then are further in the hole.. or like this guy who was risking your fee and 15K in EM.. when in Fact you have zero control over the funding your relying on a third party.
Bottom line its like flying a small plane you just dont know what you dont know until your in the middle of a crisis.. LOL.. I know I flew small planes for 30 years.
So if your lending in 48 states and actually closing loans in that many states and taking compensation in the ones that require licenses, for instance
Oregon California Nevada one of the Dakotas Tennessee etc.. then your not doing it within the guide lines of the law.. With Nevada being one the prickliest ones..
And for sure Borrowers withhold info ALL the time that is just a given.
Thank you for the post and clear advice on running HMLs you have been the king of giving out info and I thank you for that. Awhile back, about a year ago, you even corrected me and gave me some advice on things. Appreciate your input on these forums. I think @richard berg is no longer a member as we can't tag him in the posts (not a good sign) but he was worried we were all saying bad things on his company. Some people were but you and I were just cautioning on the huge risk of paying large up front non refundable fees. There are too many companies that make there money off just those. It is sad when there are a majority of lenders that will require no fees. We weren't saying his company is a scam because like you said they may close many deals but it is just very suspect when on a fix and flip loan you are charging $2k or $4k as in @Moses Jean's case. That is normally only for large deals at $2m+. Hope people see these posts and use a lot of discretion.
And I never could figure out where Xpress Loans was located. No address on their website and no google reviews.
- Flipper/Rehabber · Plainfield, NJ · Member since 2017 · 33 posts · 28 votes6y
My grandmother would say this to us as children. “A hurt dog will holla”
just in case you didn’t catch that Robert Berg who deleted his account is the hurt dog 🙃 - 6yBasit SiddiqiBusiness MemberAccountant · New York, NY · Member since 2015 · 8k+ posts · 3k+ votes
This was an interesting thread to read through.
In short, The company seems to be a mortgage broker who charges an upfront fee for their work.
They don't issue loans directly.
Why would you pay an upfront fee to mortgage broker when you can just get call up 3-5 conventional / HML lenders that invest in your area.
Basit Siddiqi CPA4.979 Reviews - Flipper/Rehabber · Plainfield, NJ · Member since 2017 · 33 posts · 28 votes6y
@Basit Siddiqi
Would you use them?
- 6yBasit SiddiqiBusiness MemberAccountant · New York, NY · Member since 2015 · 8k+ posts · 3k+ votes
Originally posted by @Moses Jean:
@Basit Siddiqi
Would you use them?
Are you asking if I would use "lender Xpress Loans 911" or a mortgage broker.
In general, my strategy is to try to cut costs where possible so I normally try to work directly with actual lenders.
I would hate talking to someone and they are not the ultimate decision maker.
I.E. in your situation - the constant conversations you had with Lender Express Loans 911 were double work.
You communicate with Lender express who then communicates with the actual lender who then responds back to lender express and then responds back to you.
Depending on when people work, you can ask a question and not get a respond for a day. This would be bad in a scenario where you are trying to get quick financing.Basit Siddiqi CPA4.979 Reviews - 6yBasit SiddiqiBusiness MemberAccountant · New York, NY · Member since 2015 · 8k+ posts · 3k+ votes
Originally posted by @Account Closed:
Moses
Thank you for giving the update in the forum, I can appreciate that you are telling others about your experience but obviously there are two sides to every story. I am not hear to bash anyone but there are true facts in the matter. You never disclosed certain information to us at the beginning of your transaction about filing a chapter 7 Bankruptcy nor the credit report that you provided showed it. We base information based on documents provided, nor were you compliant in the information that we needed to get your file closed. Let me get the fact's straight there was a special program for 100% financing to help you save money. For the liquidity you did not show that and also, I am not here to drown you as a client. You were purchasing a property with a leakage that was disclosed on the appraisal. We were able to get that cleared, you spoke with David and said to you directly and gave us praises as a company, but when you have a client that mis-informs you and your partner has a score of sub 500. We do not pull credit until we are in the final stages of closing and you know that. We were very transparent. When you are entering into a program that is requiring full documentation and you can't provide that information that is not our fault that is your fault and being non-compliant. It amazes me that you have to put the blame game and it’s our fault because of your Credit issues. The staff worked diligently and as you can see you had notes on there on dates, so it was not like we ignored the situation and we were very transparent, and tried to help you as a customer and I think you know that. Unfortunately, the nature of this business people like to do the blame game, I understand that you are upset but our main goal was to get you to the closing table, No one likes getting negative feedback and you have a right to your opinion. Not every situation is going to go smooth, and my investor and staff we were all trying to help you.
The Term Sheet clearly states "Non-Refundable Fee" as you all know we have spent enormous and relentless amount of time on your file. The fees below are your HARD COST associated with purchasing a property. When we did the interview process (1) You NEVER disclosed you filed a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy less than a year ago we asked you how is your credit and Moses you stated it is GOOD I don't think after filing a bankruptcy being 30 days 60 days and even 90 days is GOOD and NO credit reestablished. When asked about your partners credit again you said it is GOOD upon our underwriting investigation, we learned your partners credit is sub 500 BUT we still tried to help and assist you versus just sending you a denial letter. When we do a complete interview, we expect the borrower to be transparent and completely honest so we can better help them and assist them and not conceal information. As you know and spoke to one of our pool investors YOUR file was being completed in underwriting. YOU never disclosed all of the information and was never forthright. This is the exact reason on the Term Sheet we clearly state subject to complete underwriting. Also, the program you applied for which, we have asked for documents you have denied or prolonged giving us the documents. Our job is to help you obtain the working capital you
I hope this clarifies and gives you a better understanding and idea. People that comment in this forum there is more than just purchasing a property but there are certain guidelines to follow, we are very big on following guidelines and will not do anything that is going to jeopardize the company. On that note we are all adults here and NO one need's to be so negative. The company may not be for everyone and that is OK but obviously there are positive comments and Moses you praised us the whole time but when it came to asking for things and seeing the clearer picture is was nothing that we did wrong on our end and you stated that in other recent post.
Please let’s keep it clean, and not be abusive here in the Forum about information and we all know that in life we can't make everybody happy whether its personal, or business level. I think the comments from other businesses in this forum which you have no idea about us and then there are people that are new posting positive things and things are said they are new. Yes, we tell all our clients to write a review and some maybe new to bigger pockets but you were new as well.
Let's try to be supportive and not ugly, we should all try to be supportive and everyone has their own way of running a business, you may not agree and that is OK.
94% of consumers say a negative review has convinced them to avoid a business. Let's support the small businesses out there instead of slamming who wants to be part of a forum where it's negative, I can assure you our clients that we have help in the past and present appreciate us and keep coming back.
Moses, I am thankful for your kind words about during the process and we get to end we are blamed for your mis-handling of your credit. If I had it my way, I would not care but since COVID-19 bank, lenders, private money and etc. Are being extra cautious.
Please understand you can see how much effort we put into your file there was never a day that went by unnoticed.
I am sorry but what you are saying are very different than what the industry standards are.
I closed on many deals with financing. Credit is pulled at the very beginning and again very close to closing. Had your company pulled a credit check, you could have avoided all that wasted time.Basit Siddiqi CPA4.979 Reviews - 6yRyan BlakePro MemberLender · TX · Member since 2018 · 936 posts · 713 votes
EXACTLY!!!!
I also found out he tried to put down the company I work for. I tried PMing him just to ask where he got that info but his account is inactive.
Just since it was put out there I feel the need to defend Longhorn and hope it doesn't get removed. We have a 5 star rating with Google Review after 60 reviews and an A+ rating with BBB. Not promoting here, just trying to find out where the Richard Berg was coming from when he attached me just for saying to not pay an HML any fees before closing, especially not $2,000+.
EVERYONE: Please utilize your local meet ups, word of mouth, and the Bigger Pockets lender list to find quality and vetted lenders.
- Flipper/Rehabber · Plainfield, NJ · Member since 2017 · 33 posts · 28 votes6y
@Jay Hinrichs
Yes we were. They told us that they were Direct HM lenders.
Until they were not. If you go to their website nowhere on their page can you find the word broker
- 6yBasit SiddiqiBusiness MemberAccountant · New York, NY · Member since 2015 · 8k+ posts · 3k+ votes
Originally posted by @Account Closed:
Originally posted by @Basit Siddiqi:
This was an interesting thread to read through.
In short, The company seems to be a mortgage broker who charges an upfront fee for their work.
They don't issue loans directly.
Why would you pay an upfront fee to mortgage broker when you can just get call up 3-5 conventional / HML lenders that invest in your area.Basit if your looking for bank rates NO Lender in this forum can compete with Bank Rates but to make an assumption that I am a broker you don't know myself or the company. Your totally incorrect on what you have stated In any business there is HARD COST associated with processing, underwriting and closing a file if a client does not tell you the truth or is not forthcoming is it fair for the lender not to recoup so of its hard costs associated with obtaining that loan. This is why we do complete underwriting on the file is to validate the information given by the borrower.
@Moses Jean mentioned that you tried to utilize 3 or 4 different banks to close his deal.
If you are not the end lender, you are a broker.Basit Siddiqi CPA4.979 Reviews
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