Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2021 · 73 posts · 17 votes
Hello,
So I just applied to a broker that offered me a loan
$210,000/30 years with 10 year balloon/5% interest....broker's fee $5,000 or so
I am really excited to finish it and pay the fee, but I may just be over cautious. I find their website pretty legit but couldn't find their BBB. Should they be trusted or could it be a scam?
“They were asking to send it through cash app. I thought escrow would be smart but they never mentioned it. They keep pushing me to sign too”
Of course they keep pushing you to sign. If I were trying to rip you off, @Julian Broyles, I would push too.
There is not a hard money lender on the face of the Earth lending money at a 5% flat rate, (per their website) and for 10 years. Nor do reputable brokers expect to be paid in cash before your deal closes. Really, this was all you needed to say. I guarantee that if you insist on paying through escrow or title at closing, you will never hear from this broker again.
“I find their website pretty legit but couldn't find their BBB.”
Websites for fake lenders abound and are frequently identified on this board. And, since when does the BBB validate lenders? They’ve been debunked 1000 times, leaning favorably toward companies that pay their fees. If this is an AZ property, you checked licensing, right?
From their website:
“we offer the most competitive rates in all 50 states of the United states, Canada, Australia and other major countries.”
Virtually no lenders provide loans in all states and also internationally.
@Julian Broyles Have you checked the status of their license in the state you are looking to buy? are they in good standing? Is the loan secured by property? Do they guarantee you a loan? Are they willing to get the brokers fees out of escrow?
@Julian Broyles Cash is hard to track. You would not hear from them again after they get your money. Go to some meetups and usually their are some hard money lender there and ask if anyone at the meetup has used them.
“They were asking to send it through cash app. I thought escrow would be smart but they never mentioned it. They keep pushing me to sign too”
Of course they keep pushing you to sign. If I were trying to rip you off, @Julian Broyles, I would push too.
There is not a hard money lender on the face of the Earth lending money at a 5% flat rate, (per their website) and for 10 years. Nor do reputable brokers expect to be paid in cash before your deal closes. Really, this was all you needed to say. I guarantee that if you insist on paying through escrow or title at closing, you will never hear from this broker again.
“I find their website pretty legit but couldn't find their BBB.”
Websites for fake lenders abound and are frequently identified on this board. And, since when does the BBB validate lenders? They’ve been debunked 1000 times, leaning favorably toward companies that pay their fees. If this is an AZ property, you checked licensing, right?
From their website:
“we offer the most competitive rates in all 50 states of the United states, Canada, Australia and other major countries.”
Virtually no lenders provide loans in all states and also internationally.
@Julian Broyles, at least you were smart enough to know something was off. I had been connected with Top Rank Financial as well through an investment group on Facebook (first mistake), and started the application process (second mistake). The rates were too good to be true, and the entire process lacks integrity, to say the least. If you call the number listed on their site, you are connected to someone who seems to be answering their personal cell phone and lacks some serious business etiquette, to say the least. Their Linkedin raises a lot of red flags, as does their website if you take the time to read through it properly.
If you had gone as far as sending them your personal information, I would recommend taking some extra steps to protect your identity and spend some time checking your credit reports over the next few months to verify accuracy.
You dodged a bullet by not sending them money, but this is also a great lesson on only procuring funding from reliable and verifiable HML's. You can also look at finding a mentor for your first flip and going through their HML recommendations. This can also help you qualify for more funding when working with a mentor.
Good luck on your first flip! Despite this setback, I am sure you will be wiser moving forward because of it.
this people from Topranks are so abundant in most real estate investor groups in Canada. Offer is too good to be true. I hope admins in this groups flag them to have everybody aware.