Rate & Term vs. Cash-Out Refi: What Actually Changes in Underwriting
Wednesday, September 09
Investors often talk about "refinancing" as if it's one product with one set of rules. It isn't. A rate & term refinance and a cash-out refinance can use the exact same property, the exact same borrower, and still be underwritten in meaningfully different ways — different LTV caps, different ...
Conventional vs. DSCR vs. Portfolio Loans: Which Fits Your Strategy?
Tuesday, September 08
When investors start looking at purchase loans for rental property, they usually run into three main paths: conventional financing, DSCR loans, and portfolio loans. Each qualifies you differently, caps you differently, and fits a different kind of investor. Picking the wrong one doesn't just mean...
How Hard Money Lenders Actually Calculate Your Loan Amount
Friday, August 21
Ask ten investors how hard money lending works and you'll usually get the same answer: "They lend 70% of ARV." That's not wrong, exactly — but it's incomplete enough to cause real problems. If you build your offer around a single number like that, you're likely to overestimate your loan amount, u...
LTV, LTC, and ARV: The Three Ratios That Determine Every Deal
Thursday, August 20
If you've ever gotten a term sheet back that looked nothing like what you expected, chances are one of three ratios was the culprit. Loan-to-Value (LTV), Loan-to-Cost (LTC), and After-Repair Value (ARV) aren't just lender jargon — they're the actual math that decides how much money you can borrow...