All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Thanks @Matt Rodak Great response to the comment from @Jeff Arndt 

The amount of skin you'll need in the game can vary greatly from lender to lender and deal to deal. There are some great hard money loan calculators out there which can be used to estimate your total costs/etc. Your total costs minus your loan amount will often times equal the amount of cash you'll need to bring to closing. However, that's not always the case, so I always advise my potential borrowers to have at least several thousand dollars available to put down at closing.

Feel free to message me privately for links calculator and info.

Thanks! 

-JJ 

Here's another tip for working with hard money lenders. 

Follow the submission guidelines the lender has put in place. Give the lender a complete submission using the guidelines but don’t go overboard with the information. Don’t submit more information than is initially requested.

Hard money lenders want to consider a specific loan opportunity. Hard money lenders do not want to consider nor have time to look at random “what-ifs”.
Additional information is often in the way of being able to consider the facts of the loan request. Submitting too much information before the information is requested is a common mistake. A lender will ask for more information if it is needed.

Do you have hard money loan questions or tips? 

@Peter Skobic I think one of the basic premises of investing is about numbers. If the numbers make sense when I calculate using my parameters I would consider buying. If the numbers don't make sense for my investment strategy then I would not consider buying. I don't really know sometimes who owns the other houses on the street, whether investors or owner occupants. 

I do take into account what the other houses look like and how they are kept up though.

Good luck in your investing endeavors!

Hi @Belinda R. in this case I would have two W9 forms, one for the company who should have completed a W9 with the Tax ID# and another for the name of the owner personally who should have completed one with a SSN. This is how I would have handled, other investors' opinions could vary. If no tax id existed such as a DBA company it should all go under the individuals taxes anyway. Did you have the contractor complete any W9?

You probably want to check with your tax preparer on his or her opinion. Or maybe you still talk to your contractor and can get some updated W9s.

@Evelyn Jordan I would get a written reference from any current landlord then compare the information against the application. It's way too easy for anyone to claim to be a current landlord over the phone.  

Sounds like you double checked the employment against the letter. Important because anyone can type out a letter and add some letterhead and a signature.. BUT is the person an employee or independent contractor? If employee why didn't he provide pay stubs instead of a letter? A letter to me indicates independent contractor. If contractor will be harder to garnish later.

Photo ID is a requirement of mine. Most everyone has some type of photo ID. If not can't prove identity therefore denied in my process. I don't know how I could sue a tenant if I didn't have anything substantiating it was that person who signed the lease to begin with.

I agree with others on this thread who suggested a co-signor. I refer to it as a guarantor but same concept. 

Money upfront, make sure it's correctly handled in accordance with any state landlord-tenant law maximums such as a security deposit. But keep in mind even money upfront doesn't always make up for costly timely evictions in the rear. 

There aren't any easy answers in this business :)   Good luck with whatever you decide to go with.....

@Jake Kozul and @TONYA LOVE personally I don't use home warranties any more in my own rentals nor do many of the property owners in the managed properties I have. I found early on when I did use home warranty companies it was more burdensome than helpful. Reasons for this were conflicts on what was really covered, additional costs or items not covered (replacing a furnace but supposedly additional $1,000 in work not covered), slow response and slower action, and a disagreement on what the right corrective action should be (an AC unit 25 years old where the warranty contractor was trying to clean and say was fine no other problems).  I've owned rentals and managed more than 10 years.  I like handling my own repairs with my own contractors as I can usually cut costs or at least have more control on bigger ticket items and overall know what I can expect.  Less hassle factor as far as I am concerned. 

Just my 2 cents. 

Here's another tip for working with hard money lenders. 

Plan ahead. Give yourself some time to close your loan. Don’t wait until the last minute to try and find a lender. Find a lender or know who you will contact before you make the offer. You might also try to build in an extension clause in your contract should you need an extension when the time comes.

While hard money lenders can usually close loans quickly, the process and necessary steps are always going to be followed regardless of the borrower’s timeline to close. The time it takes to complete the appraisal, title work, and loan documents depends on a number of factors but usually a 10 - 14 day window is necessary. This is closing timeframe is a lot quicker than most traditional lenders can or will close a loan but it still takes some time.

Do you have hard money loan questions or tips? 

@Michael Iuculano 

Let me know how I can be of assistance. 

-JJ 

@Ali Boone I couldn't have said it better myself! Solid advice! 

@Joel Owens As Donald Trump says, "I like thinking big. If you're going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big." Best of luck to you. I have no doubt that if you think big and have big goals you will have big success.

My goal for 2015 is to think big and help others do the same.

As a real estate investor, real estate broker, hard money lender, problem solver, and property manager, I wear a lot of hats in the real estate investing niche. My goal is to add one more this year, educator (in the form of problem solving training for agents and investors).

My goal includes helping other investors become successful in their real estate endeavors by using my own personal experiences to help investors mitigate risk, handle problems, and navigate the often turbulent process of real estate investing. I enjoy helping investors meet their goals and ambitions.

An additional goal I would like to reach in 2015 is participating more in BiggerPockets, and really mastering the art of BiggerPockets.

Cheers to a successful year for us all!