Hard money and llc for buy and hold investments

[Donald Bryant]

HI, I'd like to start by saying I'm completely new to real estate investing. I've spent the last several months reading books, researching the internet, listening to podcasts ect.. I know a lot of people say you should find a deal then find the funding, but without any previous experience I would like to have a better understanding of how hard money works. I am from Indiana. My area has a lot of high paying factory jobs and real estate that can be found for very affordable prices. I feel that it would  be an excellent area for buy and hold investing. Here are my questions and concerns:

It is my understanding that you must have an LLC to work with most hard money lenders. Is this always the case?

If you set up an LLC to borrow money from a HML is it going to be an issue when you try to refinance with a traditional 30 year mortgage?

I've been approved through a hard money lender website for a 1 year term. From what I've researched most banks will only refinance a property that you've had for 1 year. How do you close on the house before your 1 year term is up with a HML?

When using a hard money lender do you have to have an estimate from a contractor to present them?

Any information will be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

[Martin Neal]

@Donald Bryant I'm not certain if you need to have an LLC to borrow from a hard money lender but it is a good business practice to cover yourself.

Most traditional banks make you wait 1yr but you can find smaller banks that do 6 months. If you take advantage of the delayed financing program you can do it quicker than that.

Most banks will make you transfer out of the LLC into your personal name. Some banks will have the form for you at closing or make you do it yourself.