Best Hard Money Lenders

[Xavian Rimmer]

Have a Property that I’m about to get under contract, I’m either going to wholesale it or keep it for myself as an investment property but looking for a great hard money lender if I take the route of keeping it for myself

[Abby Weinstock]

When selecting a hard money lender, there are important questions you need to ask of any prospective lender. For example:

(1) Are you a lender or a broker? Sometimes businesses will market themselves as lenders when they are really just brokering the loan. Why is this problematic? Because any commitments they are making with respect to timing and funding are not fully within their control.

(2) Do you have references that you can provide to me? Reputable lenders should never resist providing this information. The borrower should also search the public domain for any reviews of the prospective lender. If the lender holds himself out to be BBB accredited, then the borrower should also check the lender's BBB rating.

(3) How long have you been in business? If the prospective lender just got into the hard money lending business, he has no proven track record.

(4) How long does it take to get a term sheet? If a borrower is looking for short-term financing, the time it takes for each step of the process is important.

(5) What fees will I have to pay? A borrower must ask questions as to the nature and amount of all fees that he will be charged. Some private money lenders charge fees that the borrower may not even know about until they are at the closing table and are seeing the final HUD-1.

(6) Is there a pre-payment penalty?

(7) Do you require an appraisal, or is the underwriting done in house?

(8) How quickly can you close?

(9) Are there any restrictions on what contractor can be selected?

(10) Does a third party perform draw inspections? If a third party is responsible for draw inspections, the likelihood increases of it taking longer from the time the draw is requested the time the draw is funded.

(11) How long does it take to receive funds from a draw?

Hope this helps!