Is this lender a scammer?

[Ari Hadar]

I was asked to pay in advance 2.5k for approving my loan before i get the money. I said explicitly that i pay loan fee only in escrow after the loan money was paid to the title company. Here is the letter i was sent:

Please review the loan application terms and conditions.

REQUIREMENTS:

(1) Borrower must have a working bank account in his/her name or company name which will be used for the transfer of the loan.

(2) Borrower will start the repayment of his/her loan 3 months after the loan has been transferred.

(3) Borrower will be given 3 months of grace to payback the principle loan amount with interest at the end of the agreed loan duration before legal actions will be taken.

(4) Failure to pay back the loan at the expected date / period, legal actions will be taken against the borrower by my attorney.

(5) Address: You must inform me about change of circumstances and must tell me promptly if you change your residential address or zip, or if you think there is any information That I Should be aware of.

(6) There is no prepayment penalty.

(7) Interest: Interest rate ranges from a minimum of 2% - 5% irrespective of the loan amount.

(8) Loan Process: It takes the interval of 1 to 3 working days from application to funding.

(9) Loan Amount: Loan amount ranges from a minimum of $20,000.00 – $50,000,000.00 per application.

(10) Loan duration: Loan duration ranges from 1 month to 30 years.

REPRESENTATIONS

1. Borrower must be at Least 18 years of age

2. The Loan will be granted regardless of your credit score

3. There is no pre-payment penalty

4. Borrower do not need a Co-Signer for this loan

5. Borrower must be a Citizen or have a residential permit of where you are applying from

6. Borrower must have a valid Government approved identification card

7. Borrower is responsible for the loan charges i.e the fee which is charged to cover the costs involved in processing after loan has been approved including credit checks, Property appraisal, loan origination fee and security deposit. Most application fees are refundable, even if the lender decides not to offer credit to the individual applying for a loan. The loan origination payment comes before funding. This fee is 2.5% of the loan amount due upon approval.

In Agreement to theses terms we will proceed to sending you a well calculated term for your repayment plan to begin the application.

Are you in agreement with the loan terms and conditions?

[Jeff S.]

There’s no need to equivocate here, @Ari Hadar. This loan is a scam, through and through.

You could have stopped at the first sentence. Legitimate lenders transfer money through neutral parties such as escrow, title, or a closing attorney -- however it’s done in the state you’re borrowing. The only exception might be a construction loan, but only after the purchase money has been funded thru a neutral party.

No one, not even Fannie Mae, is lending at 2%.

Origination fees, or points, are due when the loan funds, not when it’s approved.

The letter you present has been published here on several occasions in almost the exact form and always identified as a scam:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/49/topics/913193-is-this-a-legit-private-money-lender

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/49/topics/302281-private-lender?page=2

You’ve placed yourself at a vulnerable disadvantage since it appears you live in Israel yet want to borrow in the US. Yes? It will be doubly hard to find a lender willing to loan to someone who lives out of the country. Nonetheless, I encourage you to find lenders locally to where you are investing.

Go to Meetup.com and contact some local real estate club owners. Ask them which lenders regularly attended their club before the pandemic and who have the best reputations. These are the lenders you want to meet, preferably in person, but at least online using Zoom or Facetime.

With the number of scammers out there, Ari, blindly searching the web for lenders using Facebook, LinkedIn, Craigslist, or the like, will not end up well for you. You truly have no idea who you are communicating with and some of these scammers are very slick. Plus, by questioning lending terms that are clearly scams, it doesn’t appear you even know what to ask. Read here: Private Money Lender - How to Qualify the Lender and good luck to you.