Hard Money feedback and caution

[Mike Hoskins]

So I recently inquired about hard money for a deal I was working on. I utilized the BRRRR Calculator and at the end I hit the blue " contact a lender" button. Within a 24 hour period I received a couple of very professional and fair legitimate offers. Perfect! Now to the meat of this post... I also received a very odd email from someone who claimed to be with a reputable New York lender but his contact info was an Indiana phone number and instead of the typical email that most of their reps used such as "Jim @ lender.com" (not real email just a for instance) this persons email was a gmail address. No big deal but threw up a red flag. I contacted the individual who asked in an email to me for my email address (2nd red flag) and I asked him for more on his programs. What follows if a copy of his response to me. "Thanks for your prompt response to my mail , I really appreciate that . I have seen and gotten your loan request with all sincerity and honesty and I want you to know that you're in the right place where you can be funded with less stress okay. For us to proceed properly with this transaction i would want you to go through my loan terms and conditions below and get back to me if they meets your needs >>>>LOAN TERMS AND CONDITIONS<<<< This is to inform you that before you qualify in getting a loan from our company you will have to agree with some certain condition which are listed below 1. We fund directly and don't work with escrow or title companies. 2. You must be willing to pay back the loan funds within the due date. 3. You must agree with the interest rate which is 3%. 4. The loan amount is going to be base and approved on the 90% LTV. 5. Repayment is made Monthly or Yearly depending on the choice of the borrower and the repayment schedule for a Loan is calculated and sent to the borrower. Clients are giving 2 months of grace before they start making their repayment of the loan funds with no prepayment penalty. 6. You will have to send us a scan copy of any of your ID CARD for proof OF Identity 7. There is usually a one time fee which is called "Loan origination cost". It will cover the processing of the loan documents and transfer of funds to your account and this usually depends on the amount you are looking for. The fee is paid before closing... 8. No loan can be approved for a borrower with credit scores below 500. If you fully agree to the terms and conditions you should get back to us so we proceed further with your transaction by forwarding you a loan application form to fill... Thanks, Reps name removed for anonymity..." Now I'm not saying this is not legitimate but it certainly follows a pattern of many of the money scams I've heard of in the past. I do not plan on using this lender and I hope that many of the newbies out there are cautious and don't get so caught up in a deal that they fall prey to scams.( again I am not saying this person is a scam artist, I won't give the opportunity to find out). There are plenty of legitimate lenders out there that are willing to work with anybody and never ask for you to anything outside of escrow with your money sent directly to them upfront. Hope this helps.

[John Thedford]

SCAMMER! Much too polite and willing to give money without any information on you or the property. Also, they want your identity. $100 says they want to steal it for nefarious reasons. BTW--never pay any advance fee for money with the exception of an appraisal. I just got a loan from someone that found me on BP. No advance fees, etc. They did ask for a copy of my ID during the application process.