Hard money down payment?

[Clayton Howard]

Hey so I’m looking to obtain hard money for a deal I’m interested in within NJ. I was emailed by a lender whom I’ve check using Facebook that wants to loan me 160 at 10.54 for for this deal with me placing 1708. Upfront for loan fees. I want to know is it common for hard money lenders to ask or lenders in general to ask this before the provide funding? What is common practice and what are the best ways to check the validity of a lender and protect oneself against scams?

[David de Luna]

Most legit HMLs are sensitive to the scamming and may ask something nominal - a few hundred to begin processing. Patch of Land and Lima1 do this. Later, you pay for an appraisal but with Lima1 you'll get a call from appraiser directly to get access and pay directly. But these are well known entities so it's not a concern. $1078 seems high enough and the rate high enough that it's a red flag for me. Caveat emptor!