Using hard money just to leverage offers

[Ryan Z.]

I know it's not traditional for the hard money lenders to lend just for purchase/refinance w/o rehab.  However, if there are some lenders out there, does it seem like a decent idea to pay the fees just to put some 'cash' offers out and grab a deal at a discount that outweighs the cost of points charged?  I would do this only w/ a preapproval already lined up.

Ie: A property listed at 250k, offer 180k all cash and refi out w/ traditional mtge.  Obviously this is all conditional on the deal.  But treat the above only as an example for demonstration sake.

Has anyone done this?  Does it not work for certain reasons?

[Brian Gibbons]

That is a READY FIRE AIM question.

Study these first.

Questions for Private Lenders

Answering A New Private Lender’s Questions
When talking to a person who is new to private lending, you won’t be asking them the questions you would ask a lender who has already done loans. Instead, you’ll mainly be answering their questions about lending money and the rates and terms you are willing to give them.

Here are a few of the questions and concerns most new private lenders have:

Q. “How secure is the investment?”
A. “Your loan will be secured by a first mortgage for not more than 65% of the
property’s value.”

Q. “What kind of return will I get?”
A. “I am willing to pay you a 14% annual return paid in monthly interest only payments. I will also pay you a 3 month pre-payment penalty which could make your return as much as 20% or more depending on how soon I pay back the loan.” (Remember, both the interest rate and prepayment penalty you are willing to pay is up to you. However, the more generous you are, the easier it will be to get people to say yes.)

Q. “Why are the payments interest only? ”
A. “This is so your loan does not get paid back early. It is to your advantage to have ALL of your money bringing you a high return ALL of the time.”

Q. “Who will hold onto the repair money?”
A. “Any money for repairs will be held by the escrow agent until the repairs are done to your satisfaction, per our written escrow agreement. No money will be released until you have inspected the property and given the escrow agent the OK to disburse the funds.”

Q. “Are my interests protected?”
A. “Your loan will be closed by a professional closing agent. They will handle all of the documents and make sure they are properly recorded. You’ll get a lender’s title policy insuring the fact that you have a first mortgage on the property as well as a hazard insurance policy naming you as ‘additionally insured’.”

Q. “How long will my loan be for?”
A. “Your loan can be for a term as short as 12 months or as long as 5 years; however, most loans are for 2 years. Ultimately, it is up to you to decide what is the longest time you want to lend it out at a high rate of return.”

Q. “Do I have to collect the payments every month?”
A. "No, I'm willing to pay a small monthly fee for a collection service to collect the payments for you and deposit them directly into your bank account. If you are using funds from an IRA, the Third Party Administrator will collect the monthly payments and deposit them into you IRA account. If your current Third Party Administrator does not allow you to self direct you IRA, I'll help you to transfer your IRA to a Third Party Administrator who will."

Q. “What if you don’t pay?”
A. “Although I fully plan to follow through; if I were to go into default, you could begin by exercising your Assignment Of Rents and collect any rent payments in connection to the property. You would then have an attorney foreclose on the property. In fact, because your loan won’t be for more than 65% of the property’s value, you could even make money by finishing any repairs and reselling it. But again, you won’t have to worry about that because making money by fixing and reselling the property is my job.”

Q. “What If You Die?”
(This may sound like a weird question, but it is one that new lenders ask quite frequently. They are just making a last ditch effort to see if there is any way they can lose. Your answer should sound something like this … )
A. “Well, I surely hope I don’t have a freak accident and die, but if I did, it still wouldn’t change the fact that you have a first mortgage secured against the property. If for any reason at all you didn’t receive your payments, you could immediately begin collecting the rents per your Assignment Of Rents form. You could then foreclose and get the property from my estate. There simply isn’t any way for you to lose … even if I die.” 

@Dmitriy Fomichenko Any advice?