Advice for when using Hard Money

[Katrina Gillrup]

Looking for advice from those who have used hard money in the past or looked into using it but didn’t for a reason.

What did you like about it?

What do you wish you knew before using it?

Is it better to show that you are willing to put up some money? Is that even worth it?

I have not yet used hard money and am not sure with the current economy how “easy” the refinance process will be.

[Ann Bellamy]

There are many kinds of hard money companies and individual lenders, there are no "standard" HMLs.  The key, in my opinion, is to get references from other LOCAL (to the property) investors who have used them. 

For example, some national lenders based on the west coast are horrified that most of the housing stock in the northeast is well over 50 years old, and in many cases can be 200 years old or more.   If your lender finds that out at the last minute, you could lose your funding.  This is just one example. 

Every lender won't have an appetite for what you are doing, so talk to as many as you can.  The ability to follow through and deliver what they say they can is in many cases far more important than the rate.  References from other borrowers will tell you this.  And as you work through kinks in the deal, the integrity of the people you are dealing with may also become critical, especially in a crisis.  Like now. 

I have a list of questions to ask a hard money lender, and I"m happy to email it to people who DM me with their email address.  No charge.  I don't do business outside of MA and NH, so I'm not harvesting your email.