All Forum Posts by: Chris Seveney
Chris Seveney has started 371 posts and replied 18817 times.
Post: What’s the Fastest Way You’ve Closed a Deal with Private Funding?
- Investor
- Virginia
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- Votes 17,295
Quote from @Michael Santeusanio:
Speed can make or break a deal.
For those who’ve used private or hard money — what’s the quickest turnaround you’ve experienced from application to funding?
Always trying to streamline my own process and learn from others doing it efficiently.
Really depends on how title and appraisal take. For balance sheet loans we can close those extremely quick, if we are going to sell it off on secondary then underwriting and conditions take more time but still can be done in 2-3 weeks. A lot depends on the borrower and providing info as required and not "hiding" stuff.
Post: Kiavi very disappointed with this company
- Investor
- Virginia
- Posts 19,676
- Votes 17,295
Quote from @Israel Levy:
Extremely disappointing experience with Kiavi.
It’s been over 3 months and my cash-out still isn’t done. Their customer service is terrible — full of excuses, empty promises, and zero follow-through. They completely wasted my time and energy. I regret ever working with this company and strongly advise others to stay away.
Post: Seeking Business Broker to buy a business
- Investor
- Virginia
- Posts 19,676
- Votes 17,295
Quote from @Khalid Ellis:
Hello
Looking for a business broker to buy a business
Any leads would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
is it a real estate business?
Post: The Downfall of BiggerPockets Forums?
- Investor
- Virginia
- Posts 19,676
- Votes 17,295
Quote from @James Wise:
Quote from @Chris Seveney:
Quote from @James Wise:
Quote from @Moe Sidd:
Maybe there should be a word count limit on responses? I feel AI is the reason for crazy long paragraph in answers, whereas human responses wouldn't be that long. This way responses are more mindful and thought out rather than just a copy and paste from ChatGPT
Na, you don't wanna turn BP into Twitter.
I agree. AI is also getting out of control. CAnnot tell me this recent post was not AI. Lets see, emdashes, random bolded words etc...
If it's not AI that dude is just a nerd lol.
Not sure as I have the attention span of a fruit fly, so when I see more than two paragraphs my brain automatically turns off.
Post: WARNING for LA Investors: My Bad Experience with MoFin Lending
- Investor
- Virginia
- Posts 19,676
- Votes 17,295
Quote from @George Despotopoulos:
Quote from @Chris Seveney:
Quote from @Hanna Zhang:
I’m a fix-and-flip investor based in Los Angeles, CA, and I want to share a disappointing and frustrating experience I had with MoFin Lending, which I hope will help others avoid similar situations.
A few months ago, I was contacted by the founder of MoFin Lending via email. He claimed his company could offer me a better deal than my usual lender. I’ve worked with another private lender for years with no issues,Out of curiosity, I looked them up and saw that their Google reviews were all 5-star — so I decided to give them a shot.
The founder offered me an appealing term: 10% down / 90% LTV, with low points — much better than the 20/80 terms I usually get. I was impressed and decided to move forward with a new property I was purchasing.
Everything went smoothly until 3 days before closing — that's when MoFin told me they could no longer honor the 10/90 structure. They claimed their internal valuation came in $10K lower, so they could only offer 80% LTV.
I was shocked. No other lender I’ve worked with has ever pulled this kind of last-minute change. When I raised my concerns, the founder accused me of "playing games." I wanted to ask — who's really playing games here?
I refused to accept the 80% offer because I felt deceived. I lost $300 in application fees, but thankfully my previous lender was able to close the deal within 2 days and save the transaction.
But it didn’t stop there. I left a negative review on Google to share my experience — and instead of a professional response, MoFin publicly replied with blame. MoFin even rated me as a “difficult client” — seriously? I paid them, not the other way around. I later updated my Google review to make it clear: I’m not here for arguments — your explanation doesn’t change the facts. MoFin clearly couldn’t accept the criticism and retaliated by publicly disclosing my personal information— all because I left a bad review. And from start to finish, not a single word of apology. Their customer service was disrespectful throughout the process.
To be fair, this company is based in New York, and maybe their standards or processes differ from those on the West Coast. But I’ve worked with Easy Street Capital (based in Texas), and never had this kind of issue.
In short: if you're an LA-based investor and receive an unsolicited offer from MoFin Lending promising better terms — proceed with extreme caution. What looks good on paper can fall apart when it matters most.
Just hoping to save someone else from wasted time, money, and stress.
PS: And if the founder of MoFin sees this post — no explanation is necessary. I’m simply stating the facts. Besides, If you disclose my personal information on this forum in retaliation for my negative review, I will file a complaint with the appropriate financial regulatory authorities.
Sorry to hear that but what I can tell you is think of lending as buying soda - at the end of the day it typically flows to the top 2 or 3 major companies. the same is private lending, it goes to apollo, blackstone and a few others. If someone is NOT using their balance sheet, it is very very very rare they have "special" terms because they are selling one of the products from the institution. The main difference with lenders is the points, rates vary slightly and most importantly the experience.
We weren't doing anything special. We also hold our fix and flip/rehab and ground-up loans on balance sheet. They're short duration and we have the liquidity for that.
But again, we didn't represent anything special. Borrower was fully aware of the leverage ratios (100% of renovation, up to 90% of purchase price or appraised value, lower of the two, capped at 75% ARV) and that we needed an appraisal done. That was stated numerous times via email and on the phone.
Also our terms were not anything special, she might have been subject to a lender that was charging her above market rates...we were in the 9's. We go as low as 8% - 8.5% to experienced flippers/builders. Being in the mid/upper 9's is for investors w/ her experience.
We had a borrower asking for a cash out refinance and was listing property on market for 50% more than it was worth, then took it off market thinking appraisal would come in high, it did not and they got vvery upset saying appraisal is way off but could not provide any comps. They wanted us to reimburse the appraisal fee (we said no).
We also had a borrower get very close to closing then they requested the loan documents be modified (substantial revisions). Again another - sorry.
We have also seen it where we were selling off one of our loans and the end buyer who had given CTC on our end, so we funded it, then went to trade it to them and came back and was like "sorry we did not realize X"....
As many say, this is the cost of doing business.
Post: Looking to be hired
- Investor
- Virginia
- Posts 19,676
- Votes 17,295
We are doing loans to investors and pay for qualified leads if deal closes
Post: Private Money Raising for Fix and Flip in San Diego
- Investor
- Virginia
- Posts 19,676
- Votes 17,295
@Bo Tully as I mentioned above bring on an equity partner
Post: The Downfall of BiggerPockets Forums?
- Investor
- Virginia
- Posts 19,676
- Votes 17,295
Quote from @James Wise:
Quote from @Moe Sidd:
Maybe there should be a word count limit on responses? I feel AI is the reason for crazy long paragraph in answers, whereas human responses wouldn't be that long. This way responses are more mindful and thought out rather than just a copy and paste from ChatGPT
Na, you don't wanna turn BP into Twitter.
I agree. AI is also getting out of control. CAnnot tell me this recent post was not AI. Lets see, emdashes, random bolded words etc...
Post: Syndication - anyone part of pipelines like Lane Kawaoka?
- Investor
- Virginia
- Posts 19,676
- Votes 17,295
Quote from @Christopher G.:
Anyone hear Matt Faircloth's podcast on Best Ever of Lane???
What a complete joke. This dude, Lane, lost millions of LP $ and he isn't even asked hard questions, casually states that he was hit hard, and that every GP lost money or they are lying. A complete piece of work, completely disappointed in Matt F. on his interview and that Best Ever allowed him on in a way that doesn't warn investors of his true background.
No mention of him changing his company from Simple Passive Cashflow to Wealth Elevator....him, I wonder why. Most syndicators are on LI, not him, and for good reason.
He is back on BP posting for accredited investor meetups in different cities across the US, Is he trying to raise money again?
Post: Help on a private money lending issue... Breach of Contract
- Investor
- Virginia
- Posts 19,676
- Votes 17,295
Quote from @Albert Tristan:
Hello, I was involved in a private lending arrangement for a property rehab in Fort Worth where the funds I provided (53k) for the rehab cost, which were handled by the investor's project GC/agent. The property is now listed for sale, but repayment of my investment has been delayed and there’s concern that some of the funds may have been mismanaged as they almost went 100% over rehab budget and have yet to show transactions of where my money went. It was agreed that they would pay me back with the hard money loan draws but have only paid me 8k and still owe 45k+.
The investors are claiming they gave all the reimburstment funds to the agent/P.M. and aren't getting answers from him as to where the money went.
For anyone who’s dealt with this before, what are the best steps to take in Texas to protect myself and ensure I’m repaid properly when the property sells? Should this be handled through title, a lien, or another legal agreement?
Appreciate any guidance or referrals to local real estate attorneys familiar with private money or JV disputes.
Thus far, i've mailed them a "Notice of breach" and "Demand for Remedy" letter to their biz address.
What should my next steps be to recoup the 45k+ still owed & past due?
2. If there is no deed of trust, you cannot record the note against the property, you would need a judgment for that. You could talk to an attorney about a mechanics lien if you bought materials directly for the property but you would need to have the attorney figure out lien rights you have.
3. Get an attorney ASAP. you posted this 24 hours ago, you should have reached out to 3 attorneys by now. We use MWZM law who is great, but not cheap.
4. As mentioned need to understand status of project, I would send somebody by the property and also figure out who the first is and see if they started foreclosure.
5. Curious where you learned this method of lending money without getting it secure? Did you do this on your own or did a guru teach this?