All Forum Posts by: Abby Weinstock

You can also provide to the appraiser the proof of permitting of the ADU that you added so that he/she will know it is a genuine 4-bedroom.

@Jay Mersfelder, so glad to hear it!

You will want to research whether the condos are "warrantable" or not, as that may bear on a lender's willingness to lend (or may result in a rate adjustment if the condo is nonwarrantable). A loan on a condo may result in an LTV hit, as stated above, and may require a minimum DSCR and FICO. The lender will likley require a full condo doc package (master insurance policy, bylaws, CCRs, etc.).

Jay, can you ask the lender what they need to see in terms of substantiating the $3,000 and see how they respond? Would they accept a notarized letter from the buyer reflecting their purchase of the truck, including the amount of the purchase and the date upon which they purchased it?

Large cash deposits are a red flag for money laundering, which the USA Patriot Act is intended to prevent (that is why the lender is mentioning the Patriot Act). The lender is required to ensure that the large cash deposits are substantiated. Providing the bill of sale should be sufficient, but it would also be helpful if you had a copy of the receipt that you gave to the buyer to document his/her cash payment.

There are many considerations when selecting a lender. For example:

Are they a lender or a broker?

Sometimes business will market themselves as lenders when they are just brokering the loan. Why is this problematic? Because any commitments they are making with respect to timing and funding are not fully within their control. They are not the final decision makers and therefore cannot guarantee that a loan will be funded. A borrower who wants to confirm that they are dealing with a lender versus a broker can check the local land records and see if the lender’s name appears in the land records as having originated loans previously.
Do they have references they can provide?
A lender’s website will no doubt have glowing testimonials from customers. But the lender should allow a prospective borrower to speak to references (preferably current ones) so that he can obtain a first-hand account of the experience with that lender. Reputable lenders should never resist providing this information. The borrower should also search the public domain for any reviews of the prospective lender.

If the lender holds himself out to be BBB accredited, then the borrower should also check the lender’s BBB rating.

How long has the lender been in business?
If the prospective lender just got into the private hard money lending business, he has no proven track record. This is not a risk a borrower should take, particularly when the need for funding is immediate.

How quickly can they close?

One more thing to consider...there may be a seasoning requirement for the 30-year rental loan. That is, a lender may require that you wait six months (for example) before the loan amount would be based on the appraised value. Before six months, it might be capped at purchase price + cost of improvements. So, you'll want to consider the possibility that you won't be able to refinance for at least six months from the date of purchase (unless you are willing to accept what is likely to be a lower loan amount).

I am not an attorney, but I wonder if what you describe could be interpreted as "stalking" (taking pictures and video of you constantly, etc.) and would therefore enable you to file for a restraining order against them? 

Hi Amy, I'm not aware of a lender that will accept an appraisal that they didn't order for a cash out refi. However, there are two options that could work here. The first is that the original lender agree that the appraisal report be assigned to the new lender. This may require an executed "appraisal transfer letter." If the original lender is not amenable to granting permission for the appraisal reports to be assigned to someone else, you can also connect directly with the appraiser and just ask the appraiser to refresh the appraisal with the new lender's name. It will be minimal work on the appraiser's part if the appraisals were done very recently, and the appraiser is likely to charge a much lower fee than if the appraisal report was being done from scratch.

You can try searching by Oregon to see what financial assistance programs are available there: https://www.benefits.gov/categ...