All Forum Posts by: Abe Osman

I wanted to share my experience with FMC, and after one heck of a roller coaster ride with them, I feel that this needs to be said. 

I contacted several local "brokers" regarding a deal I had, and oddly, all of them came back with an offer letter that looked oddly similar. Long story short, all the brokers were funneling the deal to FMC. The nuances I had with the brokers are a whole nother topic, but as far as FMC goes, unfortunately I had the exact same experience as many others on the web. There has been no widespread review of this company, so I will see about doing what I can to get the word out. 

Long story short, while I understand that SOME people may have had success with this company, I personally fell into the same mudpile as so many others. They repeatedly went at a snails pace, and the broker would say we should have an answer in xx hours, and days later still nothing. Eventually I called FMC directly and spoke to one of the worst human beings I have ever come across in all my years. He is one of the heads of their "lending dept" and basically its felt like I was talking to a sleezy mobster. Horrendous attitude, no regard for any courtesy and worst of all, said that since I called for an update and asked for a copy of the appraisal, he is no longer interested in the deal. I said okay no problem, send me my appraisal and have a nice day. 

A day or 2 later the broker calls me and says they still want to proceed, but they are cutting the deal back to 60 LTV from 70 LTV and THANK GOD I had already a back up investor lined up at my 70 LTV that I went with instead. Had I been at the behest of this horrible company, I dont know what I would have done.

I think the way they work is they promise the moon, and once the appraisal is done, THEN they shop your deal to their investors and see if any bite. Some may bite in a day (this is those who have had success with them) and others may never bite (the other bad reviews). I landed in the middle but went with a better route. 

I sincerely hope this helps someone out there. Can you make a deal with them? Probably. But take whatever they tell you and cut it. Cut it deeply. They told you 24 hours? Try 4 days. They said 80 LTV? Try 70%. They said ABC, more like XYZ. Use them if you simple have no other choice, none.

Hello, thanks for the reply. I dont know who the terms are from, they are from a broker who deals with multiple lenders. 

I agree with the appraisal, do you know of any lenders that will do this without the appraisal? I am pretty much ready to go and get this closed and had this lender not needed the appraisal, I wouldnt bother with trying to save a percent here and there. 

I simply dont trust appraisers and I am afraid they will come back with a $1M valuation and kill my deal. 

So as of today the seller has decided he will carry $150k this bringing our LTV to 68-70%

But he wants a quick close and doesnt want to seperate the parcels under different loans, so an SBA loan is out. However the 70% LTV has opened my opportunities to more hard money lenders.

So far the best terms Ive gotten is 12% interest only, 5 points, 5 year term, appraisal needed and $1500 underwriting fee paid at closing. 

Is that as good as its going to get? 

Hey guys,

Long story short, I finally find a property that will work for by business, but as is the norm (in my experience) with Commercial RE, the seller is an old inflexible guy that wants it quick and easy. He says he will carry but wont go in 2nd place (which basically means he wont carry). The property has is zoned all commercial and has 3 separate parcels. 2 of the parcels have 1 commercial building each and the 3rd parcel has a SFR. There is problem #1 the SFR violates the 51% SBA rule and for some other reasons I really cannot go the SBA route.

So I explored MULTIPLE sources, including conventional, hard money, bridge loans, etc. ALL of them want 30-35% down because the property "only" has 3 small buildings but sits on 11ac of land. They are basically treating it as a land deal. That just isnt fair, I just cannot seem to win. 

I am utterly frustrated. All I have is 20% down on the $1.3M purchase, and I can possibly get another 5-10% but it is VERY expensive to do it (one of those working capital loans with a 24 month repayment = $7k a month worth of repayment) which changes my DTI ratios and is somewhat not ideal. The business CAN sustain it, but its a bit much.

So the question is, is there any help for me? The property is in Los Angeles County, 91390 zip code and I can reply with whatever further details are needed. 

Very frustrated, 

Abe

I am not entirely sure how much money is a motivating factor in such a situation. Would $10k make a difference? Is $100k more likely? Its an awkward question, basically Im asking for a legal bribe. 

My broker is with NAI Capital and he is going to consult his legal team to see what, if anything, can be done. 

Its frustrating. I appreciate your replies. 

You can say that again (they dont play nice). 

I guess I just dont get the logic. He has nothing to lose a bit to gain yet he still says no. If it went to court, he would win with no question? It just doesnt make sense, the parcel is only allowed to be a burger place and so many have failed who will want to try again? Its a shame to let a good parcel wither away into nothing over someones mood...

Hello all,

I am trying to buy a building which is a stand alone parcel within a large strip mall. The strip mall is more than 80% vacant. The CC&Rs were filed 10 years ago by company A. Company A sold the strip mall to company B 3 years ago. My Parcel is within the same strip mall and governed by these same CCRs 

The CC&Rs prohibit my intended use in that stand alone parcel (Its currently a restaurant and I want to turn it into retail/service). The issue is that the CC&Rs literally prohibit ANY other use other than a burger and fry joint for the parcel I want to buy. 

We called the original company that filed the CC&Rs (company A) and they said they dont care anymore they sold all rights and rules to company B. Company B says they wont help us get an amendment because they also want to sell this entire dead complex and dont want to lift a finger when they dont have to. I stated that my business which is a 10 year old established business with over $2M a year in revenue would be a boost to the otherwise dead complex and the owner basically responded saying he doesnt care, he just wants to sell it and be done. 

So the question is, what can I and the current owner of the parcel do? Do we have any path to go? The current owner of the strip mall is not being reasonable in his reluctance as the current owner of my parcel will never be able to sell the parcel to another burger and fry business (2 have already failed there). 

I can provide more details but that is the gist of it. I am SEVERELY limited in my choices of where I can relocate and this would have worked (zoning and all are ALL fine, just not these damn CCRs). 

Help?

Abe

Look above the declines. It says "Smart move recommends ACCEPT"  to the right of the blue box. Not that it matters but I found it odd. 

Hello all!

Completed our most recent rental rehab, and this time we decided to start using TU SmartMove to screen tenants. I have some questions, please let me know ASAP as I need to make a decision within 48 hours. 

When sending an application to a prospective tenant, what is the difference between a Joint Applicant and a Co-Signer? There are 2 distinct boxes

Also, see the screenshot below. SmartMove recommended both a a DECLINE and an ACCEPT depending on where I look. This is confusing. Are they telling me to accept based on the 2 renters together, but decline if they are individually applying? Please clarify?

Lastly, in this example below, the tenant has a Resident Score of 783 which at face value appears rather high, despite having a few late payments on the credit report and a relatively high debt to income ratio. I'm used to seeing credit reports all day long (work related) and I must say with the late pays and amount of open credit for this applicant, I would have expected a score closer to 620-650. However, TU says they evaluate not on their payment history of debts, but their likelyhood to pay rent based on TU's internal matrix. I guess I have to put a lot of faith in TU's calculations? 

The rent is $1200/mo, the applicants together have an income of 3200/mo, and are unrelated room mates. 

I just bought 2 in bakersfield. Just be aware that the rent may not be as easy due to recent oil lay offs. Going into it knowing what youre doing will make it easier. 

Which part of town? West is better than east but I'm sure you know that. 

How did you figure outlay to be only 20%? Dont forget to include closing costs, renovations, etc. Unless renovations are $0 and the seller is paying for your closing, those costs will be higher. 

Also, how do you figure $750 a month? I get a PITI of around $920 on $150k/20% down/30 year

Hope that helps! 

Ps.. Im also from Valencia :D