All Forum Posts by: Ariel Salvaro

Hi James, 

Congrats on getting your real estate license! 

Based on your original post, hard money lending may indeed be another potential option for you if you don't want to wait years cleaning your credit score before you can start investing - HMLs are willing to work with clients who have a lower credit score, so long as there are other assurances, e.g. more of your own money down, higher interest rates, etc. So you would still need to bring in some of your own earnings, but being a real estate agent does give you some advantage because you are in the field every day, and you will get to know your local real estate market well, and having access to MLS will at least make running comps easier once you do find a really good deal that you want to finance.

The best way to figure out if HML is for you would be to pick up the phone, and call hard money lenders covering your area - I know we cover Michigan too, I am happy to make an introduction if you would like me to. And usually HMLs provide more resources than just loans, including matching you with wholesale buyers, and providing education materials on how to find the best properties, because it is in their interest too that you succeed.

First, @Paul Khazansky makes a very important point to your case: Do the comps support the ARV you would need to justify such high rehab costs? This is a potential red flag for hard money lenders, because investors generally choose less conservative comps than lenders, and because investors sometimes rehab properties with upgrades which are not necessary to successfully flip a property, but on the contrary, make it more difficult to do so.

Second question: Were rehab costs included in your final purchase price? If so, that may be another reason why you were denied hard money funding. Some hard money lenders will gladly cover your purchase price, and your rehab costs (I know we do that), so long as those rehab costs are not part of your purchase price. 

Depending on your answers to the above, I may be able to help out too, so if you're still looking to talk to lenders, feel free to connect with me too!

Hello BP Nation, 

I am an economist with personal & professional experience, and research interest in REI, currently based in Charlottesville, Virginia - home of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello & University of Virginia - also a UVA Alum, so shout-out to fellow 'Hoos!

I am currently working with a hard money lender, so I am interested to connect with real estate investors who are considering hard money lending for their fix and flip, or wholesale deals. Whether you are looking into low money / no money loans, 100% financing, gap financing, investors for your wholesale deals, or simply how to identify the best properties to flip - feel free to message me & connect! I am happy to talk about all of these from a hard money lender's perspective, which is usually different than a general investor's perspective (e.g. I find that lenders are generally more conservative than investors when identifying the best properties to flip, and I can explain how knowing this can help you flip your properties faster with a lender). 

Always happy to connect in person with members in Charlottesville & Albemarle County, including local real estate clubs. I also absolutely love to travel, so happy to connect with members in major metro areas, especially Washington D.C., Atlanta, GA, New Orleans, LA, and Dallas, Austin, and Houston, TX!