All Forum Posts by: David Malik

 LOL!

I know someone who is a consummate professional BUT I have chided him about his AOL email account in fun. He now has a gmail account as well BUT prefers his AOL account. I think one reason is that he probably gets that, "You got mail" vocal notification. He never has explained to me why he has held on to it for so long BUT he is in the medical field so it works for him. The patients that really need him don't care as long as they can get in touch with him. He was hacked and I immediately explained to him what to do. He decided to close one AOL account & open another. That was not my recommendation. LOL

I am not a geek, I have friends who are BUT I have dual booted my computers Windows/Linux and also from time to time use a Linux OS that I loaded on a flash drive that doesn't require a hard-drive to run without their help. Puppy Linux is really genius. I have used it for 7-8 yrs. I use Zorin for my every day personal and business computing. I am using it now. I just update Win10 every month and use it only when I have to.

I've used Microsoft products since DOS 3.X and my fave OS is Win2K by them but Win7 for me was pretty cool. Hated Win8, ain't crazy about Win10 but it is not as bad as a tooth extraction, without anesthesia, which Win8 was. Loved Paradox as a language and relational database product that you DID NOT have to program unless U wanted to. Borland really had better products than Microsoft at the time ... those were the days.

But I digress, why, because although I set up my own website, it's OK not great BUT functional, and I pay Google for my "professional look" email, I love using my flip phone, especially pulling it out at family functions and seeing my nephews & nieces cringe with embarrassment because they are all "smart phone" users. BTW, I did purchase my first tablet last yr. An Android, of course. LOL.

A long way to no regarding their email preferences but I admit that I have some tech prejudice even when business folks may use a free gmail account in business activities. However, I have had partners that used a custom email address, great websites and ended up being the worst to do business with. Especially, many times if they were VC backed. 

Consequently, just do your normal vetting and go from there.

For my preferred lender, it matters that you are a contractor (good thing) BUT your experience level of completing flips or rentals the last 3 yrs matters more. We will also look at your credit as well, although it is secondary. FICO score for my preferred starts at 620. We have a tier two lender in which credit matters even less BUT WHENEVER you hear that statement, rates will be much higher along with the pain. However, they have been around for 30 yrs and are former builders as well and more importantly are transparent.

As far as free advice goes, we never charge for an initial consultation BUT we receive no remuneration until we are in closing so there is a limit of speaking to folks who are just thinking of getting into the biz. I would suggest this website for learning as well as Google. Not everyone that ask for a fee upfront is a shyster BUT there are those that are so we do it this way to train folks interested in all kinds of "optional capital" to be careful. 

Heck, in 2008 we found out that in some cases traditional banks/mortgage brokers weren't being truthful to borrowers and most of them never charged a penny upfront.

P.S. I always recommend that a borrower in this game have a good crew. To me, it is vital. Sounds like U have that covered so you are ahead of the game.

Good luck!

That is not what I said. I gave him a range and clearly stated that he would not get the best rates as a newbie. CLEARLY. His credit, although secondary, would matter, but more importantly his experience even more. BTW, he was speaking of a SFR. A four-unit for a newbie would obviously attract more attention to his abilities.

@Goredy Tess

You're welcome and good luck!

Actually an 850 FICO score means something ... but in this case, not as much.

They all are Hard Money rates what I define as "Tier I" and "Tier II." There is no slight as to what I define as Tier II. They are defined that way because they will accept what Tier I will not. They are clear as to the risk they are willing to accept for the return. Tier II rates start at 11.99% and Hard Money lenders that I work with put more value on experience than FICO scores most of the time. 

Think about it, you are great in pizza maker but don't know crap about building a kitchen or renovating one then a 850 FICO score means nothing to me. However, if an investor have a 620 (the min. score to play) FICO and have flipped 9 in 3 yrs you get a better rate.

So no you wouldn't get the best rates for being new to the game. 

Yeah, I've heard and seen that as well. However, what are they selling? There is an upside & downside to EVERY financial instrument including a 3% rate from your fave bank. Rates for fix 'n flip start at 7.35% & long-term rental 4.25% to right under 11%. Down payment could be as high as 20% all from my preferred HM partner. My second Tier I lender is as close. We also have lenders that don't require FIC0s. So yes, they are much higher starting at 11.99% & much more out of pocket.

What I love about all my partners is that they are transparent about everything. No Bull S. It is requirement from me and them that they are transparent. No games.

I'm prejudiced for me it is HM for the reasons I already mentioned. BTW, the down payment may be higher than 10% down BUT you have a financial partner that will help guide you about the business as well AND you keep all of your equity WITHOUT someone looking over your shoulder except the HM lender. You are new to this biz it could be a great way to learn how the financial side works with Asset Based Lending. If it were me, I start with fix 'n flipping and then add rentals to the portfolio. 

However, I am almost certain many season pros will disagree with that assessment. You look at the entire deal and how you come out of it. Being penny wise and pound foolish means you end up with pounds of pennies. If you don't start building a relationship now with a HM lender you will have to show us irrefutable proof that you are not new to the game or you still start at zero