All Forum Posts by: Jill Haselman

@Marcel B. I did the same with cars; they recognize the shopping phase and will cluster the inquiries so you should be ok.

Thank you, Meghan, for offering to help and teach others.  I am a die hard teacher and endlessly help people with their careers, etc. (mainly in Senior Living), so I appreciate you giving back too and will take you up on it.

I'm an experienced real estate owner/landlord (20+ properties over time, all of which profited 50% or more over PP + cashflow), but only now starting to formally be an "investor", hence seeking a financing strategy.  I'm in a classic dilemma:

• Strong credit 740+
• Net worth >$2.2M (primarily in equity, so not easily liquid)
• Great track record in real estate
• Self- Employed in same industry/field  for many years, with YoY growth in income.
• Almost no revolving debt (two car payments and varying credit card balance, but minor)
• Tax returns UNDERSTANDABLY write off as much as possible (income looks low), so QM lenders can't read between the lines.
• Debt/Income ratio is high (55%) when considering tax returns as the source our net income and then mortgage payments on my 4 properties (not apples to apples).
• Asset based qualification seems to be a rare process? I have >50% LTV on every asset I currently own, let alone the positive cashflow from each!

I am talking to private lenders and hard money lenders now.  What else should I do?  SO FRUSTRATING!  Someone with a 1099 and no portfolio or net wealth have more clout than I?

Thanks for any advice!

I was literally just checking my credit scores and working a plan to increase my scores.  Mine are 740 but I want them over 800 so I can get the best rates with hard or private lenders to do multiple deals.  I'm fairly competent at credit management, but here's what I've learned and offer to pass along:  

1. Monitor your credit all the time and don't let the credit agencies or any business control your credit.  I use the Credit Karma app on my phone (free).  Monitoring your report does not ding you as an inquiry.
2. Three things drive your credit:
   1. Missed payments or a pattern of late payments.
   2. % of total credit available on credit cards must be under 30%.  For example, I have a Visa where I have a balance that is 32% of the total available credit so I just paid it down to 28% under avail bal.  Cost me pennies compared to the positive impact on my report.  Also, if you're like me, I have several credit cards, so I use the one the furthest away from the total credit available to make purchases for my deals or my personal life-- I used to always use the same card thinking it was a good habit to consolidate and for tax reporting, but it can hurt your credit.
   3. Hard inquiries vs. soft inquiries.  You have to approve any lender to check your credit prior to them doing a hard inquiry and if you do, those inquiries stay on your credit report for TWO years.  Soft inquiries (those you don't know about or request) disappear after 30 days (credit companies fishing to send you pre-approval offers, etc).  If there are inquiries in either category that are BS, you have to dispute with each of the credit agencies individually (and call the culprit first, as each credit agency will ask if you did this).

I hope this helps! Saw your inquiry just after working on my own credit.  Good Luck.

They are commercial, primarily due to state regulations and licensing.

Just for clarity, as an Assisted Living Executive and Partner in 46 buildings, please check your state's Senior Housing regulations for licensing, zoning, and physical plants.  Each state is very different and some can be brutal.

Best of luck!