I would avoid DoHardMoney. I don't recall the $3000 being optional, and their "tools" are nothing great, definitely not worth $3000. I submitted a deal through them and their appraiser came back with a value of $265k... if you saw the comps your jaw would drop just like mine did. He selected comps that literally hadn't been rehabbed...as if he just randomly picked properties in the area with the same bed/bath count. Also didn't listen to me when I said we were going to do high-end finishes. I ended up going with a different HML and the same property appraised for $375k (sold last month after the rehab for $382,100).
Lastly, their customer service responses are slow and so is their process. If you need funding quickly, definitely avoid this place. They require to talk to the contractor and make them do a lot of up front work (which is good in the long run but some contractors may not be willing to do this much work for free).
100% financing sounds great and is hard to say no to, especially when you're starting out and don't have the funds and just want to get started. But from actually making this mistake, if you don't have the money to put down (or the ability to get it from someone else) then you shouldn't do the project. Rehab costs almost always end up more than you originally expected.
