All Forum Posts by: Jeff Cichocki

Hey Brian, I'm based out of Green Bay. My business partner @Derek Dombeck is based out of Wausau. Derek is also the host of the WiscoREIA in Wausau. We're both pretty active in buying just about anything that makes sense. But, mostly we buy houses. Some we buy to wholesale, some for flips and some end being kept as rentals (lease options usually).

You should stop by next month the REIA meeting. You can find it by going to WiscoREIA on the web.

Hope to see you there. I'd love to meet and chat.

Use a local title company or attorney to do the transfer. You may need to buy new title insurance because an entity is legally not you. If you're able to preserve the title insurance, it will likely be done with a warranty deed and not a quit claim. You'll need to ask whoever you have help you with the transfer.

Good luck! let us know how it works out. It's always great to hear the stories (good & bad). We all want to learn from others experiences.

@Sholei Foster, Many Hard Money guys check credit and base their rates & fees on it. I know I'm in the minority of Hard Money Lenders community, but to me there are only 2 things that are truly important in your being able to qualify for the loan (most will agree that these are important, but don't stress them as being the most important).

1. It needs to be a good deal. By good deal, I mean that you need to be all in at 70% or less LTV for a flip and 80% LTV for a rental. You need to be able to prove your numbers. Your rehab costs need to be realistic for the work you're doing. HML's have a lot of experience looking at rehab budgets and knowing if they're realistic or not. If you're numbers don't work for the lender, it's a no go. Understand that lenders look at the deal as if they were going to buy it themselves because if you fail, they did. If they have to foreclose and take the property back, they need to be able to sell it for enough to at least get their money back. This may sound a little harsh, but I've never had an investor approach with a deal they thought they'd lose money on. A good lender assumes they'll likely lose money on every deal (or at least plans for it). We have to think about the things that borrowers don't.

2. Do you have the experience, skills & capacity to complete the project in a timely fashion. If this is your first flip or rental, it's a tough sell without a partner who brings that to the table. You need to have a good crew (contractor set) that can get it done on time and as close to budget as possible.

While I understand that there are other factors in making a loan decision, if you fail on the first two things above, you're dead in the water no matter how much money you have to put down (unless you're paying all cash) or how high your credit score is. You should think of your lender as your partner/friend in the deal; because we are. A good lender wants you to succeed. Lenders make more money off your repeated successes and less of the one bad one they have to take back.

I'm not looking for a loan. But I am looking to help you understand how we think a little better. If you learn what's important to us, it's a lot easier to structure your deals to match what your partners want to invest in. This goes for all lenders (private or hard money).

Good luck. I hope this insight helps you with this one and your future deals.

Welcome to BP! It's great to see you starting so young. Your gonna do great. Don't be a stranger here in the forums! 

@Jamie Labrec, Welcome to the BP Community. There are a lot of great resources available through the site and by networking and using the forums.

I would also suggest that you get involved with your Local Meetups and REIA's. Madison has a great REIA (Real Estate Investors Association) that you should start attending. I think there are a couple of other Meetups in your area as well. You'll need to Google them to get more info about them.

Good luck & don't be shy in the forums.

@Jack Medford, how many people usually attend? What kinds of topics do you guys focus on? Flipping? Holding?

@Nathan Noordhoek,

How often do you guys meet? I'd love to learn more. I'm always looking for more opportunities to buy properties.

@Jack Medford, how do we find out more about your meet up? I'm an active investor and I'd love to meet more people in the Madison area.

@Peter Miller, welcome to BP, there are lots of great people and opportunities to network here.

I also highly recommend that you get more involved in your local REIA. There are some great opportunities there for you to network and learn as well.

If you can't make it to REIA, try looking for some meet ups that fit your schedule. Networking is very important.

Lastly, make sure your as active as you can be in the forums here at BP. You won't regret it.

Good luck!

@Aimee Tarte, no two lenders are exactly the same. Some conventional lenders don't have a seasoning requirement and allow the refi immediately. You will need to shop around to find them.

As a hard money lender, I would caution you against it unless you need it need it right now. We're not all the same. Most have lots of hidden fees and won't extend if you need it. When the loan is due, it's due or they foreclose. Losing the property because you can't refi is a brutal way to lose the property (I know you don't think that will happen, but what if the market changes between now and the 1 year you thought you needed to wait).

If you can find a good conventional lender, you should. You won't regret it.