All Forum Posts by: Mark Fulop

Why don’t you sign an (loi) letter of intent instead of a fully executed contract. Most lenders will provide a term sheet. The other option is call a mortgage broker. Most mortgage brokers prefer a client have a contract but they should be able to at least provide a quote. 

Perhaps I misunderstood your request but I don’t think so. Now that your house is paid for I would purchase a 3 or 4 unit with the help of a mortgage broker. See if you like being a landlord then repeat the process. My point is once most first time investors pay off their home the next step is normally to purchase a 1-4 unit residential. Thanks mark Fulop 

My name is Mark Fulop I am a  mortgage correspondent lender/ underwriter with about 13 years of experience. 

The main reason why borrowers use a mortgage broker is to ensure that they attain funding from a reputable source . I personally hate using a new lender I prefer to use my list of lenders I have accumulated over the years. 

Recently I started to look into private  lenders. Most people think of private lenders as a nationwide hard money lenders with a rate of 8-13% and 3 points to lender.  Banks, Credit unions, Insurance companies. Bridge loan lenders and big hard money lenders can easily be researched.

No I am speaking about a private citizen who is offering his own money. Rates range from 6-8% 1-5 years. I have heard of people getting cheated by fake private lenders who just take their deposit money. Lower rates are more attractive to borrowers that is the bait.

Well I am currently going through the same thing. i am researching a few private lenders and potentially using one for a loan.

If I recommend a lender and my client gets cheated for even a dollar. 

I not only have to pay my client back  I could  potentially get sued. Therefore, I am super careful because once you lose a good reputation it is hard to get back. PS I have a very good reputation.

Well how can you protect yourself?

Most private lenders will request an upfront deposit of 1% of the loan deposited before releasing the funds.

Here are the steps that will protect you from getting cheated. Look for red flags!!

1. First ask the lender for the his attorney's name and contact information. Also do your due diligence research the company as best you can. Try to use a lender who is at least in the same state. Never use a lender out of the country. If possible go meet he or she in person. Get your own attorney!

2. Have your Attorney suggest the following be written into the contract. The deposit money will be held in escrow and released only when the lender releases his funds first. 

3. Not always necessary but i suggest the money be wired to your bank not the lenders choice of banks.

4. Have your attorney draw up a contract explaining these steps and have both parties sign.

5. If the lender agrees to these steps he is most likely real.

6. If the lender does not have an attorney or needs you to wire the deposit first he will either choke at some point or you will see for yourself that he is not real.

7. Don't be desperate and break the rules above. Most people do careless things and get cheated when they are desperate or acting greedy. If there is a delay when you speak to the person on the phone he is speaking via a router from another country and its a scam. Research the phone number.

If he does not have a web site and does not have a professional email address don't use him.

Another option is to find and use a mortgage broker who has already screened a handful of private and conventional lenders.  I have spoke to a lot of people who have been cheated and there is no reason for it. Just follow my steps to weed out the real lenders.  Mark

thanks I will email you . 

I made a group page on face book called   Commercial mortgage correspondent lender

You are saying it may work to send a few blasts.  How much money should I spend each time? How much do you spend? I am not cheap I just dont like to waste money on nothing. Thanks for your opinion.  Do you know where to register web site on search engines besides yext? Also do you use any lead generation software i was using linkedinlead finder.  Which is good.

Once you register you domain name you need to register your site with all the search engines otherwise nobody knows your business exist.   Yext charges 500.  I know there is another services that is cheaper. 

Today i received an email for advertising on Yelp. I am looking for new places to advertise online but really have no faith in it. Most business has come from paid adds in magazines, etc not the internet. Also I just fired my seo guy after 8 months my keywords were still in the 30's not near the top ten. All SEO guys say the same thing. We will get you on the first page of Google!  Maybe for someone else but i paid money every month and I should of spent it on cheeseburgers.  Normally I don't ask for assistance but I am thinking that maybe someone will have some good advice. I thought about adsense on biggerpockets but that may be expensive.   I started out as a loan originator for over 10 years before I went on my own and started underwriting my own loans.  Since this site is designed to ask questions i decided to make this post. Thanks

Hello 

I am always looking for new ways to advertise the commercial funding services. My question is has anyone ever used pay per click or the post boost option on Facebook for any services? Also thinking about Adsense

Hello I can use yext but they charge 500 dollars. Not that its not worth it but someone once told

me there was another way that charges 3 dollars for each search engine.

Do you have any suggestions?

Real estate attorney robert Irwin he is my brother in law.