All Forum Posts by: Nicholas Hamblen

Thanks Jacque! I think we lucked out finding this property, in a great up and coming neighborhood. I am happy with my experience with do hard money so far. I was hesitant at first but after talking with some of the team members I understood the program better. I feel after reading some posts/comments some people get upset if their offer isn't 100% funded but and just quit trying. I understand their pain,but I really feel the program is setup to help people be successful, and I believe they want people to be successful. After better understanding of the process and criteria, I am assuming people bring deals that may be great for seasoned flippers, but a huge risk for newbies. 

I'm currently working with do hard money to try and fund my first flip. They have been decent so far and it definitely isn't "100%" financing because there are some up front fees. The big one, is they want 3k upfront to join their program. This is refundable up to $2,350 dollars, they say they will reimburse the money after you repay your first loan. They use $650 dollars towards paying local experts to evaluate and inspect your property. I would say this was well worth the money, because I felt the evaluations were very professional and helpful. When you find a property you will fill out an analysis form, then they will give an estimate on how much they will fund and how much you will have to pay out of pocket. As of now our property falls into the 100% financing criteria, but that could change pending contractor bids. The way they try and help you finance any amount they will not cover is through gap financing. I think they just show some ways and how to find it but you have to qualify and secure it yourself. Also, unless you are a licensed contractor you cannot perform any of the work yourself. My opinion it seems to be a decent program for beginners. Everyone we deal with seem very helpful. I don't believe they are just trying to get your 3,000 dollars, but you will need to find a solid deal to get low money down financing. I am a newbie, but it's hard to believe that you would find any HML that you wouldn't have to pay some money out of pocket for.

I am currently working with them. The whole process so far hasn't been very smooth, however neither was the process when buying my primary residence. Dealing with any type of home loan seems to be a headache. After some hesitation we funded the 3,000 dollar upfront fee, which is used for evaluations. After you close your first deal they say that you will be refunded 2,350, because you will spend 650 on evaluations and inspections from your first deal. There is a deal analysis that you fill out when you find a property that is mainly your estimates. The only way to get "100% financing" if all your numbers fall into place and your purchase price, rehab, loan fees, closing costs, carrying costs, etc. all fall within 65-70% of the ARV. Even with a great deal, I don't think you will ever get a truly "100" financing deal. My wife and I put 3,000 earnest money down before we even contacted the lender. As of now our deal falls into the 100% financing criteria they offer, because the evaluators agreed on our estimate of how much to rehab property, and actually evaluated the ARV higher than what we said. However, we are in the stage of getting contractor bids to verify if estimates are in the ball park. We still think there is a possibility we might have to come out of pocket 10K or so but maybe not. I guess my thought is, don't go into thinking your going to get 100% financing anywhere. Your going to have to front some of your own money, I am trying to front as little as possible but am fully aware, I will have to spend some. Who knows what might come up in the rehab, that I need to dig into my own pockets to keep the deal going.

@Laith Ali I work with a lot of people that couldn't come up with $400 dollars for emergency, but can come up with $400 dollars to go to the bar.

David Soles Good luck!! My wife and I just put in our first offer also, after a couple counters we finally reached a deal. I wish you the best.

Hi Everyone,

I was driving to work this morning listening to the new podcast. They were talking about if one bank denied you, then go to the next and so on and so on. I am a newbie, trying to figure out my options for obtaining money, and was very motivated by this. I was just curious on, how you can get denied so many times and not have it affect your credit score with inquiries? I love the idea of don't take no for an answer, but I also want to be responsible with my credit. Is there a strategy to this? My experience is a lender will tell you anything you want to hear so they can pull your credit report.

Rich Dad Poor Dad is one most will say. I would agree, it is a book that will help change your mindset, rather than teach the ins and outs of real estate. I just finished reading The book on Rental Property Investing and that was really informative for being someone just starting out.

@Bryan O. You make a great point. I am kind of leaning towards some of those options you mention. Something about notes and tax liens really intrigues me, i know very little about either of them, but it seems challenging and I like that. 

I come from a construction background, so it will be very hard for me to refrain from doing some of the work during rehabs. Thank you for the great advice, I appreciate it very much.

Thank you for the recommendation on Bates-Hendricks and Fountain Square. I have been looking in those area and they have some great houses. My son goes to Butler, so  we spend most of our time  there, Downtown and Carmel. I will definitely have to drive around these areas when we take him back. We have found a realtor and she is very responsive and has been sending us comps of the houses we inquire about. She recommended Beech Grove as a good area to look at. Do you ever see any good deals over there?

@Dmitriy Fomichenko I would like to have checkbook control. My wife was laid off in August and we opened an LLC in October. Fidelity held her 401K thru her old employer and they rolled it into an IRA. She has been calling them and asking questions because we are total newbies to investing. They told her she was eligible for a SOLO 401K because she is not working and we have the LLC we started. I am not sure of all of the requirements though. Would it be legit to open a Solo 401K, and take a personal loan to put down on a house we would like to flip? Or is that a gray area that we might not want to get ourselves in?