All Forum Posts by: Ryan Stuckey

Just go to longhorninvestments.com and you will find a very experienced and reputable hard money lender in Texas (and based in Texas as one might think from the name).

Quote from @Kyle Vogeler:

From my experience, it is very hard to get a 100% financed deal. Most lenders just won't accept you not having any "skin in the game". However, that doesn't stop me from trying to get my deals 100% financed...eventually I may find a way to make it happen. 

Personal story - I've had a deal under contract before where the bank would provide 75% of the financing. I then made a deal with the seller where they would pay for ALL closing costs and hold 25% of the debt with NO lien on the property. It would've been a true 100% financed property. I thought the bank would give it the "OK" since there was no additional lien on the property, but they still said no and lowered the amount they were willing to lend. I was upset to say the least. 

You simply haven't found the several hard money lenders willing to do "100% financing"* on purchase and rehab as part of their program. Or the private lenders in your area who might do that (especially if they know and trust you).

Asking "banks" for this will go nowhere.

Even when 100% of purchase and rehab costs are covered, that's not everything. Closing costs are not nothing. By paying this respectable chunk of money, the borrower HAS SKIN IN THE GAME (enough for the hard money lenders to feel so).

*"100% financing" means: coverage of purchase + rehab costs (realistic, especially with some experience)
"100% financing" does not mean: coverage of purchase + rehab costs + closing costs (not realistic) 

Quote from @Cam Schwartz:

Quote from @Deborah Wodell:

I’ve had quite a few new investors come in lately asking about 100% financing through hard money — meaning no money down, with both the purchase and rehab fully covered by the lender.

From what I’ve seen, that’s pretty rare unless there’s some creative structuring involved.

I know it can sometimes be done through JV partnerships, seller financing in second position, or gap funding — but even then, it's usually based on the deal's strength, experience, and having the right connections.

For those of you who’ve been in the game a while — have you seen a true 100% financing deal happen for a new investor? If so, how was it structured?

Curious how you all explain this to beginners who are eager to jump in but don’t have much capital yet. Would love to hear your insights, advice, or even deal examples!

Hey Deborah, 100% financing is possible to your point but often done through creative measures similar to those you've mentioned.

The primary reason lenders require a down payment of some form is to ensure alignment of incentives. Its easy for a borrower to walk away from a difficult project if they don't have any cash tied up - this creates challenges for lenders who aren't always set up to take over the investment.

I've seen plenty of 100% financing offers in FB groups but presume many of them are illegitimate. For reference, our best offer is 10% down + 100% of rehab costs.

As I wrote above: 

For a short-term rehab project, 100% financing on purchase and rehab is not all that uncommon. Several regional lenders offer it in some form, usually with experience requirements but not in every case.

....these companies all have websites and are easy to find online or offline (at investor events). It's not "creative finance" to obtain it.

They are not posting on FB groups offering 100% financing at 3% with a gmail address.

Borrowers getting 100% financing on purchase and rehab still have respectable cash invested into the project (e.g. between $6-20k closing costs depending on loan size). Sure, that's less $ than contributing a down payment but still enough to keep them on the whole motivated to finish (otherwise these lenders would not offer the program, they're experienced at this and not dumb).

Short-term loan size at 70-75% of ARV is a routine rate-term refinance on the eventual long-term loan. Regardless of whether the borrower has 90/100% LTC or 100/100% LTC on it.

Of course, the borrower has to execute the project well (stay within the rehab budget, stay on schedule to control holding costs, do quality work) to achieve the expected ARV at the end of rehab.

If off a little on final ARV, then the rate-term refinance up to 80% LTV helps to absorb that difference. If off a lot, well then it was not a great project performance.

For a short-term rehab project, 100% financing on purchase and rehab is not all that uncommon. Several regional lenders offer it in some form, usually with experience requirements but not in every case. 

Of course, normal profit margins are needed/expected, so the loan cost is usually capped at 70-75% of ARV and that right there is the margin of safety. Purchase and rehab costs kept within this ceiling would be 100% covered. That's correct - no money down. No gap funds, second lien, seller financing, etc needed. Very simple.

Of course, lender fees and third-party closing fees (title/insurance/appraisal) are not typically covered and are expected to be the borrower's skin in the game. Thus, available liquidity of at least $20-25k+ is expected to cover closing costs, a few interest-only payments, and partial rehab spending before draw reimbursement.

Fees are usually reasonable for hard money and in line with the higher leverage offered in such cases - 11-13% and 2-4 points, i.e. perhaps a tick higher than the mass of 10-20% down offerings out there.

There are a lot very experienced financing professionals here that know the ins and outs of different forms of financing. There is a very thin use case for credit card stacking on short-term real estate value-add projects but it's not appropriate for most projects and most investors. It has extreme negative results if the funds are not paid off during the 0% period.

What you're posting in several forums here (with your new account) is just a thinly veiled attempt to promote your CC stacking services, which should be kept in the Classifieds area.

Credit card stacking normally comes with a 10-15% "success fee" on the amount of funding obtained and this fee is paid to its promoters/organizers claiming 0% funding.

Hard money is actually cheaper if you have the normal/targeted 3-6 month flip project. 12% for 6 months is 6%.

Quote from @Gregory Davis:

I work part time as an account exec for a hard money lender, and there are a couple things you need to know:
1. Hard money loans are very expensive (think 15% & 5 points)
2. They're usually short term, and always should be, so have an exit strategy for paying the loan off within 3-12 months.
3. They're low LTV (generally 60-65%)
I suggest you establish a relationship with one, as they tend to know the market and industry better than almost anyone else. They can immediately tell a good deal from a bad one, so they're good to bounce ideas off of.
Good luck!
Brian

Sorry but I need to add comments to yours. I am very familiar with hard money:
1) you will mostly find a 10-13% interest rate range in the market depending on the combination of previous experience with rehabs and credit score. Points will mainly range from 2-4% depending on the above experience/credit and also the lender itself. You might see poor terms like 15% interest/5% points but these are on the very uncompetitive range of the spectrum and one can do much better. But interest of even 15% for ~6 months (i.e. 7.5% cost) is rather tiny compared to ROIs at 50-100% (which takes work to pull off of course). Hard money is supposed to be fast and reliable. The alternative is typically to search for private lenders at 10% and 2% and who hopefully won't run out of money after one deal. 
2) indeed, they are typically a 6-12 month term with no pre-payment penalty and the lender wants you to pay it off ASAP (and do another one)
3) you are referring to loan size to ARV (LTARV) and one can easily get to 70% here and 75% is also possible in certain cases. LTARV of only 60-65% would be uncompetitive. 

Longhorn Investments is highly rated as a leading hard money lender in the US - 17 years and 9800+ closed loans worth of experience (and repeat/loyal customers). Now open in select markets in Ohio (state #10), including Columbus.

Offering very rare 100% financing on purchase and rehab costs (up to 75% of ARV) with fast closings in 6-7 business days. This will help you get going faster and/or do more projects without putting in 10-20% down payments into each one.

No experience requirement for small/medium rehab projects (yes, this is true).

Loyalty program with VIP pricing after three deals.

Contact me to learn more about our Spring 2025 promotional pricing.

More info:

https://www.longhorninvestments.com/markets-served/ohio

A video about persistent myths about hard money lending (which helps investors build wealth quickly when used as intended):

I'm here in Ohio as your responsive, local market representative. Please contact me with questions and to discuss your project: [email protected]

Quote from @Michael Nelson:

Quote from @Ryan Stuckey:

Hi Michael, where are you located?

We offer 100% financing on both purchase and rehab (loan size up to 75% ARV) but only in 10 states.

So if the location and the numbers are right, you can be as low as 0% down.

Yes, this kind of leverage does exist on the short-term purchase and rehab loan, and for reasonable terms.

 Ryan, Im in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Id love to hear more if either of those states qualify. 

 Sorry, we are not in the NE. Mainly in the Midwest and Southeast (including TX).