Definitely best to first know what options are available to you from a lender that will work very hard for you, and then narrow down the search.

Hey guys has anyone had good experience with a hard money lender in California?

Impounding someones car sitting in a public parking space would likely get a hard scolding from a judge somewhere, so even if it worked a time or two, overtime it would be outlawed IMO.

@Peter Halliday Both Maywood and Bellwood got hit HARD during the recession and are barely limping back into existence.

Jim Stallings I got ya I figured there had to be more to it and sorry to hear about all the hard work you had put in to see it seemingly taken.

Is this what hard money lending is for?  

Has anyone every used Midwest Corporate Credit company for their loans? If so, how did you like them?

On the other hand, if you spend $5,000 per unit and increase the rent by $100 per month, that's a 24% return on your money and that's hard to beat. ($1,200/$5,000 = 24%).Similarly, if spending money increases the appraised value of your property for the refinance, that might be worth it.

Laminate is good for living areas or bedrooms, but again can be hard to locate the exact type of laminate in the future if you need to replace it.

If you can, I prefer private, or hard money.