Qualifying for Owner Occupied Hard Money Loans

There are many reasons why a borrower would consider owner occupied hard money loans. Consider these motives when making your next decision on where to obtain financing for an owner-occupied property.

You apply for a conventional residential mortgage from your local bank or credit union only to be turned down. Don’t give up on your dream. Your other option is a residential hard money lender for your primary residence. This can be a viable solution in the following scenarios:

· Your credit is classified as poor

· Your history shows a recent loan modification, short sale, bankruptcy or foreclosure

· You currently joined your employer and have less than 2 years of provable employment

· You have your own business and are classified as self-employed

· You are seeking a bridge loan for short term purposes

You locate the perfect residence and receive a conventional mortgage only to find out your lending bank or credit union is unable to perform while in escrow. Now is a good time to consider owner occupied hard money loans. The approval and funding process of a residential hard money lender is much short that a conventional bank or credit union which will keep you from losing the investment property. After the house closes, you always have the option to refinance with a conventional loan. Since Dodd-Frank, many lenders will not even consider residential owner occupied hard money loans because:

· Additional documentation is required

· The hard money lender requires additional licenses

· Time to fund the loan increase due to mandatory recession period

· Compared to investment loans, the residential hard money loan has additional risks

A very small amount of Hard Money Lenders will provide owner occupied business purpose loans, however the borrower only benefits if:

· They own the primary residence

· The primary residence that the borrower owns has a sufficient amount of equity

· The funds the borrower receives will be used for a business purpose

Hard Money Loans for Consumer Purposes

Lenders are few and far between when a borrow wants to obtain owner occupied hard money loans for a property. If you plan on living in the home, this will be considered a primary residence purchase. If you are seeking to cash-out for your equity, this also classifies you as a primary residence loan. If the funds of the loans are to be used for family, personal, or household use, then regulators will classify the loan as a Primary Residence loan

Subject to Federal regulations are residential hard money loans due to Dodd-Frank which requires a lender to verify both the borrower’s expenses and income. To verify income a borrower can submit W2’s, pay check stubs, or tax returns. A borrower will be required to keep their debt-to-income within the required ratios.

A residential hard money loan is intended for a short period of time, usually 3 to 5 years.

Before closing the loan, a borrower will be required to submit a plan to obtain long-term financing, or a different exit strategy, depending on the situation. At Level 4 Funding, we can help you come up with the best solutions to your present funding needs. Give us a call to discuss your unique requirements. The world of real estate investment is creating millionaires every day—don’t delay on taking those first steps into a very lucrative business.

Happy senior business man making his notes at workDennis Dahlberg

Broker/RI/CEO/MLO

Level 4 Funding LLC  Private Hard Money Lender

Arizona Tel:  (623) 582-4444

Texas Tel:      (512) 516-1177

Dennis@level4funding.com

Dennis Dahlberg Broker/RI/CEO

NMLS 1057378 | AZMB 0923961 | MLO 1057378

22601 N 19th Ave Suite 112 | Phoenix | AZ | 85027

111 Congress Ave |Austin | Texas | 78701   

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About the Author:  Dennis has been working in the real estate industry in some capacity for the last 40 years. He purchased his first property when he was just 18 years old. He quickly learned about the amazing investment opportunities provided by trust deed investing and hard money loans. His desire to help others make money in real estate investing led him to specialize in alternative funding for real estate investors who may have trouble getting a traditional bank loan. Dennis is passionate about alternative funding sources and sharing his knowledge with others to help make their dreams come true. Dennis has been married to his wonderful wife for 42 years. They have 2 beautiful daughters 5 amazing grandchildren. Dennis has been an Arizona resident for the past 40 years.

Learn About Hard Money Loans Before You Take the Plunge

Are hard money loans too good to be true? Learn the truth about this often-misunderstood investment opportunity.

Are you a typical real estate investor seeking the best opportunity and the next best purchase? While years of experience often affect the pursuit and tactics used to find the next property, finding ways to finance your project is faced by beginner and professional alike.

On a rental property that you are analyzing to invest in, how you will be financing your investment is always on your mind. Covering your costs that come along with purchasing your investment property is another hot topic. When purchasing a rental property, hard money loans can be used to purchase the property. A little more due diligence and investigation is to be done before committing to using this type of loan to purchase your property.

Have you been wondering just what a hard money loan is? These loans are secured by real estate and the value of the investment property rather than the credit worthiness of the borrower. The term of these loans usually has a maximum of 12 months and have higher interest rates than traditional loans. The source of the funds for these loans is from private money lenders. When Should you Consider Obtaining a Hard Money Loan?

Hard money loans are perfect partners in certain situations. Some of these are:

· Turnaround Situations

· Short term financing

· A problem in your life has caused your credit to be “challenged”. If the investment property that you are seeking to invest in has substantial equity, this should overcome any credit challenge.

Brokers offer loans through private hard money lenders to real estate investors secured by one or more properties. Unlike banks, these lenders charge higher rates and fees but move much more quickly. Their main focus is the value of the collateral (property) for the loan. There is less focus on the borrower’s financial status and credit score. A typical hard money lender may be a mortgage broker with high net worth clients who will invest in the loans. Lenders have certain criteria when deciding if they will provide hard money loans.

Hard Money Lenders Differ from Each Other in a Multitude of Ways

Some of the aspects that different lenders look at include:

Deliverability of the loan, risk of loss based on the amount/underlying asset value, borrower strength, and what the borrowers repayment plan is. Then the hard money lender will look at the property itself including: the actual worth of the property, how much improvement is needed for the property and what will the actual value be after the improvements, how easy the property bill be to foreclose on if the borrower defaults, and how quickly will it be to sell the property in the market that it is located in should the borrower default.

Remember, real estate investing is risky. Explore all possibilities and get your ducks in order before proceeding.

Rejections come in all forms, but some of the main reasons lenders turn down a loan are:

· The loan is outside of the lender’s lending parameters

· The lender wishes not to lend to a particular borrower

· The loan requirements for a loan fall outside the lenders capital

Happy senior business man making his notes at workDennis Dahlberg

Broker/RI/CEO/MLO

Level 4 Funding LLC  Private Hard Money Lender

Arizona Tel:  (623) 582-4444

Texas Tel:      (512) 516-1177

Dennis@level4funding.com

Dennis Dahlberg Broker/RI/CEO

NMLS 1057378 | AZMB 0923961 | MLO 1057378

22601 N 19th Ave Suite 112 | Phoenix | AZ | 85027

111 Congress Ave |Austin | Texas | 78701   

     Linked In     Active Rain You TubeFace Book         

About the Author:  Dennis has been working in the real estate industry in some capacity for the last 40 years. He purchased his first property when he was just 18 years old. He quickly learned about the amazing investment opportunities provided by trust deed investing and hard money loans. His desire to help others make money in real estate investing led him to specialize in alternative funding for real estate investors who may have trouble getting a traditional bank loan. Dennis is passionate about alternative funding sources and sharing his knowledge with others to help make their dreams come true. Dennis has been married to his wonderful wife for 42 years. They have 2 beautiful daughters 5 amazing grandchildren. Dennis has been an Arizona resident for the past 40 years.

How to Choose a Hard Money Lender

With today’s tight bank lending restrictions, you may not qualify for traditional financing and need to seek other avenues to finance your project. Regardless if you need capital for purchase or refinancing of either residential or commercial property, you may need a specialized approach—a hard money lender.

If typical mortgages cannot be secured, then a hard money bridge loan may be an alternative. These loans are secured by real estate, carry higher interest rates and are short-term in nature. Consider the following a checklist when choosing a hard money lender.

· Requires sufficient capital. The hard money loan company you want to work with must have enough capital to service multiple short-term and long-term loans at the same time. These loans run one to two years, although some loans may have terms up to seven years or longer.

· Proven track record. A veteran lender that has a proven track record who knows the complexity and difficulty to structure a hard money loan will put you at ease and make you feel more comfortable with the process.

· A diverse portfolio of lenders. When seeking out a hard money loan for your project, look for a lender with a deep bench of investors who are varied in projects that they finance and have the depth in net worth to create varied loan structure solutions. When you verify that the hard money lender has a deep portfolio of investors then this assures you more loan structure options.

· Shortened turnaround time. You have done your research, visited a number of properties and located your new project. Your offer to buy has been submitted and accepted. Now you need to finance the project. Time is of the essence and you need a hard money lender who can put together financing quickly. In narrowing your search for a lender, you need to discuss this with the lender upfront.

What Other Benefits are Available?

To improve your chances of investment success and continued training, lenders will have programs, software and tools they will offer with the loan to assure their investment is in good hands. Do not be afraid to ask what tools the lender is willing to provide. A reputable hard money lender will be invested in your success and, let’s face it, they do not want the property back.

Make your list of the pros and cons of each lender when making your final choice.

Now you have located your property, your offers been accepted, and you’ve spent time locating and narrowing down the lenders that you would like to use. The next step is to spend hours talking with varied lenders and contact the BBB. Find out which tools each lender will add in with the loan to help with your success. Make up your Pro and Con List. On your list, add the lenders capitalization, BBB ranking, do they offer financing in the state of project, provide tools over the competitor’s, and which one is eager to work with the type of project you are investing in. Now is the time to choose, finance your project and begin.

Happy senior business man making his notes at workDennis Dahlberg

Broker/RI/CEO/MLO

Level 4 Funding LLC  Private Hard Money Lender

Arizona Tel:  (623) 582-4444

Texas Tel:      (512) 516-1177

Dennis@level4funding.com

Dennis Dahlberg Broker/RI/CEO

NMLS 1057378 | AZMB 0923961 | MLO 1057378

22601 N 19th Ave Suite 112 | Phoenix | AZ | 85027

111 Congress Ave |Austin | Texas | 78701   

     Linked In     Active Rain You TubeFace Book         

About the Author:  Dennis has been working in the real estate industry in some capacity for the last 40 years. He purchased his first property when he was just 18 years old. He quickly learned about the amazing investment opportunities provided by trust deed investing and hard money loans. His desire to help others make money in real estate investing led him to specialize in alternative funding for real estate investors who may have trouble getting a traditional bank loan. Dennis is passionate about alternative funding sources and sharing his knowledge with others to help make their dreams come true. Dennis has been married to his wonderful wife for 42 years. They have 2 beautiful daughters 5 amazing grandchildren. Dennis has been an Arizona resident for the past 40 years.

Considering a Fix & Hold? Read What This Broker Says First

Broker Explains Why Arizona is Tops for Investment Properties

Most of the people we help at Level 4 Funding work in the fix-and-flip industry. They use hard money loans to purchase a property, make repairs, and get it back on the market quickly. We’ve recently interviewed several clients who do just this. However, hard money loans are also utilized by borrowers who need to move quickly in the market; particularly if they’re trying to grab up an investment property before someone else does. This unique angle is attractive to a different category of real estate investors; perhaps those who fix-and-flip, but also those who fix-and-hold in situations where a traditional bank loan won’t suffice. Realtor Chris Mendenhall of Harcourts Prime Properties spoke with us on this front and gave us a few insights for those hoping to make smart real estate investments.

Chris has Been in Real Estate Since 1987

CJM Harcourts ImageA true veteran of the industry, Chris began his career as a real estate broker more than three decades ago. Although he works primarily in north Los Angeles County, he also serves Orange, San Diego, and Riverside Counties. Chris was working in lending during the 90s crash, helping buyers with their loan applications. “It was a tough time,” he says. “There were only 12,000 sales that year, in an area with 12,000 realtors.”

His Current Focus is on Asset-Based Auctions

Working with Harcourts Prime, Chris’ current focus is on asset-based auctions. He helps sellers get top dollar for their properties within a very short period of time and also gives buyers the chance to purchase property at public auction using a transparent process. Unlike other auctions, buyers can see everything from home inspections to pest inspections prior to making a bid. Despite the quick turnaround, Chris says most properties are grabbed before they make it to auction. Those that do land in the hands of trusted auctioneer Ben Brady, who has handled $4.5 million in properties over the past year alone.

Chris Says Arizona’s the Place to Be for Fix & Flips and Fix & Holds

One of the most recent deals that left Chris in awe was a 26-unit building in Phoenix, which was purchased by investors with the intent to flip and hold. “Mark changed their lives,” Chris says of Level 4 Funding partner Mark Gowlovech. “He helped them generate close to one million dollars in equity.” After a few rounds of funding, the property, which was purchased for next to nothing, now has a value of about $1.5 million and is filled with renters on month-to-month leases. When asked what he thinks of the industry, Chris compared the Arizona market to California. “Arizona’s a better place to do it,” he explained. “It’s easier to rent. The laws are more favorable.”

Focus on the Numbers if You Plan to Get into the Industry

Aside from working in Arizona over California, Chris gives investors some additional advice: “Identify a property that has the numbers. It’s all a numbers thing. Not, I like this color or I like this floorplan,” he explains. He also adds that working with someone like Mark is advantageous. “He has tools that really help his clients,” and ensures they’re making smart investment decisions.

Work with Chris or Learn More About Hard Money Loans

Chris says he often works business professionals who run into situations in which properties have to get to market quickly and the sale must be handled by a neutral third party, which is quite common when it comes to the legal realm, especially family law. Harcourts Prime Properties is only in California thus far, with plans to expand across the US in the near future. If you’d like to connect with him, you can visit his LinkedIn profile, follow him on Facebook, or visit his site ChrisMendenhall.HarcourtsPrime.com.

Level 4 Funding, on the other hand, helps people in California, Arizona, and Texas. If you need funding for a project, such as a multi-family dwelling or general fix-and-flip, and a traditional bank loan isn’t a viable option, learn more about how we can assist you.


Untitled-1Dennis Dahlberg

Broker/RI/CEO/MLO

Level 4 Funding LLC  Private Hard Money Lender

Arizona Office:  (623) 582-4444

dennis@level4funding.com NMLS 1057378 | AZMB 0923961 | MLO 1057378

22601 N 19th Ave Suite 112 | Phoenix | AZ | 85027