Hard money lenders have always been the reprieve of real estate investors who want to close a deal but are short of funds. Sometimes, investors still use this kind of financing even they already have money. Before you call those investors crazy, read on about hard money lenders. Here some of the basics that you should know about them.
They are easier to convince compared to banks and traditional lenders. People have called hard money financing “easy access to credit” and why not. Because hard money lenders, who are also known as private lenders, usually work on their own, you won’t have to convince a lot of people to get your loan approved. If the lender says yes to you, then that’s it; No more approval of other personnel and office superiors. Conventional lenders usually need the nod from a certain number of personnel before they release loans.
One reason why private lenders do not take long in processing loan applications is because they use a different system when evaluating borrowers. If traditional lenders look at your creditworthiness based on you credit score, private lenders care about the deal you are presenting. They want to know what deal you want to close using their money and if you will be able to repay them wit the profit you’ll get from this deal. For instance, if you want to rehab a property, they will assess whether that house indeed has a potential to yield profit. They will look at how you plan to transform an old house into a new home. If they see that you will be able to repay the money through that deal, then they will finance it.
Because of this system, hard money lenders are more exposed to risks of defaults. Add to this the fact that they lend money even to those who have poor credit scores. As mentioned earlier, private lenders care about the deal borrowers present and not about their current income or other proofs of creditworthiness. That is why they use a higher interest rate compared to traditional lenders. If banks are stringent in screening loan applicants to ensure their survival, the high interest is private lenders’ way of keeping their business running. Rates vary depending on location but an 18% interest is common. personal loan