How to Get Approved for Hard Money Loans In Arizona
HOW TO GET APPROVED FOR HARD MONEY LOANS IN ARIZONA
Usually a hard money loan is obtained by the borrower to finance an investment opportunity in real estate; rather than borrowing from a bank, funds for a hard money loan come from private investors. If you find your credit is not high enough to get secured a loan through a bank, a hard money loan may be an appropriate method. Although, unlike bank loans, a hard money loan through a private investor is not regulated by the Office of Thrift Supervision or Federal Reserve. Because of that, the application process could vary from the traditional loan process received at a bank. The purpose of this article is to help guide you through the application process of obtaining a hard money loan.
Part 1 out of 3: Locating Reliable Hard Lenders
Part 1. Do your research
You should research the hard lenders located in your area that are appropriate for your needs. If your reason for finding a hard lender is due to being rejected by the bank, you could find it tempting to use the first hard lender you locate to quickly obtain your funds, but you should do the research first. There are hard lenders out there that have a genuine interest in helping you with the real estate finances. However, there are hard lenders that and merely legalized loan sharks. The following are some questions you should ask yourself as you research and assess the potential lenders:
- Is there a legitimate website for the lender? There are many hard lender websites that are designed simply to collect your information and then pass it to a third party. You should avoid these types of sites.
- Is there a good relationship between the lender and investors? Look into any possible lawsuits that are pending between the investors and lender for foreclosed properties or bad loans. You can use the findings as a warning for the lenders’ financial health.
- Does the lender have staff that you can contact and meet with? There are hard lenders who operate nationally, but it may be better to find a hard lender that’s located within your state as they often want to view the proposed property first.
Part 2: Consider pros and cons
Prior to accepting a hard money loan, you should consider the pros and cons because they are designed to be more short-term investments lasting 12 months or less. Is this a time frame that you can afford to pay the loan back?
- In addition to the time frame, hard money loans come with higher interest rants than with a bank loan and commonly range between 12% and 20%. There are usually added fees, and closing costs that the borrower must cover as well.
3. Evaluate the loans time-frame
Usually a hard money loan is approved and processed quicker than a bank loan; where a bank usually has to wait 30 days prior to approving a loan, a private lender can often approve a loan within just two weeks or less. If you can afford to repay the loan within the given time-frame and need to fund a real estate project fast, a hard money loan could be your appropriate method.
Part 2 out of 3: Applying for the Hard Money Loan
1. Present the properties potential value
When dealing with hard money loans, you are not working based on your credit score. Instead, you are using the property’s collateral value. Therefore, you will need to present documents like the property’s architectural plans, any detailed budgets such as construction, and/or contractor bid sheets that cover renovations or repairs.
- Although there are cases of hard money loans being granted to first time home buyers, it is more common for them to be obtained by developers with the goal of buying a property and refinancing it or quickly re-selling it. The hard money lenders want to ensure that the property and location are going to be a safe investment.
- You should be ready to show proof of the neighborhoods value and the value of the particular property; for example, what is the price of similar properties within the area? What is the neighborhood market history? What is the growth projections for the area? It is these types of documents you need to have ready to provide the hard money lenders. There are sites that can help you collect this information, such as www.trulia.com, www.zillow.com and www.realtor.com.
2. Provide investors a clear financial plan
In most cases, hard money lenders are willing to fund 60% to 70% of the after repair value or ARV and the borrower must fund the other 30% to 40%. If you happen to have this amount on hand, it will help your chance of securing a hard money loan. Otherwise, the lender may be willing to put a lien on an additional property of yours for the remaining 30% to 40%.
3. Prepare any additional documents
While hard money lenders are mainly concerned with the property value of the location you want to purchase, they may ask for personal financial information as well. This could cover financial documents like pay stubs, W-2’s, bank statements or other types of documents that show up in a credit history. It will help your chances if you are prepared to show this information upon request.
4. Be able to legally protect yourself
Before you ever sign any type of paperwork from a hard money lender, ensure that you review the loan terms with your attorney. Private investors are subjected to very few regulations, so you need to ensure that your legal rights are protected.
Keep constant contact with the lender:When requesting a loan through a hard money lender, they want to see you’re really interested in the loan. You should return any calls quickly and provide requested information within a timely manner as well. Because hard money lenders have less capital available than a bank, if there are any delays providing information they may use their assets with other borrowers first.
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Part 3 out of 3: Receiving the Loan
1. Quickly move on an investment
Often times, a hard money loan is for property that will not be on the market for a long time. You should ensure that all of your documentation is lined up correctly, so that you are able to put that loan to use. You should also give all of your team from designers to contractors a clear timeline of when they need to act. You will most likely need to sell the home within the year, so you need to be efficient.
2. Prepare to pay any additional underwriting fees and/or closing costs
To advance in the loan process, hard money lenders will commonly request the borrower to cover these additional costs. You need to be prepared with the money for these additional finance costs.
3. Have secure property insurance
There are many hard money lenders that will require the borrower to provide property insurance that will cover any type of damage that is done to the property during renovations or repairs. It is normally cheaper if you are able to bundle your property insurance with a company that you are using for life insurance or car insurance.
- In the event of purchasing the home through a realtor, they are able to suggest sources to receive affordable insurance for the property.
4. Paying the loan back
Hard money loans are usually designed with the concept of quickly paying it back in 12 months or less. In the event the loan is not paid back within the agreed time, the lender could be liable to collecting your home for collateral. In order to avoid this from happening, you should make sure you can afford the scheduled repayment plan that is stipulated within the loan agreement contract.
- Many hard money loans have stipulations that state that you will repay the loan in one lump sum after the house sells; this single payment should cover all of the principle on the loan as well as the interest.
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