With Wall Street on hazardous footing, and the stability of banks and bank loans in concern, lots of prospective credit seekers are seeking alternative methods of obtaining loans. Many borrowers who are looking for these types of non-traditional methods of getting money are those who have been devastated by circumstances associated with the depressed economy; job loss, poor fico scores, high personal debt, unreliable income – potentially defaults on previous personal loans on account of joblessness or perhaps health issues. Usually, common banks are leery to provide loans in this sort of environment. The rules are usually too stringent to permit such borrowers to meet the criteria for the loans they require.
So this is why numerous borrowers of all types often look for a hard money loan. Hard money lenders are privately owned companies who specialize in lending without becoming a bank. A hard lender can grant short term loans based on a percentage of the value of a collateral property, such as real estate. The borrower uses property or real estate holdings such as undeveloped land, business and/or commercial property, a personal residence or multi-family property as collateral for the loan. This property will be transferred to the lender if the borrower defaults on making payments on the loan.
There is variable called the loan to value ratio which hard money lenders base the amount of the loan on. The total value of the collateral property compared to the loan amount granted by the lender is what determines the LTV ratio. Sixty five percent or less of the value of the property is a typical number used by hard lenders. Borrowers who want to obtain more money than 65% of one property, may opt to include additional properties as collateral in order to obtain a higher loan amount.
Hard money lenders are only involved with actually lending money instead of other financial services offered by banks and can therefore offer better lending options in many cases. Hard money lending is also not bound by the traditional FDIC regulations and benefits. For a borrower, this can be an advantage but regulations for hard money lenders vary state by state as well as by whether or not the borrower is an individual or a business.
Though hard money loans are easier to obtain than traditional bank loans, the borrower does pay a price for that ease. And a borrower may find that he is more easily accepted for a loan where he has been denied because of income verification that was mandated by government regulations. Of course the rate of default will be higher with less stringent application requirements and that higher rate is typical of the hard money lending industry. This causes hard money lenders to increase base interest rates in order to make up for their loss. But even with the higher expense, hard money loans are a very good option for many borrowers, including real estate investors.
A hard money lending expert can help you get the best possible credit answer pertaining to your unique situation.