Realty411 Magazine Featuring Scott Meyers | Page 39
Hard Money and Fix & Flip Loans are among the most popular
programs that investors utilize for their real estate investments.
One of the reasons why Hard Money Loans are for
investment properties ONLY, is due to the high cost
regulations and predatory lending – you can’t put such
high interest rates and cost on an owner occupied
property.
In certain states, there are nonjudicial foreclosure
laws, which allow a Hard Money lender to get their
money back quickly if the borrow defaults on the
mortgage.
These foreclosure laws make the lender more
comfortable doing highrisk loans, usually the money is
not sold on the secondary market – the lender holds the
note, they don’t sell the paper.
Fix & Flip Loans
Fix & Flip Loans (www.strattonequities.com/fixandflip)
are also assetbased loans, however they utilize more
underwriting guidelines and criteria. While Hard Money
Loans focus solely on the asset, Fix & Flip loans look at both
the asset and the borrower.
The reason why people confuse Hard Money Loans with
Fix & Flip Loans, are because both the loan and the laws are
very similar they are both private money to an investment
property.
Virtually all fix & flip and hard money loans are funded
by hedge funds, the money comes from the same place, but
the underwriting is different.
Contrary to Hard Money Loans, Fix & Flip Loans are
usually sold on the secondary market and goes through a full
underwriting with tighter guidelines. For instance, depending
on the lender, Fix & Flip loans have a minimum FICO
requirement. Additionally, the borrower can’t have late
payments, foreclosure, judgments, or bankruptcy on their
credit for 2436 months.
Furthermore, a Fix & Flip loan is a rehab loan, a loan that
you utilize to acquire a property and then receive the funds to
rehab that property in short term financing (1218 months).
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