Oh here we go again. I heard from another realtor just this week; oh my seller cant sell a property and let someone take over the payments because the bank may use the Due on Sale Clause to ask for all their money. In the same conversation the realtor outlines the sellers best plan of action is to keep dropping the price (who cares that its the sellers $ 10,000 to $ 20,000 of equity just being thrown out the window) or rent it out.
Many realtors today without hesitation will suggest to their clients, if you cant sell, just lease it out yet the realtors dont sit down and list all of the ridiculous reasons landlords have been sued and LOST millions over. Renting has been around forever and the risks of being a landlord are just an acceptable risk verses the reward of not making vacant house payments or not letting the home go to foreclosure.
Yet at the same time, those same realtors because they are unfamiliar with owner financing as a selling option will say dont do owner financing its too risky. Oh really? Can the buyer living in the owner financed home sue the seller? Nope, not if you construct the transactions the way I do it. If the buyers dog bites the neighbor kid or the UPS guy, can the injured person sue the seller who provided the owner financing? Nope. If the buyer does something stupid, can he sue the seller who owner financed him the home? Nope. Yet if you substitute tenant and landlord instead of buyer and seller in the above questions. The answer becomes yes to everyone. In every one of those scenarios the landlord can be sued, has been sued and has lost.
Hard Equity Financing Business
Another business decision concerning finance is investment, or fund management. An investment is an acquisition of an asset in the hope that it will maintain or increase its value. In investment management – in choosing a portfolio – one has to decide what, how much and when to invest. To do this, a company must:
* Identify relevant objectives and constraints: institution or individual goals, time horizon, risk aversion and tax considerations;
* Identify the appropriate strategy: active v. passive – hedging strategy
* Measure the portfolio performance
Cash
Reasons for keeping cash
* Cash is usually referred to as the “king” in finance, as it is the most liquid asset.
* The transaction motive refers to the money kept available to pay expenses.
* The precautionary motive refers to the money kept aside for unforeseen expenses.
* The speculative motive refers to the money kept aside to take advantage of suddenly arising opportunities.
Advantages of sufficient cash
* Current liabilities may be catered for meeting the current obligations of the company
* Cash discounts are given for cash payments.
* Production is kept moving
* Surplus cash may be invested on a short-term basis.
* The business is able to pay its accounts in a timely manner, allowing for easily obtained credit.
* Liquidity
* Quick upfront pay.
Commentary by Steve Jacobs and David Errante
, November 21st 2010
With the number of REO foreclosure properties on the rise and the decline in home values throughout the country, there are certainly good deals to be found if you are looking to purchase an investment property or two or refinance a default personal mortgage loan. The fact is not enough real estate professionals and investors are familiar with hard money loans.
No matter how good of a deal you can get on a property, obtaining & qualifying to purchase an investment property can be difficult under conventional lending as of today. Additionally, many conventional mortgage lenders have not only tightened their lending guidelines, but have simply done away with financing investment properties.
If you are planning on building a spec home, purchasing a property as an investment, or are even a real estate agent working with someone who would like to purchase a short sale or investment property, knowing what types of private financing are available and a general understanding of how private “hard money” financing works is a must.
Hard money loans are generally used to purchase non owner-occupied investment properties or refinance owner occupied foreclosure bailouts. Hard money loans are also equity-based instead of credit and asset -based, so the borrower does not have to meet the same lending criteria, income ratios, and credit worthiness that they would have to meet under conventional lending guidelines.
“A wrap-around mortgage, more-commonly known as a “wrap”, is a form of owner financing for the purchase of real property. The seller extends to the buyer a junior mortgage which wraps around and exists in addition to any superior mortgages already secured by the property. Under a wrap, a seller accepts a secured promissory note from the buyer for the amount due on the underlying mortgage plus an amount up to the remaining purchase money balance.
The new purchaser makes monthly payments to the seller, who is then responsible for making the payments to the underlying mortgagee(s). Should the new purchaser default on those payments, the seller then has the right of foreclosure to recapture the subject property.
Because wraps are a form of owner financing, they have the effect of lowering the barriers to ownership of real property; they also can expedite the process of purchasing a home. An example:
The seller, who has the original mortgage sells his home with the existing first mortgage in place and a second mortgage which he “carries back” from the buyer. The mortgage he takes from the buyer is for the amount of the first mortgage plus a negotiated amount less than or up to the sales price, minus any down payment and closing costs. The monthly payments are made by the buyer to the seller, who then continues to pay the first mortgage with the proceeds. When the buyer either sells or refinances the property, all mortgages are paid off in full, with the seller entitled to the difference in the payoff of the wrap and any underlying loan payoffs.
You can buy a home with no credit check and actually own it! On an owner financed home purchase you get the deed at closing similar to if a bank had loaned you the money. Below are some details of the various programs available to people with less than perfect credit.
Rent to own – is just like it implies you do not own the property until you have made the very last payment so if you did a rent to own for 30 years it means it would not be yours until 360 payments (It will not be in your name until the 360th payment is made!!) have been made and guess what if you miss or are late on even one payment in most cases it reverts to renting with no chance of it being yours even if the remaining payments were made on time. You are a RENTER until the last payment is made!!
Lease option – Similar to a rent to own but here you are basically signing an agreement to buy the property at some future date. In the meantime you are paying a hefty deposit which is usually not refundable should you decide not to buy. This is a way for the landlord to get down payment benefits of a purchase on what is actually closer to a rental. If you do not exercise your lease option to buy you could lose both your deposit (lease option fee) as well as any payment credits.