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.
In some cases you will need an extra money for unexpected expenses such car repairs and maintenance, electric bills, health and medical expenses, school expenses, or even a myriad of other reasons. But the question is where do you go to get money for these type of expenses? The answer is simple, personal loan. are available from many different companies or lenders for consumers today whether you have good or bad credit experience.
Your first place to try to get a personal loan is from a bank or credit union. Many times, they can offer you a loan based on your credit record. Personal loans from a bank or credit union usually do not have collateral attached to them and they are loans based on your name and credit record. Banks and credit unions are a great place to go for a personal loan if you have comparatively good credit.
Another place that you can get a personal loan is from a . There are many of these places that will give you a loan. They usually need you to list some sort of collateral, but if you have a job and a consistent home, then they will normally approve you. This is a good option if you cannot get a loan at a bank or credit union but you need to be a smart consumer and ask questions before signing any loan papers. You need to know the interest rate, the length of the loan, and the monthly or weekly payment amount.
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.