Currently I have a property under contract (a $450K property for $288K) and need help finding hard money lenders. I have contacted a few companies, and most either require me to have $20K in liquidity or a high credit score (maybe I’m still a newbie, but I didn’t think that’s how hard money worked). I’m new to hard money, so maybe I’m doing something wrong.
What’s the best place to find reputable hard money lenders? Do you guys know of any good hard money lenders in the Chicago area? I know it’s expensive, but besides that, what can I expect? i.e. do I really need a high credit score, liquid cash on hand, and how much will hard money lenders lend?
As the lending industry has evolved over the last 12 months, the majority of hard money lenders have followed suit.
For the most part, gone are the days that a decision/approval is rendered solely on the equity of the deal—things like FICO, liquidity, etc. are now being quantified and rationalized as part of the qualification process.
That being said, I’m aware of a few HMLs in Chicagoland that are less lenient then some of the folks you have spoken to (from your comments relative to 20K in liquidity, I believe you have spoken to Brookview already), but I’m unaware of any pure equity plays available in IL (they are available in parts of the country like FL, TX, VA, MD, DC and parts of SC/NC though).
You could expect to have a min. credit score of 600, the need for some cash reserves (the majority of HMLs don’t advance the cost of repairs at closing, but release funds in arrears of actual work being done & verified) and a cap of 65 ARV (after repair value).