I’m a newbie who has been left hanging by my hard money lender and I don’t know what to do. I was instructed to find the properties, make an offer and then contact the hard money person to step in and finance the deals. Well, I did as instructed and now the hard money lender is nowhere to be found. Desperate I’ve been searching the internet and completing online applications with hard money lenders but no one has yet to contact me. What do I do at this point?
Rlynne 
Most hard money lenders charge application fees which are non-refundable and there probably isn’t much you can do about that. Going forward, though, you should probably make sure your hard money lender is a “Direct Lender” and not a broker, and that you are speaking with decision makers at the firm. You also need to do your own due diligence on the hard money lender to make sure they are legitimate. If you hear they will finance 100% of your deal just hang up… hard money lenders are generally smart and want the borrower to have real skin in the game (20%-50% usually, depending on the asset type). Some of the more reputable “Direct Lenders” are (in alpha order): Heartland, Kennedy, Meecorp, Mercury & PointCenter. There are others of course, but I have heard good things about these folks from a variety of friends. The best thing to do is to go to their websites first and look at their lending criteria (minimums, maximums, LTVs, interest rates, etc. for your property type and situation). The firms mentioned above are national lenders, so they won’t have any geographic limitations per se, although they will definitely have geographic preferences.
Another word of advice is not to buy a deal and go get your own appraisal. Most of the reputable hard money guys will get their own from their own preferred venders (just like your bank did for your home mortgage)… save 5 grand and let the lender do his own homework. Also, don’t worry about application fees with the reputable firms, they’re not in the business of making $15-25k on an application fee… they are in the business of investing millions for double digit interest rates. Those application fees are designed to keep you at the table while they work on your loan and keep you from going somewhere a little cheaper at the last minute. If the company doesn’t have a website or a recent transaction list or a large balance sheet to fund deals then you may want to move on to one who does. Be sure to check that out. Try to remember that hard money lenders can be a lot more efficient in your capital structure than an equity partner who wants 50-80% of your profits… hard money guys are generally high teens (counting points and application fees and costs).
Hope this helps and best of luck!!
Yes it’s was helpful to me, thank you!
Rlynne
You could advertise for a partner - " Partner wanted! I’ll split 1/2 the profits with you - $50,000 cash required, $90,000 valued property. Call now xxx-xxx, ask for Rlynne. Let’s win-win together!
Rlynne,
So, how did you make out with your financing?
Did you find someone to help you out?
Your situation sounds like my worst nightmare.
One of the houses were purchased while I was sorting out my hard money lender situation and the other is mine. 8)
Well, sounds at least that you got half of it done…which is better than none.
I’d like to hear the 5-part-harmony version of the whole saga. I can’t seem to put it all together. Conceptually, all of this makes sense. But, can’t seem to make all of the angles close. I’m no rocket scientist, but I’m not stupid either.
This web site is interesting. Might be a lot of help. I’m glad that I stumbled onto it.
Best of luck to you, Rlynne.
Peter O.