hello everyone,
Private loan money is most often referred to as hard money, and usually the loan comes from a source that specializes in structuring such loans. More often than not a hard money loan will consist of a first mortgage on a residence thus creating hard money residential loans. There are a number of identifying factors involved in private loan money that will be referred to as a hard money loan.
For instance, as mentioned it is usually a first mortgage. Because the borrower’s credit does not matter as much as the amount of equity in the property, a first will in effect prevent a possible loss of the entire property if, for instance, another loan is “ahead” of the hard money loan. The reason why the borrower’s credit does not matter much for private loan money is that the lender looks to the property for its security, and the lender is also being paid dearly for the chance that the lender is taking by basing all the money on the property value alone.
You see, another facet of a hard moneylender is the fact that they usually charge very high interest rates as well as high points. At times, if the property is secure enough, those high points will be rolled into the actual loan. Often the loan is not paid in the typical Principle + Interest (PI) but more than likely is interest only with a balloon at the end of the stated loan period. In this manner, in effect, the borrower is paying interest on interest, since points are interest, and since the mortgage may have been calculated including the points, then every payment the borrower makes, paying interest only, is actually interest on interest.
