Borrowing

How to Get a Hard Money Loan

So, you just got that great bank-owned property under contract and now you need a loan to buy, fix and flip. You went to three hard money lenders and they turned you down. Why? Because you STINK at selling your deal. That’s right, you need to learn how to SELL your deal to a lender.

Selling your deal means creating a good loan package to submit to the lender. Start by getting a binder from Office Depot, with a set of tabs you can print on. Mark the tabs into the following sections:

Here’s what you need in each section:

About Me.

This section should contain a FNMA 1003 loan application, a copy of your credit report, a copy of your driver’s license and a brief resume of your experience. If you have no experience, then at least put a list of books and seminars you’ve been through. A list of references would help, too. Dropping Bill Bronchick’s name couldn’t hurt!

Purchase Contract.

A copy of the purchase contract with any addendums should go here.

Appraisal.

Ideally an appraisal, but at least a real estate broker BPO (broker’s price opinion) should go here.

Insurance Binder.

A copy of a commitment to insure from your insurance provider goes here.

Title Commitment. A copy of the title commitment should go here.

Photos. Detailed photos in and outside of the property, IN COLOR.

Inspection. Have a professional inspection done of the property and put his report here.

Repair estimate.

A repair estimate from a LICENSED general contract (copy of his license, too) should go here. Also an inspection report and a list of repairs to remedy the issues addressed in the report.

Numbers.

Insert a spreadsheet of the breakdown of the numbers. Your purchase costs, closing costs, holding costs, repairs, realtor fees, etc. These costs should be complete and realistic. Don’t forget about concessions and paying the buyer’s FHA loan costs, too.

Timeline.

A diagram of the outline of your construction project should go here. Again, this should be COMPLETE and realistic. Microsoft Plan It is a good software program to set this up professionally.

Now, you’ve got a product you can SELL. Go out and approach your hard money lender and see if your results are different. I bet they will be impressed!