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What is a Hard Money Loan? – The Advantages And Disadvantages

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What is a Hard Money Loan? – The Advantages And Disadvantages

What is a Hard Money Loan?

A type of loan that is secured by real property is termed a hard money loan. Hard money loans are regarded as loans of “last resort” or short-term bridge loans.

Primarily used in real estate transactions, the hard money loans are not transactions with the banks but with lenders who are individuals or companies.

How to get a Hard Money Loans

There are terms based on the value of the property that is being used as collateral for the hard money loan and not dependent on the creditworthiness of the borrower.

As traditional lenders, like the banks, do not make hard money loans, the private individuals or companies are hard money lenders who are ready to take potential risks in this type of venture.

Property flippers who plan to renovate and resell the real estate that is used as collateral for the financing can be sought for hard money loans.

The collateralized property is sold by them in a year’s time so the money can get rotated.

Depending on the borrower’s intends to pay off the loan, the higher cost of a hard money loan is offset.

These hard money loans are for a period of one to three years.

Hard Money Loan Requirements

The cost of a hard money loan to the borrower is always more than what could be available through banks or government lending programs, because of the higher risk that the lender is taking by offering the financing.

But for some borrowers who are in a hurry for funds, the increased expense is a tradeoff for faster access to funds, also a less stringent approval process, and potential flexibility in the payment plan.

Hard money loans are used in turnaround situations, short-term financing, and when borrowers have substantial equity in their property but bad credit history.

A hard money loan can be used as a way to push off  because it gets issued quickly.

The Benefits and Costs of a Hard Money Loan

Hard money loans have their own set of pros and cons related to the process of approval, the , and interest rates.

The Advantages of Hard Money Loans

The approval process of a hard money loan is, much quicker than that of a mortgage or other traditional loans that are moved through a bank.

The lenders of hard money loan whom private investors can make decisions faster because they are focused on collateral instead of the applicant’s financial position.

Lenders spend less time spent on combing through a loan application, verifying income, and reviewing financial documents is not there so the lender doesn’t require a lot of time for approval.

The process will be far smoother if the borrower has an existing relationship with the lender.

Because of a greater value and opportunity for reselling the property themselves in case of default the hard loan investors aren’t too concerned with receiving repayment.

The Disadvantages of Hard Money Loans

Because the property itself is used as the only protection against default, hard money loans usually have lower LTV ratios compared to traditional loans.

The interest rates of hard money loans are usually higher. Compared to  the rates are higher for hard money loans.

In 2020, the average interest rate for a hard money loan was 11.25%. Last year the rates varied between 7.5% to 15% in the whole of the country.

Because of regulatory oversight and compliance rules, there is a possibility of hard loan lenders not provide financing for an owner-occupied residence.

Conclusion

Primarily used for real estate transactions hard money loans are money from an individual or company and not from a bank.

A hard money loan is taken out for a short time, When a borrower wants to raise money quickly it attracts higher costs and lowers the LTV ratio.

The hard money loans rely on collateral instead of your financial position, the funding is done quickly.

A lender and the borrower can often negotiate the terms of hard money loans. If a borrower defaults the lender still is in a profitable position.

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