Understanding The Real Estate Investing: Hard Money Vs Conventional Investor

Real estate investing: hard money vs. conventional investor is not as difficult topic as it looks to be at first sight. People get confused because they cannot differentiate between the hard money loans or HML and conventional investor loans or conventional mortgages. They keep on asking questions regarding hard money loans. Here are answers to those frequently asked questions that will be of great help in understanding the real estate investing: hard money Vs conventional investor.

How to Obtain the Hard Money:

The first question is regarding the working methods of lenders of hard money loans. HML helps in real estate investing by making asset based capital available to investors. The biggest benefit is the fast pace at which these HML work. You may receive the amount in as little as three days after furnishing all required documents. You can get hard money as loans against collateral security, for both residential as well as commercial purposes. If we compare it with conventional mortgage then we will find that conventional mortgage takes about 4 to 6 weeks of time in processing.

Interest Rates:

The second but very important question is related with interest rates. In case of hard money, the interest varies with the lender. The average interest rate is between 14 % and 18 % per annum. Most of the lenders require monthly payments. For a conventional investor this rate of interest for obtaining hard money is a little bit on the higher side.

You may get hard money for real estate investing up to the 70 % of the value of the property. The amount of loan can be as little as $ 25,000 and as high as $ 1,000,000 depending upon the case. Duration of loan is from 6 months to 12 months varying with your requirements and the conditions of lender. Some people ask that is it possible to make the interest payment at the end of the loan term. Although, some lenders have this kind of provision, yet it makes your presentation week because they believe that if it is difficult for you to make the monthly interest payments then you are not eligible for getting the loan.

As we are discussing the real estate investing: hard money Vs conventional investor, it is relevant to compare the monthly payments also. For every 100,000 dollars borrowed you will have to make the monthly payment of $1166.66 in case you opt for the hard money. While for the conventional investor, it comes to $1098.00 per month. When we compare the prepayment, it is possible in both the cases. However, in case of hard money time period is a minimum of 3 months, while up to 24 months in case of conventional mortgage.

Real Estate Investing - Making A Profit Out Of Government Foreclosed Homes

There are many ways of making money. Some work for a living while others have decided to open a business. If there is a lot of cash lying around, some suggest investing it is the best way to go which is much better than relying on the interest rate provided by the bank.

One good example is investing in real estate. Those who can’t afford to buy lots to have condominiums or townhouses erected can get involved in the buying and selling of homes. The best place to get these properties cheap is through government foreclosed real estate investing.

These properties are foreclosed because the previous developer or owner was not able to pay the remaining monthly dues. This is then placed under the ownership of the government under the Department of Housing and Urban Development until such time that someone is able to buy it.

Those who see the potential of the property should go to the nearest Housing and Development Office to fill out the necessary forms. The most important thing the government representative will look at is how much the potential buyer is willing to offer.

If this is awarded to the person, the only thing to do now is negotiate the payment terms. Some are able to finish this off in three to five years to be able to receive the deed for the property.

The best way to make a profit out of government-foreclosed homes is to make the necessary repairs. This is because no one will want to buy a house that has cracks, leaks or any other problems.

Is government foreclosed real estate investing profitable? The answer is also yes. The entrepreneur will just have to wait a few years until the market has made the price go up so money is made when the person decides to sell this to a potential buyer.

Those who have never done this before should start small and then see how this turns out. If the first house was successful, perhaps it is time to invest in a few more.

Investing in government-foreclosed homes won’t be easy. This is because the entrepreneur will also be competing with others that are doing the same thing. It is best to be patient because there are other nice prospective out there that can be bought and sold.

Loans for Real Estate Investing and Its Basic Features

Undoubtedly, it can be said that dealing in real estate is an expensive affair. In such cases, one needs a bulk amount. But every time it is not possible for everyone to arrange that much amount. In such cases, the assistance of hard money lenders is unavoidable. Hard money lenders are mainly commercial lending organizations, those who solely deal with real estate sector. The loans for real estate investing are mainly short terms loans.

Usually, these loans are known as hard money loans, because these loans are available with stringent terms and conditions, higher interest rate as well as higher upfront fees (charged between 3 to 10 points). These loans are a sort of secured loans; here real estate plays the role of collateral. The loans, available for investing in real estate, come with the interest rate of 14%-18% and these loans are repayable within 6-12 months.

Lenders however check the collateral before providing the loan. Besides, they may gather information like, tax returns, bank statements and sometimes they may examine the property as well. Borrowers? credit score as well as their economical condition are also taken into account.

Depending on the various factors, such as, involved risk, the type of deals etc, the fees are charged. While availing loans for real estate investing, borrowers need to present their business plan too, as, lenders want to confirm whether the investment is risky or not. In such cases, the importance of borrowers? income is unavoidable as well. A fixed and higher income enhances the possibility of availing loans for real estate investing.

Such kinds of loans are available for all types of real estate investing. To name a few, we can talk about these loans can be used for purchasing homes, rebuilding homes, purchasing leases etc. Unlike traditional bank loans, these loans are approved fast. At last investors are advised to check the pre-payment penalties before opting for loans for real estate investing.

How to Get Started in Real Estate Investing Without Cash

So you want to get involved in real estate investing, but you just don’t have any extra money to get started? This is a common situation, but what most people don’t realize, is that you may already have enough resources to get started. If you own your own home, you can leverage this asset and be well on your way in no time.

Unless you purchased your home with an interest-only loan, you are building equity each time you make a mortgage payment. To figure out how much equity you have in your home, subtract the balance on your mortgage, from the value of your home. If you have any other loans attached to your home, or other liabilities, subtract them as well. Most people are surprised to learn how much equity they actually have. In many cases, it’s more than enough for a down payment and improvements on your investment property.

There are several ways to use the equity in your home to raise cash for real estate investing. Here are the basics:

1. Refinance Your House. You can refinance your home in order to get an improved interest rate, but you can also get a cash-out refinance mortgage, and use the cash to purchase an investment property, or you should have least enough for a down payment. Your current lender may have rules about cash-out refinancing, so check with your mortgage advisor before you begin the process. Keep in mind, a cash-out refinance mortgage can have higher interest rates than other mortgages.

2. Take Out a Home Equity Loan. A home equity loan is a loan using the equity in your home as collateral, and is separate from your mortgage. The amount is of the loan is based on a percentage of the equity in your home, you may be able to borrow 90% or more of your homes value; less if you are taking out a home equity loan on a second property that you do not occupy. The advantages of a home equity loan the option to pay the loan back early without penalty, and you may choose to pay off those high interest credit cards.

3. Open a Home Equity Line of Credit. A home equity line of credit has a credit limit just like a credit card. Like a home equity loan, the amount of the limit is based on your credit worthiness and the equity in your home. You can transfer funds from your home equity line of credit, or even write checks directly from the account. Interest rates are generally lower than cash-out refinance mortgages, and there are tax advantages as well. Another advantage is you are only paying interest and making payments on the amount you owe, not the entire amount of the loan. You may also be able to renegotiate in the future for a higher credit line when the equity in your home increases, especially if you have made above-minimum payments on timely basis, or home improvements.

Investing in real estate is not only for the rich; the average homeowner can become a real estate investor even without a lot of money in your bank account. You can use cash-out refinance mortgages, home equity loans, and home equity lines of credit to purchase your first investment property, and many more properties to come.

About the Author

Kevin Kiene is founder of ezLandlordForms.com, a state-of-the-art website dedicated to to providing landlords a complete library of documents for effective property management. Our Lease builder wizard with state assist helps landlords to create a state specific Lease Agreement in minutes. We also offer free articles, landlords question and answers and free landlord forms

Beginning Real Estate Investing? Your First Decision Is a No Brainer - Should I Buy Or Rent?

Your first real estate decision is a no brainer! Truth is, you’ll live for free by buying instead of renting. Just the facts please. OK, here’s the facts and figures:

If you buy a home and live in it for 5 years you will have lived for free. Your mortgage payments, related closing costs, insurance and property taxes will be returned to you through tax savings and profits after you sell the property. Here’s how it works: (to make it easy we’ll use a $100,000 property even though this figure might seem very low for a home where you live, there are still many places where this is a realistic figure)

Price $100,000
Down Payment - 5,000

Mortgage $95,000
Interest Rate x 10%

1st Year Interest $9.500
Property Tax +1,000

1st Year Expenses $10,500
Income Tax Bracket x 33%

1st Year Tax Savings $3,465
Appreciation @6% + $6,000

Tax Savings and Appreciation $9,465

Your Interest for the first year was $9,500 and your property tax bill was $1,000, which together total $10,500, but your investment return from tax savings and appreciation was $9,465. If instead you were paying $600 a month for rent you would lose $7,200 a year or $36,000 in 5 years because renters don’t get any tax deductions nor can they take advantage on any of the property appreciation. These benefits go to the owner.

You as owner would have paid $760 a month for a total of $45,000 in mortgage payments during those 5 years. Add to that another $5,000 for property tax and your total would be $50,600 or $10,120 a year. These numbers are higher than the renter paid… but wait!

As the owner you would have saved an additional $3,465 a year in tax savings from tax deductible interest and property taxes. Also, your appreciation on the property is a conservative $6,000 (@6%) many cities have higher appreciation rates.

So you spent $10,120 a year and got back $9,465 in cash and equity. Realistically you only spent $655 a year or $3,275 to live in a place for 5 years.

But don’t forget, part of your mortgage payment went toward paying off about $4,000 of your principle of that 5 year period, which is more than the $3,275 you spent out of your pocket.

Would you rather be the owner of that home or the renter?