Real Estate Still The Backbone For Investors

Real Estate Still The Backbone For Investors

You have probably heard all of the sour publicity about real estate these days. Well, let me convince you now, real estate investing is is still the most profitable path than any other investment – bar none.
In a recent survey conducted by Washington-based Guidant Financial Group, close to 1,000 self-directed IRA holders said what they were planning on using their retirement savings to invest in. You know what? For most of these smart investors, the top choice was real estate.
Regardless of a tedious national real estate market, real estate was the number one choice for self-directed investors, with 65 percent of the participants singling it out as their investment of preference.
It is also fascinating to note what kinds of real estate these investors are purchasing. Close to 60 percent were considering rental properties, while more than 36 percent had pre-foreclosure and foreclosures in mind, with slightly more than 28 percent thinking about raw land. Twenty-nine percent were thinking about tax liens and deeds (which is still snuggly intertwined with the real estate market).
David Nilssen, president and CEO of Guidant, said “These numbers provide valuable insight into the minds of investors. It demonstrates that, although the real estate market is experiencing a downturn, many still continue to regard real estate as a secure and viable means to growing their nest egg.”
According to the survey, other possibilities being considered included: 22.8 percent for business and franchises; 22 percent for hard money lending; 19.3 percent on notes; 19 percent were looking at vacation properties, while 10.4 percent were thinking about foreign investments, and 7 percent had securities in mind.
This should convince you that real estate should still be a centerpiece in any investor’s strategy.


Hard Money Loans-Easy To Borrow

Hard money loans are the amount being borrowed to solve some urgent financial problems. The term hard signifies it’s quite Herculean to obtain because these loans are not provided by banks or financial institutions rather they are disbursed by private financial groups or lenders known as hard moneylenders. Hard can also be interpreted in different manner as there is high upfront cost involved and exorbitant interest rates are being charged. These loans also have high origination fees and cost more than an average mortgage (in some cases going as high as twice that of average mortgage).

Hard money loan is generally explored as the last resort. It should be understood like if one is willing to sale his/her business venture or the property and he/she thinks with a little bit of renovation and repairs the money generated can be quite high then hard money loans can be the best suited option for him/her. All he needs to do is to obtain the loan utilize it make some extra money and return it.

The uniqueness of hard money loans lie in their various characteristics like they have private lending sources. They come with short interest term of one to three years they charge upfront fee on closing before three months of the due date that is quite astronomical. There is limited number of debt covenants and they are shorter in duration. Moreover the failure in repayments results in the sale of the assets to nullify the debt.

Hard money comes in forms like hard money business loans or residential hard money loans. The hard money loans are usually secured by real estates of commercial viability. Hard money borrowers get the fund based on the estimated value of the commercial or residential real estate. The lenders are interested in money generating properties such as apartments, shopping malls, office buildings, hotels, hospitals and so on. However potent income generating activities like land acquisitions, bankruptcies are also seen with interest.

People who have been turned down the mortgages by the financial institutions because of various reasons like having a poor credit history, non competence to pay as they lack in desired income etc. also look upon the hard money loans as their saviors. Hard money loans are also sought by persons who are falling behind the repayments of their mortgage or fear the foreclosures.

The investors are lured by the typically high return on their amount which banks fail to provide them. So investing in hard money loans to borrowers having equity of 30-40% in the property seems to be a better proposition to them. These loans are given on the appraised value of the commercial property unlike traditional bank criteria which seek too many documented proofs like credit card scores, tax returns and income statement of the borrowers. Lesser paper work and lesser verifications make the procedure to obtain these loans very brisk.


Private Hard Money Loans

Private hard money loans used to be a small segment of the financial world. Reserved for those with poor credit, these loans have traditionally been a last resort for many. In addition, many well qualified borrowers would not have considered this option in years past.

With the turmoil in the financial markets these days, however, all of that has changed. These days, private money loans are a viable option for even the most well qualified borrowers. Excellent credit, large down payments or a large amount of equity in a property are becoming the new private money norm rather than the exception.

It used to be that credit played no role in this type of lending. If you had equity and a pulse, someone would make a loan for you. These days, however, poor credit can play a role in dictating your approval with a hard money lender. While poor credit may not deny you a loan, it could require a much more conservative loan than you may expect. At the same time, borrowers with excellent credit and assets are finding that their normal banking relationships are not able to secure the financing they need. Due to this, they are turning to hard money options.

Many people considering this type of financing for the first time may be surprised by the terms. Typical terms on this type of financing can range between 9 and 14 percent, in addition to points being charged on the transaction that can range anywhere from three to seven or more. This is expensive money, but in these times of tightened credit, savvy investors realize that it is still much cheaper than taking on a partner.

Hard money loans are typically funded by a private individual. Sometimes you can have multiple individuals who fund a particular transaction, in which case it is referred to as having multiple beneficiaries. The benefit to this structure for those private investors making the loans is the high rate of return and the security of the real estate that is being used as collateral. With the strict lending guidelines the banks have these days, private investors can make double digit returns, while staying at a 50-60% loan to value. This means they are lending a maximum of 60% of the value of the property, keeping a safe buffer of protective equity.

The benefit to the borrowers is the ability to actually borrow funds. Although the interest rates being charged can be in the double digits, the ability to leverage in this real estate market often times outweighs the cost of funds.


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