The holy grail of real estate investing is turning a single piece of real estate into multiple pieces. This is where the big bucks are and what larger real estate development firms typically do. However, it does not mean smaller mom-and-pop investors are entirely left on the sidelines. In fact, our borrowers have been making tons of money with one of the most popular strategies for turning a single piece of real estate into several pieces: condo conversion. Condo conversion expands a single-family detached house into several condos, each sold separately. Condo conversions are common in high-p ..read more

To be a real estate investor is to be an optimist. It’s to believe that your next deal is just around the corner. It’s not to give up when going gets tough. It’s to persevere and to have faith. But it’s also about embracing entirely different traits, such as being analytical, cool-minded, and, yes, skeptical. Sometimes, it isn’t easy to harmonize them all, but finding the right balance is essential. Without that balance, we risk being either a naïve novice ready to fall into a trap or a perpetual nay-sayer with no ability to recognize an opportunity. This is why I want to start this article ab ..read more

Last week, we celebrated March 8th—International Women Worker’s Day, a global day celebrating women’s social, economic, cultural, and political achievements. While I am grateful to all women in my life, today, I want to express my appreciation for hardworking, resourceful, insightful, persistent, and super intelligent women in real estate. Your dedication, perseverance, and leadership have transformed communities, shaped skylines, and inspired future generations. While plenty of women found fantastic fortunes and fame in real estate, the women we work with every day – title agents, realtors ..read more

We’ve written several detailed articles on why it’s important to invest in real estate using an LLC. Actually, it doesn’t matter much whether you are investing in the name of an LLC or any other type of business entity. What’s important is that you don’t invest in your personal name. Why? Investing in the business name protects your personal assets, helps manage your risk, protects your privacy, and might come with some tax benefits. Also, if you are working with a hard money lender, they usually prefer lending to businesses rather than individuals. While all of us might be on the same page r ..read more

Hard money lenders exist because they underwrite radically differently from conventional lenders. They take more risks, think outside the box, and finance the properties that conventional lenders cannot touch with a ten-foot pole. This flexibility allows private lenders to overcome obstacles that will leave a conventional loan dead in the water, including distressed collateral, low borrower credit scores, no verifiable income, and even certain title defects. As an asset-based lender, hard money underwriters focus primarily on the collateral, which is real estate. Equity reigns supreme. The mo ..read more

Defects in the title of a residential property refer to any issues or problems that affect the legal ownership or rights associated with the property. Such defects result in what is called a “clouded” title. The opposite of the clouded title is a “marketable” or “clear” title, which refers to a title free from reasonable doubt or defects.  A marketable title reduces the legal risk associated with the property in several ways. First, it assures the buyer that the seller has a legal and undisputed right to sell the property. It also gives buyers confidence that they are acquiring a propert ..read more

A part of our business comes from refinancing inherited properties. A typical scenario includes an heir who either wants money to pay off other heirs or needs renovation funds to increase the property’s value before flipping it. Often, they want to do both. Private lending criteria fit their needs perfectly. Hard money lenders like us lend on properties that require extensive renovations and are not focused on the borrower’s income or credit scores. Inherited properties often come with plenty of equity, reducing private lenders’ risk and making the pre-qualification process fast and straightf ..read more

Hard money lenders have significant discretion in choosing whom to lend to. Unlike traditional banks or financial institutions that have strict lending criteria and standardized underwriting processes, hard money lenders are private individuals or smaller-size companies that operate with more flexibility. The decision to lend to a particular borrower depends on the transaction itself. Among key elements of this transaction are its overall profitability, the strength of the collateral, and the risk involved in a particular rehab project. These are the tangible aspects best measured by math and ..read more

Tracking expenses is a fundamental aspect of effective project management in real estate renovation. It helps you maintain financial control, make informed decisions, and ensure the success and profitability of your investment. Why To Track Your Renovation Expenses Many benefits of keeping detailed records of your renovation expenses include: Effective Budget and Draw Management: If you are a real estate investor, your rehab project has a strict budget you need to adhere to. If you are working with a private lender like us, you probably also have a draw schedule that states what you need to a ..read more

When we start talking to potential real estate investors about their pending transactions, almost all plan to repay their loans within six months or less. The newbies are the most ambitious. Their timelines shrink to three months because they intend to swoop into the property with “the trusted” crew they’ve never used before, do their thing, and sell in five days on that inventory-starved real estate market of ours. Or something like that. Unfortunately, the home renovation process is more complex than it looks on HGTV. The difference between someone with ample construction experience and tho ..read more