It’s not always easy to get approved for a traditional mortgage loan to purchase real estate. It’s especially challenging when you have a great investment opportunity and the lending process doesn’t go as planned. Fortunately, there’s a solution to this problem. Hard money loans are often used by real estate investors who need money fast. Let’s go over the ins and outs of hard money loans.

About Hard Money Loans

As an asset-based loan product, hard money loans are based on the value of your collateral (your property) instead of just your credit scores and income. It’s not that your financial standing isn’t an important consideration, it just isn’t the primary focus. With collateral involved, hard money lenders have a recourse should things go south. Hard money lenders consider each application instead of just following a rigid set of guidelines, which means you have a greater chance of getting approved.

There are different types of hard money loans that are used for various reasons. For instance, a bridge loan is for buying a property and then reselling or refinancing it. This type of loan can also be used to buy a property now, before you get the cash for a down payment from selling a property that you already own. A fix-and-flip loan is exactly as it sounds – you can buy, fix and flip a rehab property, then pay off the loan. Real estate developers can use a construction loan to start a new construction project, then either refinance or sell the property.

A type of loan that hard money lenders tend to avoid is the owner-occupied loan for consumers who want to finance a private property. The reason is because there are a lot of regulations for consumer loans that complicate the lending process. For instance, Dodd-Frank requires the lender to verify the borrower’s debt-to-income ratio. There are also certain licensing requirements for consumer loan products. If you’re looking for this type of loan, there are still some hard money lenders who provide them, so there’s hope.

How Hard Money Loans Work

Generally, the application process for hard money loans is easy and can take less than a week. Depending on the lender, there’s a chance that you could apply for a loan on Monday, and get funded on Friday. Borrowers are typically required to put cash down, and the amount is based on the Loan-To-Value (LTV) ratio or After-Repair-Value (ARV) ratio.

Hard money loans are for a short period of time, which is typically a few years, but often just 12 months. As opposed to making monthly payments toward the principal and interest, there’s a chance that you will only be required to make monthly interest-only payments. In fact, you could have zero payments until the loan matures, at which point you would make a balloon payment. The balloon payment will include the principal, all remaining interest and any fees.

How Hard Money Loans Are Different

Hard money loans have very little in common with traditional mortgage loans, except for providing money to purchase real estate. When it comes to hard money, the repayment period is short and sometimes there are a lot of fees. Interest rates can range from 5.4% APR through 15% APR. Many people who chose this option are unable to get financing elsewhere and have a poor credit scores. But there are others who simply need quick money for a real estate investment.

Hard money lenders will often approve loans when you have bad credit, a recent foreclosure and bankruptcies. The same can’t be said of traditional mortgage lenders. When you weigh the pros and cons, you might conclude that a hard money loan is a good alternative.