Real estate investing consists of making many important decisions, especially in a market that moves extremely fast such as Florida’s. Having a well-capitalized, experienced hard money lender who works with both local and foreign real estate investors is crucial in making your income-producing real estate dreams into reality.
Though it may seem overwhelming to pick a lender, selecting the right hard money lender in Florida just became easier. When securing the funding for your income-producing real estate investment, look for the following green flags and red flags to ensure that you find the best money lender to work with.
Green Flags for Picking The Right Hard Money Lender
Green Flag: Find A Hard Money Lender that is Well-Capitalized
A huge green flag when looking for the right hard money lender is to make sure they’re well-capitalized so that they can make quick decisions instead of not having the funds ready and available. When dealing with real estate hard money loans of any kind, it’s important to act quickly and have the funds to back up the real estate loan. Working with a team of skilled underwriters who are well-capitalized makes all the difference in securing your real estate hard money loan.
At Community Capital Holdings, our professional team helps borrowers in every step of the real estate investment process, including supplying a large stream of credible funds. One of the most important factors when choosing a private real estate lender is whether they’re well funded or not.
Green Flag: Find A Hard Money Lender that is Knowledgeable about Their State’s Real Estate Market
A green flag in picking the right hard money lender is that they’re deeply skilled in their state’s real estate market. When lenders claim to be experts across multiple states, they don’t likely understand the nuances, locations, and local regulations behind each potential hard money loan. It’s important to invest with lenders who are committed to the growth of their communities and local market. Not only do skilled hard money lenders know their business, but they also love their home state and want to see serious investors who will improve the economy and community alike.
Community Capital Holdings is a team of local experts who understand the Florida real estate market better than any other. We regularly fund deals across the state of Florida and are proven to fund your deal quickly and efficiently anywhere in the Sunshine State.
Green Flag: Find A Hard Money Lender that Comes With Years of Experience
Finding a team that has a varied skillset, years of experience, and continued education is a great green flag when finding the right real estate hard money lender. Each team member at Community Capital Holdings has 10-30 years of experience in the banking industry, management, business development, and underwriting. Our staff continually stays updated on the Florida real estate market and their fields of expertise to ensure that we can secure your loan as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Green Flag: Find A Hard Money Lender that Regularly Works with Foreign Nationals
A green flag for the best hard money lenders in real estate is that they regularly work with foreign national buyers. Some hard money lenders won’t lend to those who live outside of the United States, or lenders apply stringent requirements that are simply unnecessary such as larger down payments on loans, longer approval processes, and green card status. Community Capital not only lends to foreign national buyers but also makes the process easy.
Community Capital Holdings is a team of experienced lenders who make quick decisions. Because of our investment experience and real estate market knowledge, we do NOT require our international investors to have a primary residence in the United States, have a Social Security number, have a U.S. credit history, and not have employment proof in the country.
Red Flags to Avoid Picking the Wrong Hard Money Lender
Red Flag: A Good Hard Money Lender Never Requires Large Up-Front Fees
Borrowing money for a real estate investment loan should be a simple, hassle-free process. There is no reason for a lender to charge a borrower large up-front fees–especially not before the due diligence process. Charging a due diligence fee is both unprofessional and a sign of a scam. All credible lenders should disclose their terms and conditions to every borrower before closing on a loan. There are normal fees associated with the terms and conditions such as origination fees, appraisals, and inspections.
Community Capital Holdings will never charge a due diligence fee or require a down payment before reaching an agreement for your real estate hard money loan.
Red Flag: Check if Their Social Media and Website are Outdated or Unprofessional
It’s a red flag if your hard money lender has an outdated, unprofessional website or social media presence. Investors know first-hand what a difference it makes to put money back into their businesses and investments, so why pick a hard money lender who doesn’t invest in their online presence and marketing? Borrowers can learn a lot from a simple Google search.
Community Capital Holdings is in the know about hard money real estate investments in Florida, so we frequently publish blogs and provide resources on our social media. We want our partners and potential borrowers to have helpful information that will give them an edge in the real estate investment market.
Red Flag: They Have a Due Diligence Process that is Extremely Quick or Extremely Long
When picking the right hard money real estate lender, it’s important to ask them upfront about their due diligence process. If they have none, or if their process takes as long as a traditional lender, run.
Hard money loans, especially when dealing with commercial and income-producing residential real estate projects, should be quick and efficient. It’s a red flag if the due diligence process takes longer than a month or shorter than about one business week.
Community Capital Holdings can make quick decisions backed by their thorough due diligence process. We typically close hard money loan deals in as little as 10-14 days.
Red Flag: They don’t have an area of expertise and claim to fund anything and everything
If your hard money lender is claiming to be a one-stop-shop, it’s a red flag. Underwriting and funding real estate loans is serious business that requires expert knowledge and insider skills. It’s best to find a lender that has expertise in a select few areas.
Community Capital Holdings has one specialty: Securing credible income-producing real estate loans in Florida. Within our specialty, we fund loans for several kinds of real estate projects such as:
- Commercial
- Office
- Retail
- Single-Family Homes (Investment only)
- Multi-Family
- Townhouses
- Condos
- Apartment Complexes
- Special-Use Properties
- Industrial / Warehouse
- Mixed-Use
- Medical Office-Condo
- Construction
Though we fund a wide array of projects, they all fall under the same specialty–real estate hard money loans.
You deserve proven, professional partners to secure a reliable hard money loan for your income-producing real estate investments. When selecting the right Florida lender, make sure you consider the green flags: They’re well-capitalized, knowledgeable, and experienced with securing hard money loans for local and international real estate investors.
