How to Submit a Hard Money Loan: Tips for Real Estate Investors

Submitting a hard money loan can feel like an intimidating task for real estate investors looking for funding. But if you know how to submit a hard money loan, it’s easy! This blog post will give you the necessary insight on how to effectively submit a hard money loan that will increase your chances of approval and help you get the funding you want.

Using a basic loan summary to submit hard money loans to your lenders is key to successful loan submissions. By following these steps that I outline in this article, you’ll receive the best possible outcome and get funded fast.

To submit a loan to a hard money lender to get a yes or no answer quickly, you need a loan summary and photos. If the property is a fix and flip, you’ll also need your comparables to support your after repair value and an estimated rehab budget.

Here’s your cheat sheet, check this out! Below is a basic “loan summary” and it includes all of the information that a private money, hard money lender will need to give you a yes or no answer. Lenders are busy, and so are you, so use this form to give them a snapshot of the loan, to see if it fits in their parameters.

The below loan summary includes the most important details about the property and the deal that you need funding for such as property address, property description, property value, etc. When a private money, hard money lender gets this loan summary from you, you are going to get his/her attention and you’ll definitely get a yes or no answer quickly. Providing a loan summary to your lender also shows that you’re organized and on top of your game.

What is the most common mistake that borrowers make when submitting hard money loans? It’s so simple that you’ll be surprised to hear that it’s just….property photos! Yes, people almost always forget to send property photos when they are submitting a loan to a private money, hard money lender for approval. Even if you have just one, front, exterior photo, send it to your lender along with this loan summary. The more photos the better!

Keep this tool in your toolbox because you’re going to need it if you want to get funding fast from a private money, hard money lender. And if you have any other questions about loan submissions to hard money lenders, leave them in the comments below.

Property Address: This is the physical address of the property that the loan will be used for.

Property Classification/Type (Residential or Commercial?): This is the classification of the property, whether it’s a residential or commercial property.

Property Description: IF RESIDENTIAL: # of beds/# of baths/sq footage, lot size, garage? Year built? This provides details about the property such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, square footage, lot size, garage, and the year it was built.

Property Description: IF COMMERCIAL: How many buildings? Total bldg. sq. footage, acreage, year built. This provides details about the commercial property such as the number of buildings, total building square footage, acreage, and the year it was built.

IF PURCHASE: List purchase price or offer price: If the loan is for a purchase, this will list the purchase price or the offer price for the property.

IF A REFINANCE: List amount of debt to be paid off with new loan requested: If the loan is for a refinance, this will list the amount of debt that the borrower wants to pay off with the new loan.

IF A REFINANCE: Amount of loan fees/ interest reserves requested in addition to base loan amount: If the loan is for a refinance, this will list the additional loan fees or interest reserves requested in addition to the base loan amount.

IF REFINANCE: When purchased? For how much? This will list when the property was purchased and for how much it was purchased.

List amount of repairs or rehab: This will list the amount of money that will be used for repairs or rehab on the property.

Property Value: (based on?) This will list the value of the property, based on an appraisal or other valuation method.

Current lien(s) if not applicable please put, n/a: This will list any current liens on the property, if applicable.

Loan Term Requested (How long do you need a loan for?): This will indicate the length of time that the borrower needs the loan for.

Exit Strategy (How do you plan to pay the loan off?): This will list the borrower’s plan for paying off the loan, such as through refinancing or selling the property.

Use of funds: (Please provide brief breakdown of the loan needs): This will provide a brief breakdown of how the loan proceeds will be used, such as for purchase, repairs, or refinancing.

How soon needed by: (Is there a contract date we should know about?) This will indicate the date by which the funds are needed, such as if there is a contract date to close on a property purchase.

Success Story: Retired Lady in Salt Lake City Rehabs and Sells Her First Investment Property

When she first came to me with an investment property she wanted to fix up and sell, Doreen Harlsway of Salt Lake City, now retired and 71 years young, had just completed an expensive training course on real estate investing. At first I eyed her with skepticism, of course, wondering if she thought this was going to be an easy ride.

She was buying in a neighborhood in Salt Lake City, Utah called “Sugarhouse,” that scores big points the B to C buyers. Her ARV was $145K and she was buying at $94,000. Rehab was $9K. Her partner in the deal was to oversee all of the rehab. The comps for the ARV checked out, as I know this area well, so I was intrigued by the deal. I met with Doreen and her partner, and they seemed like they had the best intentions and the right answers to my questions.

Well, the retired lady Doreen, was nervous as a hen nearly every day after the purchase closed on the house. She had a big chunk of her retirement cash locked up on the deal. But luckily, her partner made sure the rehab was completed in a little over 3 weeks and the property was listed this Spring for $150K. Spring flowers blooming on the little sidewalk out front, and the grass already full and green, Doreen accepted an offer for $145K with only 16 days on the market!!

Doreen has since paid us off, and now she’s celebrating big time. She’s a lot better off on her retirement nest egg on this one, little real estate deal. This is what I call a success story. Congrats Doreen!! She could not have qualified for a traditional bank loan to do this. We provided her with a real estate loan or private money loan, to make the deal happen. Click here to find out how you can become qualified for a real estate loan quickly and easily.

Top 3 Reasons a Hard Money Lender Will Turn Down Your Real Estate Deal

I recently did a survey of all of the hard / private money lenders I know in the industry. I also posted the survey on LinkedIn to get answers from the hard/private money lenders I don’t know. The question I asked these lenders was pretty simple:

“What are the top 3 reasons you decline a real estate deal when the numbers make sense?”

Although I received a lot of different answers to this question, there were 3 top reasons that kept appearing from the majority of the hard money / private money lenders I surveyed.

1. Neighborhood: The property is located in a high crime or extremely distressed area. Sometimes this is where the good rehab properties are found, but if a lender is afraid to get out of his car without a gun when he/she does the site inspection, you most likely won’t get a hard money loan on it.

2. Location: The property is located outside of a major metropolitan area in a rural location where there are no sold comparables within 2 miles of the subject property. Hard money and private money lenders prefer to lend in major metropolitan areas over rural locations. Although a real estate deal in a rural area may look good on paper, if there aren’t sold comps nearby to support value, a hard money lender may turn it down. Also, smaller market, smaller pool of buyers. There are exceptions of course.

3. Borrower’s Cash Reserves: Particularly on a rehab loan, a borrower who seems to be grossly undercapitalized is a sure decline. Lenders want to make sure a borrower can cover any shortages in construction, or in case of a low appraisal for the refinance.

If you are a borrower who has been turned down for a hard money loan on a deal that penciled on paper, please share your experience. If you are a hard money lender reading this, please share your own top reasons for declining a real estate loan where the numbers made sense.