--- title: Questions to Expect from Your Hard Money Lender description: Hard money lenders ask different questions from traditional lenders. Here are a few questions that help decide if you are you motivated to repay the loan. image: https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/hs-fs/hub/115318/file-1858101302.jpg --- [![Trust Deed Capital](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/hs-fs/file-16494019-png/images/trust-deed-capital-logo.png "Trust Deed Capital")](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/) CALL 1 (888) 563-5588 Search ![Hard Money Lender Investors](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/hs-fs/images/blog.png) ## [Questions to Expect from Your Hard Money Lender](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/questions-to-expect-from-your-hard-money-lender) Posted by [Ken Meyer](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/author/ken-meyer) on Tue, Oct 14, 2014 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![hard money lenders](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/hs-fs/hub/115318/file-1858101302.jpg "hard money lenders")Hard money lenders](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/understanding-the-hard-money-lending-process) ask different questions from traditional lenders. You can't approach one simply expecting that a high credit score will be enough to get a loan. Instead, they look at you, your proposed purchase, and your equity to answer one basic question: Are you motivated to repay the loan? To this end, here are five of the most common questions that you can expect to be asked: # Hard Money Lender Question #1: How much can you put down? Traditional lenders make loans with low down payments since they know that is what [borrowers](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/borrowers) want. Hard money lenders, on the other hand, are looking for you to truly invest with them and will expect higher down payments. # Hard Money Lender Question #2: What's the asset worth? Right in line with your down payment, [private lenders](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/investor-faqs) look at the underlying value of the asset. If you can show that the asset you're buying is worth significantly more than your borrowing, it is a good candidate for hard money. Some hard money lenders will even look at the building's post-improvement value instead of its value as it stands when you apply for the loan. # Hard Money Lender Question #3: What really happened with your credit? In the [private lending](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/brokers) world, credit decisions aren't made on the basis of a credit score. It's completely possible to get declined for a hard money loan with a high credit score while someone else with borderline credit gets one. As such, be ready to discuss your credit history with the understanding that a private lender can look at what you've done in the context of what you will do moving forward instead of being exclusively focused on the past. # Hard Money Lender Question #4: What's your exit strategy? Typically, hard money lenders structure their debt for the short- to middle-term. As such, they will want to know what your plan is to replace their financing by either selling the asset or having it taken out with a more permanent loan. # Hard Money Lender Question #5: Do you need to close in a few weeks... or a few days? Hard money lenders don't just make debt available on properties that banks won't touch. They also are able to make lending decisions at a pace that leaves the rest of the [real estate lending](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/bid/131314/8-Reasons-to-Use-Private-Lenders-for-Real-Estate-Investments) community behind. Typical loans close in under a month while it's entirely possible to get a loan closed in a matter of days if all of the pieces line up smoothly. [![New Call-to-action](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/115318/2e946117-7fb1-4183-a6c7-a75837ba778f.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/115318/2e946117-7fb1-4183-a6c7-a75837ba778f) ### Have Questions? [![New Call-to-Action](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/115318/cf54edd7-d8f4-4871-aafd-a8cc5b76667e.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/115318/cf54edd7-d8f4-4871-aafd-a8cc5b76667e) ### Subscribe via E-mail ### Connect With Us [![New Call-to-action](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/115318/0427129d-319c-4434-b1fc-8288f0a96fdf.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/115318/0427129d-319c-4434-b1fc-8288f0a96fdf) [![Click me](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/115318/9b675c39-e065-48bd-9be4-27a27260541f.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/115318/9b675c39-e065-48bd-9be4-27a27260541f) [![Click me](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/115318/768f75b8-2827-4c95-9d49-6cdf67e0fa5c.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/115318/768f75b8-2827-4c95-9d49-6cdf67e0fa5c) ### Latest Posts ### Categories - [fix and flip (95)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/fix-and-flip) - [fix and flip real estate investments (43)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/fix-and-flip-real-estate-investments) - [fix rehab properties (42)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/fix-rehab-properties) - [real estate investing (38)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/real-estate-investing) - [fix and flip loans (34)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/fix-and-flip-loans) - [Smart Investing (29)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/smart-investing) - [hard money lenders (29)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/hard-money-lenders) - [hard money loans (27)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/hard-money-loans) - [real estate investors (24)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/real-estate-investors) - [buying investment property (23)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/buying-investment-property) - [real estate investments (23)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/real-estate-investments) - [real estate investor (23)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/real-estate-investor) - [Fix and Flip Education (22)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/fix-and-flip-education) - [Renting Strategy (20)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/renting-strategy) - [investment property (20)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/investment-property) - [real estate market (19)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/real-estate-market) - [hard money (17)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/hard-money) - [Rental Property (16)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/rental-property) - [borrowers (16)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/borrowers) - [hard money lender (16)](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/blog/topic/hard-money-lender) - [Investors](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/understanding-trust-deeds/) - [Understanding Trust Deeds](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/understanding-trust-deeds) - [Our Business Standards](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/our-business-standards) - [Yield Comparisons](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/yield-comparisons) - [The Process](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/investor-process) - [Available Trust Deeds](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/trust-deeds-available) - [Investor FAQs](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/investor-faqs) - [Investor Testimonials](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/investor-testimonials) - [Investor Documents](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/investor-documents) - [Borrowers](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/borrowers/) - [Loan Programs](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/loan-programs/) - [The Process](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/borrower-process/) - [Borrower FAQs](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/borrower-faq/) - [Borrower Testimonials](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/borrower-testimonials/) - [Borrower Documents](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/borrower-documents/) - [Brokers](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/brokers/) - [Loan Programs](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/broker-loan-programs/) - [The Process](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/broker-process/) - [Broker FAQs](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/broker-faq/) - [Broker Documents](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/broker-documents/) - [Realtors](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/realtors/) - [Loan Programs](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/realtor-loan-programs/) - [The Process](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/realtor-process/) - [Realtor FAQs](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/realtor-faq/) - [About Us](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/our-company/) - [Our Company](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/our-company/) - [Our Mission](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/our-mission/) - [Our President / CEO](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/our-president-ceo/) - [Careers](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/careers/) - [Contact Us](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/contact-us/) - [Resources](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/resources/) - [Recommended Links](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/links/) - [Forms](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/forms/) [![Trust Deed Capital](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/hs-fs/file-16459350-png/images/foot-logo.png "Trust Deed Capital")](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/ty-the-best-of-hard-money-articles#) - 120 Newport Center Drive, Suite 262 - Newport Beach, Ca. 92660 - CALL 1 (888) 563-5588 [![American Association of Private Lenders](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/hs-fs/file-16459062-png/images/foot-assoc.png "American Association of Private Lenders")](http://www.aaplonline.com/) - [![Like us on Facebook!](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/hs-fs/file-16456386-png/images/facebook.png)](http://on.fb.me/ovGeDr) - [![Follow us on Twitter!](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/hs-fs/file-16497114-png/images/twitter.png)](http://twitter.com/#!/trustdeedcap) - [![Connect with us on LinkedIn!](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/hs-fs/file-16469641-png/images/linkedin.png)](http://goo.gl/UXhHe) © 2015 Trust Deed Capital, Inc. | [California Bureau of Real Estate, Real Estate ](http://www.dre.ca.gov/) Broker #1805798-NMLS #296507 | [Privacy Policy](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/privacy-policy) | [Contact Us](https://www.trustdeedcapital.com/contact-us)