Real estate investment is a capital hungry endeavor from the initial property purchase through to renovations and repairs. Maintaining adequate capital reserves is of the utmost importance, but for some investors finding the right source for funding is a challenge. Traditional banks and other lenders have strict guidelines and focus on an individual's credit history as a main criteria for credit worthiness. They are also bound by the rules set forth by the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 which was enacted in response to the financial and housing crisis. What's more, the loan application and approval process can be slow, which doesn't always work well for investors.

As a hard money loan officer, I like to think of myself as a soldier on the frontline. I am in the trenches looking at fix and flip loan scenarios, speaking with Small Balance Real Estate (SBRE) entrepreneurs, buyers and sellers agents, and attending lending conferences. Based on the trends that I am seeing, below is what I believe you can expect this summer in the California fix and flip real estate market:

If you are interested in investing in real estate, you might have thought about purchasing a fixer-upper and "flipping it." If you have been putting it off, you should know that there are a few reasons why now is the ultimate time to get a fix and flip loan.

If you're a real estate investor, working with a hard money lender makes a lot of sense. The many benefits of using hard money loans mean that, despite their name, they can actually make things quite a bit easier for you.

What Are Bridge and Hard Money Loans?

A hard money loan is an alternative to a conventional loan where private funding is secured by the value of a property. Therefore, it can be obtained relatively quickly.

When it comes to real estate investing, there are no guarantees that you will be successful. That's just the cold, hard truth of it and it shouldn't come as any surprise. You run the risk of wasting precious time and losing money with every deal that you undertake. That said, there are some things that you can do to reduce losses and ensure your success. Here are 3 questions to ask yourself before investing in a property.

A hard money loan is a tool to help you invest in property and make a profit. As such, planning your exit strategy for the loan is an important part of your overall plans for property investment. Paying off a loan is often one of the significant expenses involved in rehabbing a property, which means a good loan exit strategy can make the difference between making a great profit or simply breaking even. Here are 3 strategies for paying off your hard money loan.

A hard money loan is a type of financing where the funds are offered by private investors or companies and are secured by real estate. They may come with some of the same qualification criteria as a conventional loan, including credit score and income analysis, but will more often be based on the value of the real estate that will be used as collateral. Typically, hard money loans will go up to about 70% of the purchase price. Some people are hesitant to explore hard money loans because they tend to have higher interest rates, but you should not base your decision on interest rates alone. In fact, hard money loans can be a worthwhile option for certain buyers. Here are 3 advantages of hard money borrowing: what’s in it for you?

Speed

Private lenders often move faster than traditional banks. They require less peripheral documentation than traditional banks because they are looking primarily at the liquidation value of the property in question. Anyone who has had to submit childcare expenses or make multiple appointments to deliver documents to traditional lending institutions in triplicate will appreciate being able to bypass the nonsense and get to work on their project faster. These loans are also likely to come with shorter terms. Instead of taking on payments for 15, 20, or even 30 years, hard money loan terms can range from 6 months to 5 or 6 years.

A hard money loan provides a quick-fix for the house flipper searching for capital to fund their real estate investment project, and high-returns for the investor of the hard money loan.

But how does this whole hard money lending process work from beginning to end? Is it complicated or easy? What is the rate of returns for investors? How easy is it for a borrower to get their highly-anticipated approval?

For those borrowers new to hard money lending, there are increasingly more lenders springing up eager to capture your business. While the process of obtaining a hard money loan is neither complex nor difficult to come by, you do want to educate and prepare yourself so that when you need to pull the trigger on getting your hard money loan, you can act swiftly. Here are some simple tips to help you out.