Rolling Along

My funds from the closed loan #13 have been reinvested in a new hard money loan #18. This one is actually a pretty sweet deal for the borrower. The property is a 4 bed, 2.5 bath two story single family home built in 1979. The property was purchased at auction for $105,000. Our loan is for the full amount. The property is currently occupied. The exterior looks to be in fairly good shape - new paint is needed and that's about it. No idea on the inside. Current value is estimated to be $180,000 and after rehab, about $195,000. So our LTV based on the after rehab value is 53%. Using the current value, it's 58%.

What makes this a good deal for the buyer is that it appears some websites might have led people astray. ForeclosureRadar.com, which is a site used by many of the people who buy at these auctions, lists the property as 1,649 square feet. In fact, our borrower was the only one who bid on it at the auction, probably for this reason. But a visit to the property shows it looks bigger. In fact, it turns out the property is about 2,049 square feet - a room was added on above the garage. And the work was done with the proper permits and the larger square footage is reflected in the tax records for the property.

The borrower is a first time customer for us, but he is a licensed Realtor and often buys properties for our biggest borrower, so he knows his stuff. He is also personally guaranteeing the loan. Looks like he did his homework and found a good deal. This is a good example of why I like to use official records when checking out properties.

In other news, the April financials for the Houston apartment complex are in.Occupancy remained stable at 93% and total income was up about $1,000 over March, mainly due to increased collection of late fees. We had another month of positive cash flow - about $4,300. The year to date positive cash flow is about $21,000. Mangement is cautiously optimistic that we will have a strong second half of the year. Some maintenance of the exterior wood will be starting in June, but it shouldn't affect cash flows as it will be paid for from the replacement reserve account that is in escrow with our lender.

Loan Closed And A Possible New Investment

Hard money loan #13 closed today. Not sure how the borrowers made out with this investment. I'm pretty sure they lost money, but don't know how much. Not that it's any of my business. It'll be interesting to see if they ask to borrow from us again. I've got no problem lending to them again - after all, they always paid on time. I'm just curious to see if their loss sours them on flipping or not. My funds are sitting with my partner waiting for the next deal.

The first payment on loan #17 was mailed out today. As usual, this borrower paid early.

I also spoke today with someone over at Rising Sun Capital Group. I came across an article one of the principles wrote on the Bigger Pockets blog. RSG is a company that flips properties locally here in the Phoenix area and I'm thinking about investing some money with them. This is more risky than my hard money lending. If I invested with them, I would be actually owning property and thus taking on the risks that entails. I would be counting on their expertise in evaluating deals and choosing good ones, as well as their rehabbing and resale experience. In my phone conversation, I did find out that they have lost money on some deals in the past. (In comparison, my partner has been a hard money lender since the 90's and has not lost a penny of his or his partner's principle.) Of course, the potential returns are higher too. All my funds are currently tied up in loan rights now, so I have some time to think about this more. (The funds from hml #13 belong to my IRA and are not enough to meet Rising Sun's minimum investment.) When the Houston apartment sells and I get that money back, I may go this route. That likely won't be for at least a year.


I do find it funny that the guy I spoke too wrote an article about wanting to become a hard money lender and here I am, a hard money lender, looking to get into his business. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side!

Bankruptcy Law Allows Home Owners To Dump Second Mortgages

The Mercury News has a story about a legal loophole people in the Bay area in California are using to wipe out the second mortgages from their home through filing for bankruptcy. It works like this: if you want to stay in your home, the law forbids wiping out your first mortgage via bankruptcy. However, if the value of your home has plummeted and you are now under water, your second mortgage now becomes unsecured debt because your house does not have any equity in it to cover the loan. Thus, it is eligible for elimination through bankruptcy proceedings. Once bankruptcy has been declared and the repayment plan completed (which takes about three to five years - during which payments on the second are suspended), the second mortgage is wiped out.

The understatement of the year award goes to this line in the article: "Mortgage bankers don't like the practice."

Hard Money #13 Closing After All

Well, after writing all that up, it would seem the loan is going to close soon. My partner got a call saying we would be paid off in a couple days.