How Important Is Private Lending In Commercial Real Estate?

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It was almost ten years ago when the global financial market crashed. Since then, a lot of things appear to have changed. Among those that have been affected the most is commercial real estate (CRE) lending, with loans now coming primarily from private lenders. Every quarter, people the world over continue to feel the effects of the Great Recession, despite it supposedly being behind us. And, as 2017 comes to an end, commercial borrowers continue to have to manage some significant financial complexities. Those include uncertain world affairs, a changing regulatory climate, and higher interest rates. What all of that means is that it remains difficult to secure commercial credit. Today’s lending standards are also tighter than they have ever been.

Well-established borrowers with long track records can still go to their banks and get financing. Regulations have made it more challenging, but if they have sufficient equity and well designed and capitalized projects, there are financing sources for the project.

However, financial investors are resourceful if nothing else. They are now in a unique position, and it is one that sees to have attracted private lenders to the commercial real estate market. The options offered by traditional banks simply aren’t realistic anymore, and this means investors have to look elsewhere. The result is that a range of new institutions have formed as well, including real estate developers, venture funds, insurers, and hard money lenders.

There are some key advantages to taking out a private money loan, not in the least that it provides a lot more room for movement in the CRE market. In addition, borrowers have found that a lot of these lenders are trustworthy and beneficial to them. The result is a significant impact on the CRE market as a whole, and it now looks as if private money is filling the gap left behind by the financial crash of 10 years ago.

How Is Private Money Helping?

It is quite obvious that there has been a significant increase in the number of private lenders that are becoming involved in the CRE market, and the existing statistics show this, too.

The silver lining for U.S. commercial properties came from the comparative strength of the U.S. economy and higher yields of U.S. assets. With global economies having slowed down in 2016, U.S. property markets remained a favorite destination for cross-border investors. While top-tier markets in gateway cities continued as major targets of investor activity, the higher yields and advancing economies of secondary and tertiary markets offered viable alternatives to investors looking for stronger returns.

That being said, it is very important to understand the impact of this on overall market activity. As such, the first key issue that is obvious, is that CRE investors and CRE developers continue to be heavily involved in the overall real estate market. However, they no longer have as much access to traditional lenders as they did in the past. This is due to traditional lenders choosing to be more cautious and also by new regulations, such as the Dodd-Frank Act.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is a massive piece of financial reform legislation passed by the Obama administration in 2010 as a response to the financial crisis of 2008. The act established a number of new government agencies tasked with overseeing various components of the act and by extension various aspects of the banking system.

Of course, the Dodd-Frank Act is now in question again, as President Donald Trump has, so far unsuccessfully, attempted to repeal it in its entirety, to be replaced with the Financial CHOICE Act.

If we want strong economic growth and more freedom, we must empower Americans, not Washington bureaucrats.

However, much of the Dodd-Frank Act will stay in place and while the Financial CHOICE Act will be implemented, the reality is that investors will have to continue to look towards alternative lenders if they want to fund their CRE investment projects.

The Potential Pros and Cons of Private Lending in CRE

Lending always comes with risks. However, with private lenders, there is a different systemic risk associated with it. This was, in fact, a key lesson learned from the 2008 crash. Large lending organizations were classed as “too big to fail”, and this caused the Big Bank Bailout.

The Special Inspector General for TARP summary of the bailout says that the total commitment of government is $16.8 trillion dollars with the $4.6 trillion already paid out. Yes, it was trillions not billions and the banks are now larger and still too big to fail.

Private capital, if there is another burst of the real estate bubble, can quite easily absorb this. Only two players will be affected: the private lender and the investor. This is very different from an entire bank going under.

Yet, at the same time, there are some negative issues as well, one of those being that a lot of private investors are foreign investors. In fact, many of them come from China, as well as Canada and Europe. Clearly, the US market is seen as a safe market, but there will come a time when these investors start to see their own domestic market as safe again. This could have a significant impact on real estate investment trusts (REITs) further down the line, and the overall impact this could have on the market itself would be significant, albeit in theory.

What’s in Store for Private Money Lenders?

To date, the fact that the economy has strengthened has not resulted in more commercial credit becoming available from traditional lending sources. Hence, it is feasible that the last quarter of this year could see some real changes to what the lending environment looks like. There continue to be significant changes in financial regulations, and it is now also seen that interest rates are finally rising again. This means that, perhaps, traditional lenders will become friendlier to investors once again. Whatever happens, however, it is vital that the lessons learned from the financial crash and the benefits offered through private money since then continue to be at the foreground of their work.

The Difference Between Hard Money Lenders And Traditional Mortgage Brokers

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Technically, a hard money lender is a type of mortgage lender but they are very different from standard banks. Generally speaking, hard money lenders are private individuals, which means their systems are somewhat different to that of regular banks and brokers. It is important to be aware of the differences if you are a real estate investor, because you may find yourself having to use a hard money lender. Read more

The Pros And Cons Of Taking Out A Hard Money Loan

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Hard money lending is quite a unique form of lending. It is generally used for real estate transactions, but goes outside of traditional mortgages and other such lenders. Usually, the money is provided by investors, which can be individuals or groups, who are looking at the feasibility of providing short term loans with relatively higher interest rates. If a traditional lender denies someone a loan, or if someone needs money fast, then hard money may be the best option out there.

Understanding Hard Money Loans

No matter what type of loan you take out, the lender will want to have proof that shows you can afford it. Generally, this means looking at your income and credit score. If you have a good history that shows you have repaid your debt, and you have a good debt to income ratio, then most lenders will approve you. However, determining this is a long and slow process, even if you have a fantastic income and perfect credit score. On the other hand, if you have a few negative marks, or a complex form of income, then things take even longer and you may even get declined.

A hard money lender looks at things differently. What matters to them is your collateral, which they will secure the loan against. This means that your repayment ability is a lot less important. Should you find yourself in financial difficulties, the lender will simply take your collateral and sell it on. Hence, it is the value of this collateral that is the determining factor, not your personal financial situation.

A loan of “last resort” or a short-term bridge loan. Hard money loans are backed by the value of the property, not by the credit worthiness of the borrower. Since the property itself is used as the only protection against default by the borrower, hard money loans have lower loan-to-value (LTV) ratios than traditional loans.

In most cases, a hard money loan is a short term loan, lasting no more than five years. They have very high interest rates, which is why most people wouldn’t want to have the loan for longer than absolutely necessary anyway.

Why Should You Consider a Hard Money Loan

A hard money loan is very costly, and that is its greatest disadvantage. However, there are a number of situations in which it can be very beneficial.

Hard money loans are right for both short-term investors and long-term investors. Specifically, hard money loans are used by Fix-and-Flippers, Buy-and-Hold Investors, and Portfolio Investors.

There are a number of key reasons as to why these types of investors would look to hard lending:

  1. Speed – Because the focus is on collateral rather than financial positions, a loan can be approved and closed very rapidly. Naturally, these lenders don’t want to repossess your property, but they have a lot less risk as they don’t have to verify your income. You build a relationship with a lender and the process is then incredibly quick.
  2. Flexibility – Hard money loans don’t go through regular underwriting processes, evaluating individuals instead. You have the possibility to change your methods of repayment, not in the least because you are likely to work with an individual, rather than a huge national bank that has stringent policies.
  3. Approval – Since these types of loans are secured against a piece of property, you can generally borrow as much as the value of your property. Negative pointers on your credit report, such as past foreclosures, are much less important. While lenders will usually view your credit, they won’t generally base their decision on that.
  4. Low LTV (Loan-to-Value) ratios. Usually, you can get an LTV of between 50% and 70%. While this means that you do need some assets, the ratio is much lower than what it would be on an investment property with a traditional lender. Again, this is because the lenders know they can get their investment back quite easily should you not pay back.

When Should You Consider a Hard Money Loan?

A hard money loan should only be taken out for short term loans because of their high interest rates, as stated. This is why they are so popular with fix and flip properties.

Hard money lenders will charge 2-5 points and 12-18 percent interest, although some hard money lenders will allow a smaller down payment and finance some repairs. The catch is hard money lenders like to work with experienced flippers and usually only offer their best loans to repeat customers.

With fix and flip investments, a property is purchased, fixed, and sold within no more than a year in most cases. The goal is simply to purchase a property and sell it for a profit in as short a time as possible. If the property isn’t sold, and investors decide to live there while waiting for the value to increase, they will generally look at a refinance option so as to get better value.

The Disadvantages of Hard Money Loans

While the hard money loan has some key benefits, it has some drawbacks as well. The biggest is that it is a very expensive form of lending, which means lenders must anticipate significant profits if they want to end up with profit. Furthermore, the way that properties are valued is also often different from traditional lenders.

The interest rates on hard money loans are incredibly high. This is why these loans should be considered if you are sure that you won’t be accepted anywhere else. There are numerous loans available for people with poor credit or complex income scenarios, and you may want to consider those first, even if they take longer to close. An FHA 203k loan could be an option, for instance.

An FHA 203k loan is a loan backed by the federal government and given to buyers who want to buy a damaged or older home and do repairs on it.

How to Find a Hard Money Loan

In order to be accepted for a hard money loan, you have to find an investor. This means you have to research who offers this type of money in your local area. Real estate investor groups and real estate agents are usually a good place to get those important connections. Make sure you speak to a number of different lenders before you decide to sign up.