Tag Archive for: beginner investors

Lenders Want To See Personal Investments

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Lenders want to see your own money going towards your projects through personal investments. 

In real estate investing, leverage comes from using other people’s money to generate wealth and income. 

The better your leverage, the easier and more profitable real estate investing becomes. 

But how do you find the right loans that can give you that leverage?

One of the things lenders look for is whether or not you’re personally invested in what you’re asking them to put money into.

Use Personal Investments to Demonstrate Commitment

If you’re also investing your own money in your project, lenders know you’re serious about the job. 

Using other people’s money (OPM) also demonstrates that your friends and family are willing to invest in your project. Lenders like to see you have skin in the game, even if it’s as simple as borrowing from a line of credit.

Especially if you’re a newer investor, the less you ask of lenders and the more at risk you take on, the more lenders will be attracted to you.

Personal investments demonstrate your commitment to follow through and finish a project — just what lenders are looking for!

Learn More

Read the full article here.

Watch the YouTube video here:

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What Should New Investors Know About Loan Payments?

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New investors in the real estate game often struggle with the details of their first loan payments.

Real estate, like many fields, has its own vocabulary and rules. This can make it extra challenging for people who are trying to enter the real estate investing world.

So many people come to us confused, asking for guidance as they’re getting started.

Real estate is all about leverage. Understanding the lingo and how to calculate the most common rates will help you be money-wise and confident in your investment journey.

This is especially true (and important!) when it comes to paying off your loans.

What Should You Know About “Payments”

When do payments start? How much do they cost?

If you’re new to real estate investing, it’s a good idea to ask a lot of questions about payments so you know what to have in your budget before you begin.

A few terms to look out for:

“Arrears”

Product interest always shows up after the fact (in “arrears”). Basically, your July 1st payment is going to pay all of the interest for June.

Interest accumulates over the course of a month. Then the bill shows up after.

This how all mortgages are set up. So when you’re trying to figure out your payments and when they’re due, always look ahead 30-45 days after you close for the first payment.

Payments are typically due on the 1st or 15th of the month. Check with your specific lender to make sure you know your pay period.

“Simple Interest”

Above, we showed you how to calculate your monthly interest rate based on the simple interest rate of your loan.

When you start paying off your loan, you’ll see a big accumulation of interest. If you’ve taken time to calculate your monthly rate, this shouldn’t be a surprise to you. You can multiply that monthly rate by however long your project took to find your overall interest cost.

You need money to make money in real estate, but you want to know the cost ahead of time as closely as possible.

Take time to figure out these numbers up front so you don’t have any surprises.

 

Read the full article here.

Watch the full video here:

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What is a Point in Real Estate Investing?

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What is your lender talking about when they mention points on your loan? What is a point in real estate investing?

Real estate, like many fields, has its own vocabulary. This can make it extra challenging for people who are trying to enter the real estate investing world.

So many people come to us confused. Sometimes they don’t even know what to ask because the language is so unfamiliar.

Real estate is all about leverage. Understanding the lingo and how to calculate the most common rates will help you be money-wise and confident in your investment journey.

What is a “Point”?

When your lender mentions that something is “one point” or maybe “one and half points,” they’re talking about out-of-pocket cost. So what is a point in real estate investing?

“Points” are a percentage of the loan that the lender is going to charge you.

Hypothetically, let’s say your lender says your loan is a “two point” cost to you. That means they’re going to charge you 2% of the total loan amount.

  • Total Loan Amount: $200,000
  • Points: 2 (meaning 2% or 0.02)
  • Calculation: 200,000 x 0.02 = $4,000
  • Out-of-pocket Cost for the Loan: $4,000

The lower the points, the lower the cost; the higher the points, the higher the cost. Also, remember that the points are calculated off the loan amount, not the purchase price.

Always remember to look out for fees. Points are often only part of the upfront charges from your lender.

Make sure you ask ahead of time about additional fees, appraisals, underwriting, escrows, and escrow draws. 

 

Read the full article here.

Watch the full video here:

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Real Estate Lingo Explained: Understanding Your Lender

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Learn the meaning behind your lender’s real estate lingo so you always know what’s going on.

Real estate, like many fields, has its own vocabulary. This can make it extra challenging for people who are trying to enter the real estate investing world.

So many people come to us confused. Sometimes they don’t even know what to ask because the language is so unfamiliar.

Real estate is all about leverage. Understanding the lingo and how to calculate the most common rates will help you be money-wise and confident in your investment journey.

1. “Points”

When your lender mentions that something is “one point” or maybe “one and half points,” they’re talking about out-of-pocket cost. So what is a point in real estate investing?

“Points” are a percentage of the loan that the lender is going to charge you.

Hypothetically, let’s say your lender says your loan is a “two point” cost to you. That means they’re going to charge you 2% of the total loan amount.

Real Estate Lingo Explained: Understanding Your Lender

  • Total Loan Amount: $200,000
  • Points: 2 (meaning 2% or 0.02)
  • Calculation: 200,000 x 0.02 = $4,000
  • Out-of-pocket Cost for the Loan: $4,000

The lower the points, the lower the cost; the higher the points, the higher the cost. Also, remember that the points are calculated off the loan amount, not the purchase price.

Always remember to look out for fees. Points are often only part of the upfront charges from your lender.

Make sure you ask ahead of time about additional fees, appraisals, underwriting, escrows, and escrow draws.

2. “Rate”

Lenders talking about interest rates can get very confusing very quickly.

The common real estate lingo of saying you have a “10% rate” does not mean you have a flat 10% interest regardless of how long you keep the money out.

“Rate” refers to the simple interest rate over a year, NOT your monthly interest rate.

To find your monthly interest rate, divide by 12.

Real Estate Lingo Explained: Understanding Your Lender

  • Total Loan Amount: $200,000
  • Rate: 10%
  • Calculation: (200,000 x 0.10) / 12 = 1,667
  • Monthly Interest Rate: $1,667

Essentially, if you have your loan for six months (half a year) and you have a 10% rate, you’ll end up paying 5%.

3. “Payments”

When do payments start? How much do they cost?

If you’re new to real estate investing, it’s a good idea to ask a lot of questions about payments so you know what to have in your budget before you begin.

A few terms to look out for:

“Arrears”

Product interest always shows up after the fact (in “arrears”). Basically, your July 1st payment is going to pay all of the interest for June.

Interest accumulates over the course of a month. Then the bill shows up after.

This how all mortgages are set up. So when you’re trying to figure out your payments and when they’re due, always look ahead 30-45 days after you close for the first payment.

Payments are typically due on the 1st or 15th of the month. Check with your specific lender to make sure you know your pay period.

“Simple Interest”

Above, we showed you how to calculate your monthly interest rate based on the simple interest rate of your loan.

When you start paying off your loan, you’ll see a big accumulation of interest. If you’ve taken time to calculate your monthly rate, this shouldn’t be a surprise to you. You can multiply that monthly rate by however long your project took to find your overall interest cost.

Real Estate Lingo Explained: Understanding Your Lender

You need money to make money in real estate, but you want to know the cost ahead of time as closely as possible.

Take time to figure out these numbers up front so you don’t have any surprises.

4. “Prepayments” or “Prepay Penalties”

You’ll likely see real estate lenders use lingo like “prepays” on products like DSCR or non-QM loans.

“Prepayment penalties” are fees some lenders charge to guarantee a loan is out a certain amount of time.

Essentially, if you pay off a loan during the prepay period, the lender will charge an added fee to ensure they’re making a profit.

Prepays come in all shapes and sizes but often show up in either a 3- or 5-year period. We recommend checking out this previous post to learn more about the intricacies of prepay penalties.

In terms of types of penalties, there are straight and declining prepay options:

  • “Straight Prepay” means that you will pay an agreed-upon percentage if you pay of the loan anytime during the prepay period. For example, if you have a straight 5-year 5% prepay penalty, you will be charged 5% whether you pay it off after 1 year or 4 years.
  • A “Declining Prepay” might start with a higher percentage, but the penalty gets smaller the longer you keep the loan until it disappears altogether. The first year, the penalty might be 5%, 4% the next, etc.

It’s always a good idea to check the prepayment penalties. Sometimes you can buy them down. But you should always make sure that higher fee is actually worth it. Often the trade-off comes in the form of a higher interest rate.

Don’t fall into a trap of paying a much higher interest rate for a slightly lower prepay penalty.

Using Real Estate Lingo With Your Lender

When you’re talking to lenders, knowing the real estate lingo can help you feel confident about your deals.

When you know what points are and how to calculate interest rates, you gain leverage with the ability to negotiate professionally.

The more you understand, the better pricing and terms you’ll be able to find.

Here at The Cash Flow Company, we have a free Loan Cost Optimizer tool. This, in addition to the formulas you learned above, can help you in your real estate journey.

Knowledge is leverage, and leverage is the key to unlocking your real estate investing potential.

Reach out to us at Info@TheCashFlowCompany.com with your questions.

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3 Key Fundamentals of BRRRR

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The top 3 fundamentals to keep in mind when learning BRRRR.

“BRRRR” stands for “buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat.” It’s a process for capturing equity and creating cash flow on rental properties.

We’ve helped investors through this process for over 15 years.

Here are the 3 key fundamentals of BRRRR we’ve seen make these transactions successful.

Key Fundamental #1: Building a BRRRR Team

Firstly, you have to find off-market properties.

The really good under-market BRRRR properties won’t just jump into your lap. These properties require a little digging, and – more importantly – a team to help you.

You’ll need to know wholesalers, real estate agents, other investors, and anyone else who can help you locate good undermarket properties.

(It’s also an advantage to keep lenders on your team so you can close fast on these great properties once you find them.)

Key Fundamental #2: The Money Side

“It takes money to make money.”

If you can learn the basics about the costs of your BRRRR projects, then you can squeeze more money out of each project.

We always say that there’s money in the money. Do the research to learn about real estate before your first investment, and you’ll be miles ahead of other investors.

Key Fundamental #3: Using the Right Leverage

Yes, it takes money to make money, but it doesn’t have to be your money.

Plan for and understand the entire BRRRR process, and leverage can work to 10x your net worth.

For More on BRRRR

Overall, this only brushes the surface of BRRRR. Over the coming weeks, we’ll visit each of these topics in much more detail. Why do you use two loans? How can you do this with zero money down? How do you go about a refinance?

If you have a deal now you’d like us to look at for you, send us an email at Info@TheCashFlowCompany.com.

Read the full article here.

Watch the video here:

https://youtu.be/JbO2YFxuPmw

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What Is a Bridge Loan?

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How do real estate investors use these short term loans? What is a bridge loan?

A bridge loan is a very short-term loan – even shorter than the typical hard money loan. It’s used in real estate investing to fill any gaps left by a lack of funding. 

Most popularly, these loans help you bridge the space between one project and another.

Let’s say you’re just finishing up a flip. The house is on the market, buyers are showing interest, and now you’d like to get another property bought so you can jump right in to your next flip.

A true bridge loan covers up that gap between projects. You get the money to close on a new property before the first one is completely sold. A bridge loan lets you overlap from an old project to a new one.

When to Use a Bridge Loan

Real estate investors use bridge loans for all kinds of situations:

  • When you’re buying a new property and already have one listed for sale
  • When you need to cover down payment on a new property
  • When you find a great deal but your bank’s financing won’t be ready in time
  • When a wholesaler waits for a buyer’s money to come into the title company
  • When a hard money or traditional loan leaves gaps in a project
  • When you need to refinance a hard money loan.


Read the full article on bridge loans here.

Watch the video here:

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How to 5X Your Real Estate Investments

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Text: "How to 5X Your Real Estate Investments"

Leverage can 5x your real estate investments. Let’s look at how.

Should a real estate investor ever avoid leverage? Should they always use cash when possible?

Short answer: nope.

Using leverage can help you 5x your real estate investments. Let’s take a simple example to show how it works.

Cash vs Leverage

First off, we’re going to use simple numbers in this example.

Of course, home costs and rent costs will change in different markets and different areas. But we’ll run with these numbers – even if they aren’t 100% accurate, they’ll paint a good picture of the math that backs up leverage.

Let’s say you have $100,000 at your disposal that you want to invest in real estate.

Income Real Estate Investing with NO Leverage

To begin with, you could take all the money and buy one property valued at $100,000 outright. You’d invest the full $100k, own the house free and clear, and receive $1,200 of net rent income per month.

This adds up to $14,400 per year you’d earn from a house you fully own.

Income Real Estate Investing WITH Leverage

Now let’s see how it plays out when you involve a lender rather than buying outright.

You could offer to put down $25,000, and the lender might agree to loan you the other $75,000. That $75,000 covered by the lender would be your leverage.

And now, instead of pouring all your money into one property… you only have to put in $25,000.

Take your $100,000 and divide it by 25,000. That’s 4 properties you could buy with leverage. For the same out-of-pocket amount as buying 1 property outright.

However, because you’re now paying a mortgage on these rental properties, your monthly net rent goes down.

Your income is now $750 per property. Multiplied by 4 properties. So this brings in $3,000 per month, or $36,000 per year.

You have the potential to make an additional $21,600 per year – just from using leverage.

No matter what amount you start with (in this case, $100,000), using leverage brings in more income.

How Does Leverage Change Your Net Worth?

Monthly rent income isn’t the only way a rental property makes you money. It will also increase in value.

When a home appreciates, it increases your total net worth. The average yearly appreciation rate for real estate across the country is 5%.

It’s clear that leverage impacts income, but what about wealth?

Let’s throw this 5% number into our equation and see what happens with leverage.

Net Worth No Leverage

If a property was purchased for $100,000, that one home would increase in value by an average of $5,000 per year.

So, the one home you bought outright would give you $150,000 in equity after 30 years.

You bought it for $100,000. After 30 years, you’re adding $150,000. So that’s a net value of $250,000.

Net Worth with Leverage

Next, let’s see the equity of the 4 properties purchased with leverage.

Multiply your 4 properties by the $5,000 in value they each increase every year. Your portfolio will appreciate $20,000 per year.

Over a 30-year span, your 4 properties would add $600,000 to your net worth. Add the original values of the homes (4 × $100,000), and your net worth increases by $1,000,000.

A million using leverage definitely beats the $250k you got from buying 1 home outright.

Read the full article here.

Watch the video here:

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