October 14, 2008
I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I had never actually heard Warren Buffet speak prior to watching this interview. My only impression of him was as this mythological financial guru. His mastery of the most complex financial markets has made him a living legend.
Well, I was surprised to watch this video and find that he speaks in a way that is so clear and simple, a grade schooler could understand.
If you are an American, (or not!) you really should watch this video.
July 22, 2008
Go figure.
Banks are a mess. The government is trying to help, but lenders keep closing. Rates are getting worse even as the economy sinks…
Lenders are lending less, and less.
Even “blue chip” borrowers can’t get loans if they own too many properties.
Well an unlikely (or maybe not) source has opened the vault to good investors at ridiculously cheap rates.
Cheap? How does 4.5% Interest – Only sound?
And it’s only for investors.
Listen to what they are willing to do:
Blanket loans for multiple properties.
No limit on number of properties owned.
Collect payments every 90 days.
Most credit doesn’t matter – just mortgages.
No cash needed to purchase property.
Cross collateralize property in other countries.
Who in the world is willing to take such risks?
An organization who is the foremost authority in the world at managing risk – Lloyd’s.
It actually makes perfect sense.
Lloyd’s has been a leading international banking and business presence for years.
Who better than to understand and be willing to accept risk in a market few others are willing to.
Their magic number is 70%. Purchase or cash-out refinance. One property or multiple.
You do have to have sufficient income to qualify on paper – No Stated Income Whatsoever.
So if you have strong income and want to capitalize on the market in Florida, you may have a new financial partner. Their Pilot program is only being offered by a select number of lenders, which we have access to.
Call me today to see if the program works for you. 954-217-9518 x310
Craig Garcia is a Managing Member of Bridge Capital Lending, LLC. A mortgage and investment firm specializing in Investor Loans that Use Private Lenders that fund Hard Money Loans. Craig can be reached at 877-8GO-GREEN or 954-217-9518.
Tags: RealEstate, Loans, Refinance
June 26, 2008
Jim Cramer comes out and says he believes that Florida has hit the bottom, and the recovery here should be be about a year ahead of most of the country. If he is right and the end of declines are near, then the best deals for buyers will be gotten right now, when only a few people are saying its the bottom. Once everyone starts calling it the bottom, it will be because it will be in the rear-view mirror in the past.
If you have trouble with this video try this link:
May 8, 2008
According to CNN Money, there are areas expected to post price improvements in the coming year. The list goes as follows:
McAllen, Tx 4.0% growth
Rochester, NY 2.7%
Birmingham, AL 2.7%
Syracuse, NY 2.6%
Buffalo/Niagara Falls, NY 2.4%
Scranton, PA 2.2%
New Orleans, LA 2.2%
Grand Rapids, MI 1.9%
Baton Rouge, LA 1.9%
El Paso, TX 1.8%
Looking at a map the majority of these cities are near the US border to Canada or Mexico. Either this lends to the argument that US population growth will drive property prices up long term, or could it be that Americans inland are preparing themselves for a quick exit by moving closer to the border?? 
Just kidding – this is still the absolute greatest country on earth, greatest place to live, with the most opportunity. People still want to live here and move here in bunches every day. So keep some of these good nuggets with you as you talk to your buyers…
The whole article for CNN is here:
For more on how population growth has affected real estate prices long term check out this article i wrote:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Should-You-Buy-When-There-Is-Blood-In-The-Streets?&id=876749
To your success!
Craig Garcia is a Managing Member of Bridge Capital Lending, LLC. A mortgage and investment firm specializing in Investor Loans that Use Private Lenders that fund Hard Money Loans. Craig can be reached at 877-8GO-GREEN or 954-217-9518. Gene Schroeder and Angelo D’Alessandro are the founders and owners of Bank On It! – A Real Estate Investment Firm that sells Investment Properties at Wholesale Prices. Gene and Angelo can be reached at 954-515-0030. The three have also formed a service to connect prospective borrowers to a network of Local Mortgage Brokers called 888-2Lend-Fast.
May 3, 2008
Forbes news video on the monthly jobs report. The report came out and showed that there were less jobs lost than expected. So the report was better than expected for the economy. This is good news for stocks in general, and bad news for bonds. What is bad for bonds, will be bad for mortgage rates. So bond prices were off on Friday. Mortgage rates are subject to change on a daily or hourly basis even. Just like stock prices trade throughout the day, mortgage bonds are traded as well. News that comes out every day about the economy can influence mortgage rates up or down and it is important to work with a mortgage professional that understands what really makes rates move. We have a couple of resources to help stay on top of the mortgage interest rate market. One is available for you to view daily right on our website at
http://www.BridgeCapitalLending.com/DailyRateLockAdvisory
Craig Garcia is a Managing Member of Bridge Capital Lending, LLC. A mortgage and investment firm specializing in Investor Loans that Use Private Lenders that fund Hard Equity Loans. Craig can be reached at 877-8GO-GREEN or 954-217-9518. Gene Schroeder and Angelo D’Alessandro are the founders and owners of Bank On It! – A Real Estate Investment Firm that sells Investment Properties at Wholesale Prices. Gene and Angelo can be reached at 954-515-0030. The three have also formed a service to connect prospective borrowers to a network of Local Mortgage Brokers called 888-2Lend-Fast.
May 2, 2008
This is a very good video that any prospective buyer should see. It really makes the case that very few media outlets are promoting anywhere…That right now is an awesome time to be buying for first time homebuyers. The market is working in your favor. If you are a real estate investor it only makes sense to build your stable of potential buyers. If you need help with pre-qualifying them for government programs please give us a call.
Craig Garcia is a Managing Member of Bridge Capital Lending, LLC. A mortgage and investment firm specializing in Investor Loans that Use Private Lenders that fund Hard Equity Loans. Craig can be reached at 877-8GO-GREEN or 954-217-9518. Gene Schroeder and Angelo D’Alessandro are the founders and owners of Bank On It! – A Real Estate Investment Firm that sells Investment Properties at Wholesale Prices. Gene and Angelo can be reached at 954-515-0030. The three have also formed a service to connect prospective borrowers to a network of Local Mortgage Brokers called 888-2Lend-Fast
April 29, 2008
Some rays of sunshine for the investor community.
Kelly and I have been doing some heavy research on some niche lenders offering all different types of loans – some good news to report:
Construction Loans for Speculation – up to 80% Loan To Cost for investors..75% stated income
Southern Florida Based, Good Credit needed, common sense underwriting
Cash Out on vacant Lots. 65%-70% of value – only for loans over 80K
Purchase Price needs to make sense vs. value….rate and term available as well.
Foreign National Lender offering up to 80% LTV on condo’s even….
Southern Florida Based as well. Also good loans for FULL DOC investors.
Hard Money Rehab loans – full purchase price plus repairs available on very good deals.
Available all over. Some areas up to 70% after rehab.
Portfolio Lender doing loans for investors with more than 10 properties. Both Full Doc and Stated. With cash out!
Southern Florida.
Do you have a business in good standing for the past 2 years, that is not Real Estate related? Unsecured Lines of credit available.
Call us anytime for details on these and other programs.
Craig Garcia is a Managing Member of Bridge Capital Lending, LLC. A mortgage and investment firm specializing in Investor Loans that Use Private Lenders that fund Hard Equity Loans. Craig can be reached at 877-8GO-GREEN or 954-217-9518. Gene Schroeder and Angelo D’Alessandro are the founders and owners of Bank On It! – A Real Estate Investment Firm that sells Investment Properties at Wholesale Prices. Gene and Angelo can be reached at 954-515-0030. The three have also formed a service to connect prospective borrowers to a network of Local Mortgage Brokers called 888-2Lend-Fast
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April 29, 2008
FHA loans – a term that had become a bad word during the recent run up in housing prices in many areas, is now one of the few programs available for your retail buyers.
Back in the late 90’s and early 00’s FHA loans were a normal part of the homebuying process for many people buying their first home. The flexible underwriting and low downpayment just couldn’t get matched by conventional mortgages.
Then the conventional market got really aggressive and sellers had choices when it came to the contracts they received. The perception with an FHA loan was that they were going to make the seller fix up the property and charge them fees at closing that they would not have with a conventional buyer. So whenever they had the choice they would go for the conventional buyer and shun the FHA buyer.
FHA contracts simply stopped being presented…until recently.
There is barely any market for the conventional first time buyer to get a loan nowadays.
Says Jeff Updyke, of the Wall Street Journal:
“Lenders are demanding higher credit scores, mandating private-mortgage insurance on many more loans, and requiring larger down payments. Fewer first-timers qualify for the house they want, or they’re paying a larger monthly amount to own it.”
he goes on to quote:
“”Every borrower faces a steeper hill” now, particularly first-timers, says Pete Ogilvie, president of the California Association of Mortgage Brokers.”
So some quick and dirty facts about FHA borrowers to keep in mind as you are selling:
They need 2 years acceptable job history.
All of them have to verify income, or they need a strong co-signer.
You as the seller need to be on the title to the property for three months.
If you have done repairs and improved a property, be prepared to document it for the appraiser.
The buyers do not have to be angels with their credit, but they should have a good 12 months of good payments.
They are supposed to have 3% of the price in the deal at closing, and you can pay the closing costs.
Cool tip – the 3% can be gifted from their family or an acceptable non-profit organization. If you have someone that is good on the above, but wants to get in without the 3% investment give us a call, we have relationships with these non-profit organizations and can show you how to work with those buyers.
Craig Garcia is a Managing Member of Bridge Capital Lending, LLC. A mortgage and investment firm specializing in Investor Loans that Use Private Lenders that fund Hard Equity Loans. Craig can be reached at 877-8GO-GREEN or 954-217-9518. Gene Schroeder and Angelo D’Alessandro are the founders and owners of Bank On It! – A Real Estate Investment Firm that sells Investment Properties at Wholesale Prices. Gene and Angelo can be reached at 954-515-0030. The three have also formed a service to connect prospective borrowers to a network of Local Mortgage Brokers called 888-2Lend-Fast.
April 25, 2008
Want to get a hard equity loan on a property – keep your eye on the actives in the neighborhood and surrounding areas. Low actives will crush your value.
A lot of people looking for Hard Equity Loans on properties right now and getting frustrated. Some of them are justifying the property value using comparable sales, but ignoring the active listings in the neighborhood.
Not knowing the actives in a neighborhood is a huge mistake.
After they apply for a loan the lender or investor in the loan will drive a neighborhood, to find out how much they can buy a property for there now. If they can buy a property for less than what you need the value to be, count on getting a lower value and lower loan amount for you to work with.
You can really spin your wheels if you ignore the actives. If you can buy a similar property (similar in structure if not finishes) for 200K right now, what makes you think your property is worth 230K or will be in this market?
The listing on the property for $200K is what is being asked, and so if you wanted to buy that one, you can probably get it for less in this market. So what is the value?
Less than the $200K, not more. Even if your property is “superior” to that one, the lender/investor is not going to want to be the one to stick his neck out there at all right now…
In 2004 and 2005 sellers and realtors justified higher prices by saying “Well nothing is available for less than what this property is selling for, so it must be worth it.” And they were winning that fight often, even though nothing else had sold that high before. The increasing market gave comfort to the new highest value….”hey, if it’s not worth this much now, it soon will be….”
Now the worm has turned, and lenders and buyers are justifying lower prices because the market is declining. Hey even though nothing else has sold that low, “it soon will…” is the logic.
If you are needing to justify a higher value than the actives will support easiliy – get your ducks in a row and be prepared, or you aren’t going to get any love from private lenders. Have pictures, have your resume in order, let them know why you are going to be able to make this deal work. If you have experience, make sure you have it laid out for someone to recognize.
Private lenders are not interested in owning any more property right now….and do not want to take back a deal that an unprepared investor can’t finish. If you are ready and your ducks are in a row – the hunting is good right now – if you need some help give us a call.
Craig Garcia is a Managing Member of Bridge Capital Lending, LLC. A mortgage and investment firm specializing in Investor Loans that Use Private Lenders that fund Hard Equity Loans. Craig can be reached at 877-8GO-GREEN or 954-217-9518. Gene Schroeder and Angelo D’Alessandro are the founders and owners of Bank On It! – A Real Estate Investment Firm that sells Investment Properties at Wholesale Prices. Gene and Angelo can be reached at 954-515-0030. The three have also formed a service to connect prospective borrowers to a network of Local Mortgage Brokers called 888-2Lend-Fast.
March 14, 2008
Real estate investor activity has been picking up as of late. Just read a good article with some interesting perspective on real estate investing and the market history in South Florida.
The article written by CHRISTINA S.N. LEWIS of the THE WALL STREET JOURNAL says:
“Intrepid home shoppers are venturing back into some of the nation’s hardest-hit real-estate markets, convinced they can cherry-pick good deals amid broad price declines. “
Admission – I did actually have to look up the word intrepid – means – resolutely fearless. Anyhow- she goes on to say…
“Among bargain buyers are affluent baby boomers eager to get low interest rates on retirement homes, high-end shoppers who were waiting for prices to soften and serial investors determined not to miss the boat on perceived opportunity.”
She also makes an interesting observation about our market in particular – home prices are still 64% higher in Miami than they were in December of 2002.
Catch the entire article here:
Easy to forget with the madness of the past few years that real estate is a long term investment, and still remains one of the most accessible paths to wealth for most Americans. This time will be looked back upon as a great buying opportunity years from now. You may never have more power as a buyer than right now.
Craig Garcia is a Managing Member of Bridge Capital Lending, LLC. A mortgage and investment firm specializing in Investor Loans that Use Private Lenders. Craig can be reached at 877-8GO-GREEN or 954-217-9518. Gene Schroeder and Angelo D’Alessandro are the founders and owners of Bank On It! – A Real Estate Investment Firm that sells Investment Properties at Wholesale Prices. Gene and Angelo can be reached at 954-515-0030. The three have also formed a service to connect prospective borrowers to a network of Local Mortgage Brokers called 888-2Lend-Fast.
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