Achieving Success Through Hard Money Loans

Sometimes the “noise” of the day-to-day news cycle keeps us from seeing the bigger trends in life, and I think this truth applies to the financial world more directly than almost anywhere else.

For example, when the economy takes a downturn, it seems obvious when it finally occurs and in retrospect all the signs were there, but we get so absorbed in the minor ups and downs that we don’t take time to step back and look at the big picture.

One trend that I think few are reporting on is how people are beginning to take direct control of their personal finances and personal financial security. As one of Los Angeles’ premiere hard money lenders, I believe that the services we provide are playing a role in this “revolution.” I’ll go more deeply into hard money loans and hard money investing in a moment, but let me first give you a little background on this trend.

Protecting personal finances

It wasn’t very many years ago that individuals paid no attention to the security of their personal financial data. Now people take this very seriously. All kinds of services have sprung up that help people protect their personal information and financial accounts.

Consumers are making monthly payments to different service providers so they will be alerted to any unusual transactions on their credit cards or bank accounts. In the same way, you don’t have to go back very many years to find a time when people had no idea what their credit rating might be. By the way, as California hard money lenders, we are well aware of how a spurious credit rating can derail an individual’s plans to achieve financial security – especially when it comes to buying or refinancing Los Angeles real estate, Orange County real estate, or San Francisco area real estate.

Today however, millions of consumers use a variety of services to keep tabs on their credit ratings. This is very smart because it seems like these credit rating services are exerting more influence over our lives than ever before. Nonetheless, this wasn’t something that the average citizen ever dealt with not long ago.

Individual investing

You see this concerted effort to take personal control of one’s financial security in the investing world – and this begins to get closer to the role I see California hard money lenders playing in this evolution.

Maybe the earliest examples of this are the online do-it-yourself brokerage houses. These became big when the Internet started to find its way into almost every household in the United States. These companies, like eTrade, are established names now, but it wasn’t really that long ago when anyone who wanted to buy a stock or mutual fund had to go to a licensed broker to make the trade.

But the concept of taking personal responsibility for one’s investing didn’t stop with stocks and mutual funds. Today the average guy can even buy and sell the world’s currencies on an individual basis.

It seems like we’ve taken this huge shift for granted. Honestly, trading in world currencies used to be a game that only billionaires like George Soros could play. Now John and Jane Doe can get into this area of investing. The same is true with precious metals. Think back a decade ago: Did you know anyone who was heavily invested in gold? It’s commonplace now.

I think all of the examples I’ve cited here show that people are more willing and more able to take direct control of their financial futures, and that’s a good thing. They realize that many of the so-called professionals in some of these industries are often more interested in their own financial future than the financial futures of their clients. I need to add that at the same time, the rise of the Internet has made many of these alternative approaches to investing possible. It’s great to see how technology can be used to help us meet our needs and solve our problems.

Personal control and hard money loans

As hard money lenders in Los Angeles and California in general, I think we’ve been on the cutting edge of this movement for many years now. Many of the clients we serve – both borrowers and investors – are individuals who have decided that they refuse to put their financial security in the hands of others. They know what they need to achieve and how they can leverage California hard money loans to reach their goals. Let me give you some examples.

Above I mentioned California hard money loans in relation to credit scores along with buying and refinancing real estate. At Evoque Lending, many of our borrowers are good credit risks who – for one reason or another – discover that a low credit rating has become a barrier to obtaining a loan from a bank or other conventional lender. When the professional loan officers give them the bad news, many of our neighbors here in Southern California refuse to give up on their plans; they turn to a hard money lender in Los Angeles or nearby.

They realize that a shorter-term, interest-only California hard money loan will get them the funds they need to realize their real estate investment or purchase plans. This strategy can be extremely important and beneficial to both buyers who are looking for a home to be owner occupied as well as investors who have found an opportunity to expand their residential real estate portfolio.

I think one of the most important lessons in all the examples I’ve cited so far is this: There is no one in the world who cares more about your financial future than you do. And once you realize this, the next critical step is to act on this truth. That means you need to take responsibility for your future and explore all the tools you have at your disposal today to take control of it. This is where California hard money loans and investing in First Trust Deeds can play a major role.

By the way, if you’re among the many looking for an alternate way to get the funds you need for a real estate transaction, let me tell you that at Evoque Lending, we look beyond the number that represents your credit score. Throughout our more than 15 years in the hard money loan business, Los Angeles residents with credit score problems have come to us to find the solution. We have been able to quickly and efficiently get them the money they need and this often saves real estate transactions that they feared they would lose. In fact, many Los Angeles area real estate professionals turn to us for hard money loans to save threatened real estate purchases.

California hard money lending for investors

There is another side to how California hard money loans are playing a role in securing the personal financial futures of Golden State residents. As a Los Angeles area hard money lender, Evoque Lending is in the business of connecting good borrowers with individuals looking to invest in real estate notes.

Today, savvy investors refuse to blindly turn their portfolios over to money managers and they are also finding that the old “hands off” investment philosophy of just piling your money away in the same securities month after month and year after year just doesn’t work anymore. The big financial markets are so “global” today that it seems virtually impossible to make even a half-way decent guess as to which direction they will be going tomorrow.

For example, just when the U.S. economy starts to look good again, China takes a dive. Next, who knows if the Euro has actually been “saved” or if we’re just whistling in the dark until the next round of required bailouts. In other words, back when the ups and downs of U.S. securities were mostly tied to our own economy, we felt like we could get a good idea how the markets would behave. Now that the economy is so globally interconnected, there are just too many variables for even the best experts or the most powerful computers to consider and make accurate predictions.

However, when investing in hard money loans, individuals can get the knowledge and control they need. They know:

– Exactly what piece of real estate they are lending money on and its value,

– Exactly who the borrowers are,

– Exactly what their rate of return will be, and

– Exactly what measures are in place to help secure the safety of their investment.

Let me go into these three points in a little more detail because they are critical to understanding how we facilitate California hard money loans at Evoque Lending.

Hard money loan basics

Before any investor decides to underwrite a hard money loan on Los Angeles real estate or any piece of property throughout California, the professionals at Evoque Lending do all the hard work vetting the borrower and evaluating the property. Our investors always make the final decision on the hard money loans they decide to fund. We understand how critical it is to give our investors the best, most accurate information so they can make a sound, informed decision. I think our 15-plus years in this business is strong testimony to our experience and ability to give our investors the information they require.

Of course, part of this is being able to assure investors that borrowers are going to make their payments throughout the life of their hard money loans. There are two important elements that give investors the assurance they need:

– Evoque Lending vets potential borrowers to be certain that they have the means to meet their monthly obligations as well as the character to do so, and

– Evoque Lending requires California hard money loan borrowers to have some 40 equity in their properties – this serves as “protective equity” for the investors.

The theme of this article has been how individuals today are taking more direct roles in guiding their financial futures and a major part of that has been prompted by a desire to get back some security that seems to have been lost in recent years. We understand this at Evoque Lending and that’s why we have developed such a strong system to help insure the security of the California hard money loans that we facilitate.

Taking control of your future

Whether you’re approaching the subject of hard money lending in California from the side of the borrower or the investor, I think you’ll discover that First Trust Deeds via hard money loans can help you regain control over your financial future.

For the borrower, gaining that first owner-occupied home, or that next piece of residential real estate, is a huge step to adding to your overall wealth. Anyone who is even half way familiar with California real estate knows that it has made more people wealthy than virtually any other investment path.

And for investors, it’s important to note that when you underwrite a California hard money loan today, you can generally expect a double-digit return on your money. I mentioned the uncertainty of global financial markets above; is there any stock or mutual fund that you can buy today that can boast a double-digit return over the next few years?

Finally, I think it’s a very positive sign that individuals are taking more direct control of their finances and investing today, and I’m proud that Evoque Lending, through our program of California hard money lending, can be a part of that movement.

I’m sure that many of you probably have additional questions, whether you’re a potential borrower or a potential investor, and I would be honored to answer them. Give me a call or drop me a quick email and let me help you move forward to meet your goals.