Investors tell us continually that finding financing for Commercial projects such as Apartment Buildings, Mobile Home Parks in today’s market is challenging. “Finding the money to buy , build or refinance property” is an investor’s #1 challenge. The money hurdle keeps investors from making bigger profits and prevents one from amassing a fortune in real estate.
The good news: The money is still there. It is simply harder and more time-consuming for one to find appropriate financing today than before.
The recent financial upheaval has wiped out financial banks and institutions by the dozen. Institutions including Countrywide, Wachovia, Washington Mutual, Lehman Brothers, World Savings, Indymac Bank, IMPAC, EverBank, LaSalle Bank and Column Financial have either stopped lending or scaled their lending operations dramatically back. These financial conduits have been a major source of commercial financing for a very long time. Everyone had come to depend upon the services these money-people were able to provide. For the would-be investor knowing where to “find the money” would seem to be critically important. The good news is commercial financing is still available if you know where to look.
Clients may be broken down into two groups, Group A and Group B. Group A displays an almost intuitive understanding of the role Mortgage Brokers play in assisting in the building of their real estate portfolios.
Group B is property oriented. Totally Property Oriented. By not focusing on financing first, this type of investor plays a dangerous game.
The Group A type of Investor upon first considering a property, will pick up the telephone and call his Mortgage Broker (hopefully, one with whom the investor has developed a long-term association built upon trust and confidence). Why would the investor waste time calling his Broker? Maybe the investor is lonely and would like to speak with someone?
Or maybe the investor makes the call because the investor needs to know what the cost of money is. The investor may readily view and understand the condition, location and attributes of any property in question. But what about the cost and terms of the money one will need?
Not only will the Broker understand whether the property will Debt-Service, but also, where the surviving lenders are. A good Broker should be able to advise what type of financing is available, the amount of down-payment necessary, where the funds will come from, the cost of the funds and what the ROI (return on investment) the investor may expect.
The challenge for you as an investor is to be ready and prepared for the investment property when the situation materializes. If you are from the Group B Investor School, you would call this luck. If one is in Group A, one believes the marriage of good investment property with good financing is planning and preparation.
As an investor, please Think Money First. Factor in the cost of an investment property with the cost of money. Develop a strong-on-going Professional association with a Broker. By taking these small steps investors may put themselves in position to accomplish the following:
1. You, the investor, will become more aggressive in searching for investment properties.
2. You, the investor, are now more confident. This confidence leads to bigger deals, more profit.
3. A confident investor seeks properties yielding greater returns.
4. Financing Power breeds confidence.
5. Sleep at night, take naps during the day. Why Not? One’s good financing is doing all of the work.
Capital Line is an independently licensed, Capital Line Commercial Funding Group, provides a diverse online innovative Commercial Lending platform backed by a staff of seasoned, experienced professionals, enabling Capital Line to provide a one-stop financing solution for Commercial property financing and apartment loans.
