Verifying Private Lender Credentials

[William Wynn]

How can a real estate investor verify information given to him by a private lender from this site, especially those asking for loan fees or insurance premiums upfront. 

[Jarrett Lovick]

Hello William,

The best way to vet a potential lender is to verify their company history with the Secretary of State in the state which they are located. See how long they have been in business and if they have had any recent name changes, also check to see if you can find any civil cases in that state involving the company, and if so, what were the outcomes. This is all public information which you can find for free if you simply take the time. As far as this site, 90% of the "lenders" here are brokers or consultants, 8% are outright scammers, and maybe 2% are the real deal. Anyone offering "100%" financing is full of $h!t, avoid them like the plague!

[Dr Daniel Zeukeng]

Thank you Jarrett,

You are completely right.

[Admin]

Jarrett,

As much as I respect your opinion, it is not correct. Much more than 2% on this site are the real deal. Are there many scammers and low level brokers pretending to have funds, yes, but I can personally name more than 30 direct, proven lenders using this website. Lenders that close real estate deals. I would say the biggest problem is brokers claiming to have funds or be "direct to the source". I have deleted over 300 fake lenders and foreign country posers in the last few months. This site, although there are still fakes, has a much higher percentage than other funding websites.

[Jarrett Lovick]

Admin,

2% was a ballpark estimate and we can spend all day splitting hairs on that. I respect your opinion as well and have made valuable connections on your site(for which I am grateful), the fact remains I read post after post promising fairy tale rates and terms and brokers pretending to be direct funding sources sullying the field!  Then you have everyone quoting the statement of "no up front fees" and when the prospective client receives the LOI with due-diligence costs outlined, they believe that they are being swindled! Most borrowers don't understand the difference between legitimate loan costs and abrasive loan "fees" so it is our job as brokers and consultants to not confuse our clients, but to educate them.

[Dr Daniel Zeukeng]

Thank you very much Jarrett for this clarification. In general they specify, no Up front fees and one morning you receive a note telling you "you have to send this amount of money for Due diligence fees, underwritten fees etc...." I'm not expert on loan, but I thrust people, and like to work with professional. I just finished discussing this afternoon with another broker, who told me that the lender that signed a funding agreement and JV agreement with is a scammer because he asked me to deposit $200,000 in the escrow account. But at the same time he asked to provide $174,000 for insurance. While the same time he say his lender doesn't charge any up front fees but asked $174,000 for insurance before knowing the interest rate of the loan. It's that professional? I'm asking all brokers of this forum. I'm not a broker, but I need him to close a deal. At the end I think they need to be professional and tell the truth. Thank you     

[Jarrett Lovick]

Daniel,

I would need more information on this deal in order to give you an educated answer, that being said, insurance and expense deposits are not uncommon but I would recommend using an escrow account which you have selected and have some control over. As far as charging these fees without even quoting a rate, I would venture to say that your broker's 'funding source" is actually a broker themselves and is still trying to place the deal.

If you would like me to take a look at this file and see if I can help, please forward more info to my email:

[e-mail]

[Dr Daniel Zeukeng]

Ok Jarrett, I will send more info tomorrow as I'm still at work

Thank you again

Daniel  

[Admin]

Most brokers do not know the difference between upfront fees that go into a fake lender's pockets, and upfront fees to pay for necessary third party expenses that are vital in completing a commercial real estate transaction. Appraisal, environmental, title, legal, these are all fees that the borrow must pay and should have to pay for. It is frustrating to be in my place and see all these brokers, most of whom have NEVER even completed one single funding, sit and complain about upfront fees or costs when I personally am a former lender who was backed by my own investors (several years ago) and I absolutely 100% of the time made my borrowers pay for these after the LOI was issued and signed by me.

As far as fakes, yes they are on this site, but a much lower percentage than on LinkedIn or on any of the other funding websites that I have seen, and I have seen many. I delete people all the time. More than that, on this site you have to "apply" or request to join. I get 12 to 15 requests to join this site on an average day. I approve 2 or 3 of them. Do I make mistakes? Absolutely, but I make far fewer than other funding site owners. I also have a high pressure 50 hour a week job so I cannot spend all day verifying credentials. This site is profitable, yes, but not nearly enough to justify the thorough verification needed to be 100% or even 90% accurate.

If you see a fake lender or a misrepresenting broker, just copy/paste the URL to their profile page and let me know how they are fake. They will be checked out and likely deleted.

ADMIN

[Jarrett Lovick]

Admin,

You are preaching to the choir(as you know from my previous posts). I understand your frustration and appreciate your hard work in maintaining this site. Because of this, I will do my part as a member and make sure to investigate and report any undesirables whom I come across. And Happy New Year by the way!

[billgow]

Real lenders do not ask for fees up front.

[Admin]

Wrong! Real, direct lenders ask for money 100% of the time. This obviously means that you have never brokered or completed a real estate transaction in your life. Who is going to pay for title, appraisal, or legal fees for loan processing? Think about the business you are in and whether or not you are the right fit for it? Before you make a rude comment, take a close look at who made this reply to your comment billgow. It is so annoying for me sitting here and watching hundreds of low-level brokers who know nothing about the business complain and state things like "real lenders don't charge upfront fees".

[billgow]

Fees are not the same as costs. Sure a lender will collect whatever is necessary for 3rd party reports but no legitimate lender will ask for any part of their fee up front except con artists. I personally gave testimony to eliminate one of the most notorious outfits in the country, Remington Financial, for collecting huge fees and never closing a loan. If I could get rid of Kennedy as easily, I would.

Real lenders do not charge up front FEES !!!

Bill Gow
uscommercialcorp.com
[e-mail]