Loan Structure
A hard money loan is a species of real estate loan collateralized against the quick-sale value of the property for which the loan is made. Most lenders fund in the first lien position, meaning that in the event of a default, they are the first creditor to receive remuneration. Occasionally, a lender will subordinate to another first lien position loan; this loan is known as a mezzanine loan, a second lien or a junior lien.
Hard money lenders structure loans based on a percentage of the quick-sale value of the subject property. This is called the loan-to-value or LTV ratio and typically hovers between 60 and 70% of the market value of the property. For the purpose of determining an LTV, the word "value" is defined as "today's purchase price." This is the amount a lender could reasonably expect to realize from the sale of the property in the event that the loan defaults and the property must be sold in a one- to four-month timeframe. This value differs from a market value appraisal, which assumes an arms-length transaction in which neither buyer nor seller is acting under duress.
Below is an example of how a commercial real estate purchase might be structured by a hard money lender:
65% Hard money (Conforming loan)
20% Borrower equity (cash or additional collateralized real estate)
15% Seller carryback loan or other subordinated (mezzanine) loan
Read more about this topic: Hard Money Loan
Famous quotes containing the words loan and/or structure:
“Slight was the thing I bought,
Small was the debt I thought,
Poor was the loan at best—
God! but the interest!”
—Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872–1906)
“Each structure and institution here was so primitive that you could at once refer it to its source; but our buildings commonly suggest neither their origin nor their purpose.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)