A Tale of Arizona Land Deals - Level 4 Funding Private Hard Money

Sometimes I think I ought to just quit the real estate field altogether, Tom Biggers thought as he arrived home after what should have been a really good day closing on his Arizona Land Loan. He wondered idly if the job his cousin had offered him in wholesale office supplies was still available.

He poured a straight shot of bourbon and sat down in his favorite chair. Should he have seen this coming although no one mentioned it? After going to three banks and two mortgage companies, he had found a private lender, who said, “We can do this—my company handles land deals. Our application is online, so you can fill it out at home. You need to do—“

That night he had looked over the rather lengthy list of expenses that he needed to figure in to meet funding needs. They included attorney’s fees, insurance, appraisal(s), title search, bond fees and surveyor’s costs. The property already had its utilities set up and they had been done in the past year.

This made things easier, his lender had explained, utilities counted toward development. Raw land—nothing on it except trees and grass –was more difficult to get money for and the loan terms were stricter, too. Property with some development in place was easier to acquire funding for and repayments terms were easier. If he had had plans showing future development, he would have had still better terms, his then-Arizona Land Loan would have been deemed a Arizona Construction Loan and even quicker to obtain under most circumstances.

Everything had gone smoothly—his credit score was only a few points above minimum, but it met basics. A deed for a small office building he owned in the better part of town was accepted as collateral. When the down payment was listed under 40 percent of the loan value, he made sure the money was available, despite it having punctured his savings account.

Signed loan papers in hand, Tom had driven over to the property owner’s office to inform him that he had the money needed to make the purchase. “Well, Mr. Biggers, I can see that you really want the property,” Richard Halleck said. “But I had my appraisers in yesterday—you know how real estate values are, up and down all the time. The property values in the area have jumped 10 percent in the last week. I’ve got another buyer who has got the money I’m now asking for. But I’m going to give you a week to come up with it since I talked with you first. You be in here by Friday and we got a deal.”

He suddenly remembered the folder for bridge loans in the information parcel his lender had given him. I’ve already got most of the money, he thought, why shouldn’t I get the rest of it from these people? The banks were not an alternative, he was certain.

Thursday afternoon Tom found himself signing the papers for a small commercial bridge loan that combined with his original Arizona Land Loan gave him the total Halleck wanted. Better still, while walking over his new property late Friday afternoon, two different passersby stopped and inquired about using it as an advertising lot since it was hillside land with a good view. Things were good, he thought, he had his property and he had lending contacts for use in the future.

Dennis Dahlberg
Broker/RI/CEO/MLO
Level 4 Funding LLC
Hard Money Lender
Hard Money Loans
Hard Money Loan
Arizona Tel: (623) 582-4444
Texas Tel: (512) 516-1177
Dennis
Dennis Dahlberg Broker/RI/CEO

About the Author: Dennis has been working in the real estate industry in some capacity for the last 40 years. He purchased his first property when he was just 18 years old. He quickly learned about the amazing investment opportunities provided by trust deed investing and hard money loans. His desire to help others make money in real estate investing led him to specialize in alternative funding for real estate investors who may have trouble getting a traditional bank loan. Dennis is passionate about alternative funding sources and sharing his knowledge with others to help make their dreams come true. Dennis has been married to his wonderful wife for 43 years. They have 2 beautiful daughters 5 amazing grandchildren. Dennis has been an Arizona resident for the past 40 years.