Write about your interactions with a lender from this site
Added on April 20th, 2016
If you have had interaction with a lender on this site, share it in a blog post here as it will be valuable info for other members of this site. - See more at: http://lendpost.com/blog/view/68
Featured Lender on LendPost - Steven Ceceri
Added on February 19th, 2015
Remember, you should consider your Business Relationships as an "Investment" and not just something that passes the time.
Trust But Verify Your Potential Business Relationships
I wanted to just quickly make a suggestion that works for me and that is to "Trust but Verify Your Potential Business Relationships"! As we all know, anyone can have an Email Address, Website, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter Account, but that certainly doesn't tell us all we need or want to know about a person. Going back and forth on emails can definitely help separate who you may want to work with as the way an email is composed and the information provided in the email can certainly help you determine if the person you may want to work with really meets or exceeds your expectations. If they are not meeting or exceeding those expectations, it is a good idea to immediately decide if progressing any further is worth your time or effort!
Moving ahead, the relationship should shift to a phone call, video conference, and/or the best of all, a direct in-person meeting, whenever the situation warrants! Having all of these elements in place will give you just about everything you need in order to figure out who the person is that you are looking to establish a working relationship with, and if that person(s) didn't really meet your overall expectations, you can then end the relationship(s) before any additional time and energy is invested!
Remember, you should consider your Business Relationships as an "Investment" and not just something that passes the time. This investment should be calculated to include all of the time you spent searching for someone to work with, as well as the time spent on emails, phone calls, and meetings, etc. There must be a value created, which should be a mutual benefit to both parties, which is the foundation for any lasting relationship to be created.
Lastly, you should never "judge a book by its cover" and due to the fact that there is so much public information available about most of us, be sure to give the person you are interested in working with the benefit of the doubt and then proceed forward the same way as I suggested for any potential business relationship, and that is with the "Trust But Verify" approach!
I wish you all the very best of luck moving forward with your relationship building process!
Yours Truly,
Steven V. Ceceri
Commercial Finance Consultant
Creative Financing Options Group
P.O. Box 3723 ~ Westport, MA 02790
Contact Numbers: Direct - (774) 264-8411~ Cell - (401) 419-1781 ~ Fax: (877) 234-1394
SKYPE ID: StevenCeceri
Email: Steven@CreativeFinancingOptionsGroup.com
Company Website: http://www.CreativeFinancingOptionsGroup.com
Mortgage News Daily Website: http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/members/Ceceri/default.aspx
Lender411 Profile Page: http://www.lender411.com/id/CreativeFinancingOptionsGroup/
LinkedIn Page: http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenceceri
Facebook Page: http://www.Facebook.com/ceceri
Twitter Page: http://twitter.com/StevenCeceri
MEMBER of the American Association of Private Lenders (AAPL)
The Most Important Factors For Investing In Real Estate
Added on November 22nd, 2014
By Shobhit Seth
Compared with other types of investments, real estate investing involves a relatively favorable risk/reward profile, but with relatively low liquidity (ease of entry and exit). Let's see some of the most important factors to be considered for investing in real estate.
I. Location of the Property
Why is it important? The age old punch line "Location, Location, Location" still rules and remains the most important factor for profitability in real estate investment. Proximity to amenities, peaceful conforming areas, neighborhood status, scenic views, etc. are major factors for residential property valuations; while proximity to markets, warehouses, transport hubs, freeways, tax-exempt areas, etc. play an important role for commercial property valuations...
Read complete article http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/110614/most-important-factors-investing-real-estate.asp
Real Estate Investing: Single Family Houses Versus Multifamily Rentals. Which is better?
Added on October 12th, 2014
By Jerry Chautin
In my opinion, comparing the investment benefits derived from buying scattered single family homes and condominium units, versus multifamily rental properties is a no brainier. Purchasing single rental units is not the better option.
2014-10-12-Houseforsale.jpgSure, learning how to become a rental house investor is easier to grasp than owning multifamily income producing properties. And, in most instances, buying multifamily real estate requires deeper pockets.
But if you've been a homeowner, or even rented a house or condominium unit to live in, it's no sweat learning how to buy and rent out few. But perfecting your real estate management skills, controlling operating expenses and constantly squeezing out profits is much more difficult for the neophyte.
For the purpose of our discussion, let's compare buying single-family rental houses to purchasing a small2014-10-12-Fourplex.jpg apartment property with four units...
Click here to read the complete article http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jerry-chautin/real-estate-investing-sin_b_5970682.html
Move Over, Kickstarter: Real Estate Equity Crowdfunding Is Catching On With Investors
Added on September 13th, 2014
By Vanessa Grout
In the high-flying world of commercial property investments, $1.5 million is a rounding error. So most investors probably didn’t pay much attention when, in late July, the owners of the Hard Rock Hotel Palm Springs said they had sold a 15 percent stake for that sum to a group of 85 people.
The deal was noteworthy, though not because of the amount of money changing hands. What was significant was the means by which the cash was raised: crowdfunding.
Yes, that’s right: the same online technique used to support the early production of video games and tech gadgets. The most popular crowdfunding site, Kickstarter, has helped fund the production of everything from bacon-shaped jewelry to Oculus Rift, the virtual-reality headset.
Oculus raised money on Kickstarter in September 2012 and was purchased this year by Facebook for 2 billion...
Click here to read the complete article.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/vanessagrout/2014/09/10/move-over-kickstarter-real-estate-equity-crowdfunding-is-catching-on-with-investors/
Crowdfund Your Next Real Estate Deal
Added on September 13th, 2014
How to Get Your Own Piece of a Million-Dollar Real Estate Deal
By Paul Benson
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2014
Since the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or JOBS Act, was created in 2012, crowdfunding has been picking up steam. But what exactly is crowdfunding?
By definition, it is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet.
Most successful projects receive about 25 to 40% of their revenue from their first, second, and third degree connections. These are friends, family members, work acquaintances, or anyone related to the owner of the business.
But because anyone can contribute any amount of money to a project or venture through crowdfunding, a compelling message must be created so as to draw a large audience.
Now, there is a misconception that crowdfunding is just useful for small businesses and start-ups. After all, it's extremely popular where smaller investments are required.
However, crowdfunding is also booming in the real estate industry...
Click here to read the complete article.
http://www.wealthdaily.com/articles/crowdfund-your-next-real-estate-deal/5325
Crowdfunding changing real estate financing for operators and investors
Added on July 6th, 2014
By Scott Lichtman
iFunding
Two years ago, U.S. Congress passed the JOBS (Jumpstart our Businesses) Act, which empowered smaller companies to raise financing more easily.
The law also opened the gates for long-term expansion in the real estate investor base, through crowdfunding.
Crowdfunding uses secure websites to list a variety of real estate projects seeking financing, to match those needs with investors individually contributing thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and to manage the legal setup, promotion, transactions and reporting.
Assuming real estate crowdfunding follows the path of ‘crowd’, or peer-to-peer, consumer lending — where companies such as Lending Club and Prosper have facilitated over $4 billion in debt financing, and hedge funds are putting money to work on these platforms — then crowdfunding will transform our industry as well. Let’s examine why investors see crowdfunding as a unique way to participate in real estate; how developers, operators and financiers can get involved; and what the future may bring.
Compared with other types of real estate investing, crowdfunding can be easier for the average investor to become comfortable.
In contrast, publicly traded REITs may be more liquid, but the portfolio holdings are not very transparent. REIT market valuations can fluctuate rapidly according to changes in the economic environment, which many investors find hard to understand.
By contrast, the same investors feel they can estimate the fundamentals of a property’s value, especially residences with comps, when it comes to investing in a specific property, as one does through crowdfunding.
Next, when considering being a limited partner on a closely held project, investors with discretionary wealth often respond that they neither have the funds necessary to become a sought-after deal participant to project sponsors, nor do they have a means of screening promoters.
Contrast this to crowdfunding, where investments in a project can be as little as $5,000 or lower, every listed deal is accessible to all registered website users (some sites only work with accredited investors), and promoters are pre-screened...
Read more at:
Is Real Estate Crowdfunding Right for Me?
Added on May 18th, 2014
By NerdWallet.
Want to invest in an income producing, multi-family property in Indianapolis? How about helping fund a brand new shopping center in California? Thanks to real estate crowdfunding, ordinary investors may now be able to invest in real estate projects that were once available only to deep-pocketed real estate developers.
As with any investment, real estate crowdfunding presents some risks. Therefore, potential investors are wise to perform their own due diligence before making any decisions.
What is real estate crowdfunding?
Most people have heard about crowdfunding through Kickstarter, an online platform that allows the public to fund projects such as movies, new products or trips. In the past, crowdfunding was donation-based. But when Congress passed the JOBS Act, lawmakers legalized equity crowdfunding, which gives investors a small ownership stake in the projects they fund...
Read more: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/is-real-estate-crowdfunding-right-for-me-cm352224#ixzz3271PnKyN
The Mortgage Professor: Some closing documents can be set aside for later
Added on May 18th, 2014
By JACK GUTTENTAG.
The Mortgage Professor.
The best way for mortgage borrowers to prepare themselves for the deluge of documents they will face at the closing table is to sort all the documents into different categories that require different treatment. The first column of this series focused on junk documents, which borrowers can sign quickly and put aside without fear or guilt. That cuts the document pile roughly in half. This column discusses educational documents, which can be read at any time, and future use documents, which you may need in the future but now need only to be filed in a conveniently accessible place.
EDUCATIONAL DOCUMENTS: Certain documents contain information that borrowers should know well in advance of closing, and ideally before starting the mortgage process.
_Borrower's closing affidavit: This document requires the borrower to acknowledge in writing some critical pieces of information upon which the lender depended in approving and pricing the loan. This includes the borrower's intentions regarding occupancy of the property, the financial and employment information included in the application, and the condition of the property. Borrowers must declare that they have not taken on any new debt since they applied, their employment status has not changed, and all issues connected to the purchase transaction have been resolved...
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/05/08/6388584/the-mortgage-professor-some-closing.html#storylink=cpy
Crowdfunding's Next Hot Frontier: Real Estate
Added on April 7th, 2014
BY CATHERINE CLIFFORD
Crowdfunding has fundamentally disrupted the way that artists fund their creative projects and startups get capital to grow. Now, it's changing the way buildings are purchased.
Investors are eagerly backing a variety of new real-estate crowdfunding platforms, all of which aim to bring greater transparency, efficiency and access to the industry. Last week, Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Realty Mogul announced a $9 million funding round led by Canaan Partners, the same venture capital firm that has invested in peer-to-peer lending platform Lending Club and dating site Match.com. In the same week, Palo Alto, Calif.-based RealCrowd said it secured $1.6 million in a seed round from investors at Y Combinator, the Data Collective and a mix of real-estate developers. And two weeks ago, Atlanta-based Groundfloor announced it raised $300,000 from American Underground, Bandwidth Labs and a couple of angel investors in the region.
For the real estate market, Internet-based transactions represent a huge innovation. Historically, for a real-estate deal to close, lawyers would have to FedEx documents back and forth, says David Drake, chairman of VictoriaGlobal.co, a communications platform specializing in institutional investing and crowdfinancing. Not only is that slow, but it can also add up to tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees. Crowdfunding online side steps all of that, Drake says...
Read more