Hard Money Criteria

CRITERIA

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After reviewing the following criteria, please fill out our application or email questions to info@1stBridge.com

Our product is known as a hard money loan. If you need hard money immediately please take note of our criteria before applying as they are likely to be different from the requirements of other direct mortgage lenders.
We will not respond to applications and emails that are clearly outside our criteria.

We do NOT make residential mortgages. Only commercial.

What is your maximum LTV?

While we can finance 100% of acquisitions with additional collateral, the combined LTV cannot exceed 70%. In fact, if the additional collateral is already encumbered, the CLVT across the properties will be lower. For borrowers with poor credit, LTV will also be lower. Our guidelines are:

Group 4: For FICO scores in the 400s LTV will be 40%

Group 3:   For FICO scores in the 500s LTV will be 50%
Group 2:   For FICO scores in the 600s LTV will be 60%
Group 1:   For FICO scores in the 700s LTV will be 70%

Exception: For Group 1 only. If the as-is value of the property is clearly a lot higher than the purchase price we may lend up to 80% of the purchase price. However, the ratio of loan to as-is value cannot exceed 70%.

Do you consider after-repair value (ARV) in computing LTV?

No. We look at AS IS value or purchase price, whichever is lower. For example, if a property is worth $100,000 AS IS, we will lend up to $70,000 subject to the above guidelines. If during the first stage of the rehab the borrower invests an additional $100,000, we can lend an additional $70,000 at the end of that stage (assuming the value increases by more than $100,000 as a result of the rehab). This process will continue in the following stages until the rehab is complete. If the borrower's FICO scores are lower then the loan amount for acquisition and for each stage will be lower, based on the above guidelines.

What type of property is acceptable?

We do NOT make residential mortgages. The collateral for our commercial bridge loan has to be either an income-producing property or a property that is being renovated for resale. With rare exceptions (below), qualifying property types are ONLY office, retail, and multi-family buildings.

Do you offer loans for acquisition and development?

Yes. However, we define development as rehab, not ground-up construction.

What properties do you NOT lend on?

We do NOT lend on single family homes and apartments. We also DON'T lend on special-use properties, such as, hotels, motels, night clubs, storage facilities, dormitories, schools, single-room occupancies (SROs), houses of worship, truck stops, gas stations, car washes, industrial properties, mobile home parks, RV parks, rehabilitation facilities, retirement homes, hospitals, golf courses, warehouses, and land.

Exception: Warehouses and Land. We may consider lending on warehouses or land only if all of the following conditions exist:

The property is located between properties of the type we
lend on, and is zoned for that usage.

LTV is lower than 50%.

Credit is in the 700s.

The property is environmentally clean.

What is your lending area?

We lend only in New York and New Jersey, within a half-hour radius of New York City.

Do you make ONLY bridge loans?

Yes. Our loan terms are anywhere from one month to one year. We can provide extensions if necessary. We do not make long-term loans such as 5-, 10-, 20-, or 30-year loans. You can click here for our typical loan Scenarios.

Will you lend in second position?

Yes, but only if all of the following conditions exit:

	The first mortgage balance cannot exceed $500,000.
	There are no restrictive clauses in the first mortgage documents prohibiting payoff. We must be able to pay off the first mortgage in the event of default.
	The first mortgagee permits secondary financing.
	The first mortgagee is aware of us and willing to inform us of delinquency.
	CLTV cannot exceed 50%.
	The borrower has to be in Group 1 (700+ FICO).

Do you allow seller financing (second mortgage) behind your first mortgage?

Yes, but only if the borrower puts down at least 20% cash, and the seller takes back at least a 20% second mortgage. In other words, we would be at most at 60% LTV.

What are your loan sizes?

The range of our bridge loans is $50,000-$5,000,000.

Exceptions

We may make exceptions to these criteria if applications are submitted for loans of extremely low LTVs coupled with borrowers who have extremely high FICO scores.

Is there a limit to the broker's fee? How will I be protected?

We do not limit the broker’s fees. The broker needs to have a written commission agreement signed by the borrower. The broker needs to send the agreement to our attorney and then contact our attorney to ensure the receipt of the agreement. Our attorney will cut the commission check to the broker from the proceeds at the closing.

If your loan qualifies based on the above criteria please email pictures of the property inside and out, and pictures of the street scene to info@1stBridge.com, and fill out our secure online one-page application. Please call us to confirm our receipt of the pictures and the application at (201) 794-0018.