Mortgage & Commercial Lending News.

The US economy is facing complicated macroeconomic forces. Amid the highest inflation levels seen in the past 45 years, on June 15, 2022, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 75 basis points (bps) after years of holding interest rates low and steady. This decision will increase the Fed’s benchmark federal-funds rate to a range between 1.5% and 1.75%. Most economists believe the Fed intends to raise interest rates by at least 75 bps in July and 75 bps in September. These increases will lead to the highest interest rates we’ve seen in many years. Therefore, home mortgage rates have seen increases and are due to continue to rise during the second semester of 2022.

At AMI Lenders, we want our customers to succeed and take advantage of the financial opportunities provided by real estate investments. We strive to communicate the multiple facets of real estate investing through our blogs. For example, how investing in real estate can be carried out, how hard money loans can assist investors or homeowners achieve their financial goals, and why we consider it to be an essential investment tool available to men and women interested in getting ahead financially. In this article, we would like to highlight -for first-time investors as well experienced investors- some benefits of investing in real estate property.

At least for a decade now, a thought movement goes by the acronym FIRE, which means "Financial Independence, Retire Early." One of its most famous exponents, Mr. Money Moustache, writes a lively, witty, iconoclastic, and interesting blog http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/on living frugally off passive income while enjoying life and protecting the planet. (www.mrmoneymustache.com)

A lot has been written lately about the future of mortgage rates and housing prices. Let's look at some data and figure out what it means for Real Estate Investors in Houston, particularly Fix and Flip or rental property investments.

Mortgage rates are increasing

Earlier in 2022, some industry experts put forth their forecasts as to the future of mortgage rates:

• Mortgage Bankers Association forecasted the average 30-year fixed to climb up to 4% by year's end.
• Fannie Mae predicted a 3.3% mortgage rate by the end of 2022.

After you have gone through all the trouble of finding, purchasing, and rehabbing a property, the last step is to try to sell it fast and for a profit. Most people think, incorrectly, that very little planning goes into selling a property. Here are some recommendations to help you sell your fixed and flipped property:

We present to you the third of a series of articles about Fix and Flip ("F&F") as a real estate investment strategy. In the first article, we offered our readers some pointers on finding an Fix and Flip property at a discount. This was followed by an article on what to do to get financing fast before someone else does. In this one, we will develop some ideas on how to proceed carefully with repairs.

We recently published an article explaining in less than 1,000 words "how to find a property at a discount". Given the interest expressed by our readers, in this article, we expand on the topic of how to be ready to finance a Fix & Flip property fast.

It is not the same to evaluate financing unimproved versus improved properties, short term vs long term loans or the level of risk 

the borrower represents.

To put it simply, financing real estate projects varies significantly from one borrower to another, AND from one type of property to another.  

To make sure we are on the same page: in Hard Money Lender's terminology, an unimproved property means the property does not have a structure on it: for example,

• a vacant lot or vacant acreage is an unimproved property. An improved property means the property has a structure on it (regardless of its condition).
• In the residential arena, an improved property can be a single-family dwelling, a duplex, or an apartment complex.
• If it's a commercial property, an example would be an office building, a shopping center, a warehouse, or a data center.
  

Mr. Marvy Finger, an 86-year-old Houston based real estate investor, was featured this month in Forbes magazine[1] in a fascinating article about the future of rental properties.
Turns out that Marvy Finger recently sold 2 billion dollars worth of rental properties to real estate investor Greystar. Yes, you read it right: 2 billion dollars (worth exactly two thousand million dollars, and that's just half of what Marvy Finger owned before the trade). The article's central theme is that Marvy Finger thinks rents must come down, in short to midterm, from what he thinks are unsustainable levels. In contrast, Gresytar believes that rents will keep increasing, and it's a good time to invest in rental properties.

Most of us like surprises, when and if they are pleasant surprises. However, the past few weeks surprised the world in a very unpleasant way. The appalling reappearance of war in Eastern Europe. When we look back to the end of last year, we wish world leaders and diplomats had been more determined or forceful to find a solution that would have helped prevent this absurd war. We would have expected things to be different in Eastern Europe and continued to enjoy peace, however fragile. Our deepest desire today is to end the war in Ukraine and return to peace. After witnessing the ravages of war all over our media channels, our hearts go out to all those currently suffering in Ukraine.