Mortgage & Commercial Lending News.

Let us suppose that you are interested in getting a mortgage loan from us, so you call us to ask about our mortgage rates and loan terms. To make sure that we give you the correct answer, we need to know whether your potential application will be ranked "good," "fair," or "poor." One of the elements in your evaluation is pulling your credit report.

Many of our customers worry that pulling their credit reports will hurt their credit scores. So here we explain what happens to your credit score and suggest to you some tips you might want to follow when shopping for a mortgage loan. You might also want to read what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a US government agency, has to say about this subject on their website: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-exactly-happens-when-a-mortgage-lender-checks-my-credit-en-2005/ .

We had the nicest phone call a few weeks ago, and it made our day. A client who had just paid off his mortgage, after many years of having a loan with us, called to express his appreciation for the trust we placed on him (and the loan we gave him back then) and the excellent service we provided after having struggled, unsuccessfully, for years to get a mortgage for his Church. 

It just goes to prove once more what a friend once told us: that AMI Lenders is in the “hope business.” We give hope to borrowers that feel they have no hope. Another way to say it is: “here at AMI Lenders, we offer non-traditional alternative loan products.” Many of our clients cannot qualify for a bank loan or a loan from a traditional mortgage company. We not only help people, but we also go out of our way to be helpful. You would be surprised to know how much advice we provide to our applicants. 

Whether you're a first-time buyer with no experience in real estate transactions, no experience obtaining a mortgage to purchase a property, or you are an expert looking into buying in a hot market; you'll want to know all about the Appraisal Gap. 

Most think of "hard money lenders" as risk-takers, loan sharks, high-interest-rate lenders, lenders that require no documentation, and/or lenders who lend only to individuals with bad credit.

With how trending Flip and Fix investments have become, it is no surprise more people want to get in on the opportunity. To get a loan for such investments, one needs to have the eligible FICO score. Many potential investors do not understand just how the FICO score works, how it is obtained, and how it can affect their ability to get a loan. Therefore, AMI Lenders has put all the information you need to know about FICO scores in this blog. 

If you ever wondered what the difference is between the APY and the APR, here's all you need to know:

As Fix and Flip investments gain popularity, they can help experienced Fix and Flippers make a substantial profit. In the past four years, the average gross flipping profit for investors has been between $60,000 and $70,000. However, if you don't do it properly, it's also possible to end up with a loss instead. As the name suggests, these properties need to be "fixed" before they are sold again. Fixing most commonly refers to repair work. It may be tempting to repair a few things in the house here and there and resell them. However, we also recommend following the advice from a professional home inspector for the highest profit. 

Real estate investors often prefer hard money lenders instead of large financial institutions such as banks for obtaining their loans. The primary reasons for this are a)private money lenders process loans much faster, which is ideal if someone requires a loan quickly to beat a competitive bid, and b) Hard Money Lenders have more flexibility than banks. Also, hard money lenders have less stringent requirements and background checks.

Some people assumed that the pandemic would stop the real estate market in its tracks, but if anything, the complete opposite is true. Whether you're a realtor or interested in investment properties, business is booming and will likely continue the upswing well into 2021. 

Houston is one of the hottest housing markets in the United States, and If you live here, you're not going to want to miss out on the current boom. Plenty of flippers and other types of investors are looking for a way to secure their next property, but some are coming up short on funds or not getting funded fast enough. 

Do you get starry-eyed watching fix and flip shows?