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Lenders To Avoid – Business Loan And Commercial Mortgage

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I have published many articles which are designed to assist commercial borrowers in avoiding commercial loan problems. One of the most serious commercial mortgage business loan situations is a commercial lender that causes problems for their commercial borrowers on a recurring basis. It is particularly this type of commercial lender which prudent commercial borrowers should be prepared to avoid unless viable alternative business financing options do not realistically exist.

As a direct result of my commercial loan experiences advising business owners for over 25 years and regular conversations with other business financing professionals, I do in fact believe that there are a number of commercial lenders that should be avoided. This conclusion is based on a recurring pattern of lending abuses by some business lenders.

This article will not name specific lenders to avoid, but specific examples will be provided to show why informed commercial borrowers should be ready to avoid a variety of business lenders in their search for viable commercial loan solutions. This business financing strategy article will illustrate the significant benefits of avoiding “problem lenders”.

Meaningless Pre-approvals for a Commercial Mortgage Business Loan

An early commercial mortgage pre-approval is often sought by commercial borrowers. The expected advantage to this initial commercial loan approval is that the business borrower can make other business arrangements which are based on the business financing being completed.

An ethical commercial lender will treat any form of business financing approval very seriously. Commercial borrowers should expect that a meaningful version of such an approval will not be realistically possible in just two or three days.

However, there are lenders who prepare a misleading and questionable version of a pre-approval shortly after receiving minimal application data. Because this approach often produces surprises for the borrower as the commercial mortgage process moves forward, borrowers should be wary of any lenders that do this.

Why do some commercial lenders provide such meaningless pre-approvals for a commercial mortgage? There are two likely reasons. (1) To motivate the commercial borrower to stop considering other potential commercial lenders. (2) To provide a business loan pre-approval that is similar to a structure prevalent with residential loans.

Because many commercial loan situations are facilitated by residential mortgage brokers who are typically unfamiliar with normal business financing requirements, this reason will be especially relevant with business lenders that primarily work with residential mortgage brokerage firms. Such a lender should be avoided for most commercial mortgage circumstances.

Commercial Mortgage Loan – Yes or No?

I have published an article which discusses the tendency of many banks to say “yes” when they mean “no”. Such banks will typically attach onerous business financing conditions to commercial loans instead of simply declining the loan. Business owners should explore other commercial mortgage alternatives before accepting commercial financing terms that put them at a competitive disadvantage.

Think Outside the Bank for a Commercial Mortgage

In some non-competitive business markets, it is unfortunately common for a lender to employ business loan terms that would typically not be seen in a more competitive commercial loan environment. Such business lenders can repeatedly take advantage of a non-competitive commercial lending imbalance.

An appropriate response by commercial borrowers is to seek out non-bank commercial loan options. It is neither necessary nor wise for commercial borrowers to depend only upon local traditional banks for commercial mortgage solutions. For most business loan situations, a non-local and non-bank commercial lender is likely to provide improved business financing terms because they are accustomed to competing aggressively with other commercial lenders.

Commercial Property Commercial Loan Appraisals

For commercial mortgage loans, commercial appraisals are an unavoidable part of the commercial loan underwriting process. The commercial appraisal process is lengthy and expensive, so avoiding commercial lenders which have displayed a pattern of problems and abuses in this area will benefit the commercial borrower by saving them both time and money.

Copyright 1995-2007 AEX Commercial Financing Group and Stephen Bush. All Rights Reserved.

Kinds Of Money Lenders

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There are different types of money lenders and this article deals with the different types of money lenders present in the market scenario. Some of the different types of money lenders are

Mortgage bankers
Mortgage brokers
Wholesale Lenders
Portfolio lenders
Direct Lenders
Correspondents
Banks and Savings & Loans
Credit Union

Mortgage Bankers

A mortgage banker is a lender that can originate loans which they can sell to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, jumbo loan investors, and others. Thus a company who is capable of doing the above function is termed as a mortgage banker; however their size differs based on the different companies. Some mortgage bankers service the loans to the customers which they have originated while others do not. Most of the brokers have wholesale lending divisions. Some of the examples of mortgage bankers are Countrywide Home loans and Wells Fargo Mortgage. In this example one company is associated with a bank while the other is not. Many companies call themselves as mortgage bankers while some are really bankers but as far as the case of the others is considered it is mostly marketing.

Mortgage Brokers

Mortgage brokers are institutions who originate loans with the intention that they would give the amount to wholesale lending institutions. A broker has contacts or a set relationship with these wholesale lending institutions. Underwriting and the activity of funding takes place at the wholesale lender. They deal with the institutions that have wholesale loan department.

Wholesale Lenders

Many of the mortgage brokers and even the portfolio lenders act as wholesale lenders. They cater to the need of mortgage brokers for the origination of loan. There are some wholesale lenders that do not even possess their retail branches as they rely on mortgage brokers for the loans.

Portfolio lenders

An institution which lends own money and originates loans for itself is referred to as portfolio lender. Thus in this way they are lending their own portfolio of loans and they are not concerned about being able to sell them on the secondary market. Thus they need not abide by the rules of Fannie/Freddie guidelines and thus they can create their own rules for ascertaining the credit worthiness. Usually portfolio lenders are large banks. Only a particular part of their loan programs are portfolio products. Incase they are providing fixed rate of loans or government loans, and then they are definitely engaging in mortgage banking as well as portfolio lending.

Online Amortization Schedules

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Online amortization schedule calculators are some of the best online available. They are web-based, so they do not need additional software or applications. Amortization schedules can be calculated immediately online on one of their web pages.

Ewmortgage.com is a mortgage advisor website that features a Java-based interactive amortization table (http://www.ewmortgage.com/mortgage/), and other mortgage-related applications such as APR/front end calculator, 5/25 and 7/23 balloon convertible mortgage calculator, car leasing payment calculator, monthly payment table generator, income qualification calculator, nominal and effective interest rate calculator, etc.

Realdata.com, real estate investment and development software developers, offers a web-based amortization utility (http://realdata.com/ds/amort2.shtml) and a Microsoft Excel version (http://realdata.com/ds/amort.xls) that can be downloaded for free. The web tool is Java-based so you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

Calculators4mortgages.com also has a Java-based Amortization Schedule (http://www.calculators4mortgages.com/Calculators/Amortization-Schedule/amortization_schedule.html) that calculates the monthly payment of a specific loan and breaks down the amount of principal and interest paid over the term of the loan.

HSH Associates (http://www.hsh.com/calc-amort.html), a consumer loan information website, features an amortization calculator to generate an amortization schedule (by month or by year), as well the monthly payment for a mortgage paid either monthly or bi-weekly. It is also capable of demonstrating the effects of prepaying your mortgage on an irregular or regular basis. There is also a JavaScript version available.

Century21.com, a real estate website, lets you calculate amortization schedules and save, and email the result or amortization table. However, you need to register to use the save and email features. Registration also allows you to store your search criteria, file agent information and build a custom library. Entry method is standard such as loan amount, interest rate, loan term and monthly payment.

Identifying And Avoiding Mortgage Fraud

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Recent financial industry distress publicly attributed to widespread mortgage loan defaults has generated mounting pressure on federal prosecutors to increase investigations into incidents of mortgage fraud across the nation. On February 6, 2004, CNN reported that the FBI warned that mortgage fraud was becoming so rampant that the resulting epidemic of fraud could trigger a massive financial crisis. Mortgage fraud has now become so prevalent that the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have been forced to create an entirely new category for tracking these cases. According to a CBS news report, the number of FBI agents assigned to mortgage related crimes increased by 50 percent from 2007 to 2008. Prosecutors and investigators on both the state and local levels are also feverishly organizing task forces and creating real estate fraud departments to counter this burgeoning wave of crime.

CRIME & PUNISHMENT

The primary focus of these investigations appears to be on borrowers, investors, mortgage brokers, appraisers and real estate agents. Some of the charges levied against these perpetrators have included making false statements on loan applications, bank fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to launder funds and a number of applicable state laws. However, the primary legal vehicle implemented by federal prosecutors has been section 1014 of Title 18 of the United States Code which declares mortgage fraud as a federal crime encompassing anyone who willfully overvalues any land or property, or knowingly makes any false statement, for the purpose of influencing a financial institution upon a loan application, purchase agreement or other related documents. A violation of the federal mortgage fraud law (18 U.S.C. 1014) alone is punishable by up to thirty years imprisonment and a one million dollar fine.

MORTGAGE FRAUD SCHEMES

The most effective way to avoid prosecution for mortgage fraud is to identify mortgage fraud schemes prior to any actual involvement. Most mortgage fraud offenses fall into one of two general categories: fraud for housing and fraud for profit. Fraud for housing often involves fraudulent acts committed by a borrower, often coached by his or her mortgage broker or real estate agent, to obtain a loan for the ultimate goal of acquiring a home. These fraudulent facts generally pertain to the falsification of facts and documents during the loan application process to enable the borrower to obtain financing that he or she would otherwise not be qualified to receive. Conversely, fraud for profit typically involves a more concerted plan to abuse the entire real estate transactional process for pecuniary gain.

FRAUD FOR HOUSING

Income Fraud

This occurs when a borrower inflates his or her amount of income to qualify for a loan or a larger loan amount. Although recent reductions in the use of stated income or no-doc liar loans has somewhat curbed income fraud, daring borrowers are increasingly generating more fraudulent documents to falsify income. Information technology and photocopy equipment have become so advanced that very convincing documentation, such as income statements, savings accounts and tax returns, can be produced on demand.

Employment Fraud

In order to justify overstated income in a loan application, borrowers will claim self-employment in a non-existent company or represent having a higher position in a company than the borrower actually holds.

Failure to Disclose Liabilities

The debt-to-income ratio is an important part of the loan underwriting criteria used to determine a borrowers eligibility for mortgage loans. Consequently, borrowers will conceal financial obligations like newly acquired credit card debt, other mortgages, and private loans to artificially reduce their debt-to-income ratios.

Occupancy Fraud

Generally occurs when a borrower states on a loan application that he or she intends to occupy a property as a primary residence to secure a lower interest rate when the borrower actually intends to obtain the loan to acquire an investment property.

FRAUD FOR PROFIT

Equity Skimming and Cash-Back Schemes

A straw buyer is typically implemented as the buyer of the property due to his or her creditworthiness and resulting ability to obtain favorable financing. Unknowing straw buyers can be manipulated by mortgage brokers and real estate agents to purchase a property as a primary residence with the broker or agent later serving as a property manager to collect anticipated rental income. After the escrow closes and the mortgage and real estate brokers collect their commissions, they proceed to collect rental income and fail to make the mortgage payments.

Complex schemes can involve a knowing straw buyer, an appraiser who intentionally overstates the propertys value, a dishonest seller that intentionally inflates the selling price, and a dishonest settlement officer that makes undisclosed disbursements from the loan proceeds. All of these conspirators collaborate to collect portions of the proceeds of an inappropriately large loan before eventually letting it go into default.

Appraisal Fraud or Price Inflation

This fraud occurs when a dishonest appraiser intentionally overstates the value of a property or when an existing appraisal is altered to reflect a higher value. When a home is overvalued, more money can be obtained by the seller in a purchase transaction or by the borrower in a cash-out refinance.

The New Appraisal Fraud: Price Deflation

When done legitimately, a short sale occurs when a borrower that owes more than his or her property is worth sells the property below market value and the lender agrees to accept the lower repayment amount and forgive the difference. A new hybrid of fraud has emerged where an appraiser or a real estate agent drastically devalues the property in an appraisal or brokers price opinion (BPO) so that the home will sell with ease at a price well below market value. Of course the new buyer is in collaboration with the seller, agent and appraiser, so all of the conspirators proceed to sell the home at a higher price for a big profit.

Identity Theft

Identity theft fraud occurs when a victims identity is assumed by another to obtain a mortgage without ever intending to make any payments on the loan. The perpetrators often abscond with a portion of the loan proceeds and sometimes are daring enough to lease the property and collect some deposits and rental income before disappearing.

The Buy and Bail

This completely new scheme is perpetrated by a home owner who cannot sell the home because more is owed on the property than its worth. Because no lender will provide the owner a loan for a second primary residence, the owner tells the lender that he or she plans to rent out the current home despite having no intention of doing so. Sometimes a falsified rental agreement is used to further support the falsehood. Once the second home is purchased, the owner bails on the original home and fails to make any further mortgage payments.

AVOIDING & PREVENTING FRAUD

Mortgage fraud frequently emanates from groups that complete an abnormal amount of similar transactions or churn out many offers to purchase at once. These outfits may appear disorganized or unprofessional due to the large amount of transactions they are attempting to manage. It is also no coincidence that mortgage fraud has significantly increased as housing values have decreased since most fraud schemes involve a financially distressed or otherwise vulnerable seller. It is equally important to remember that agents owe a very strict fiduciary duty to act in their clients best interests. So before reporting a client to your local authorities, speak with legal counsel or your state real estate licensing department to ensure that your proposed actions dont constitute a breach of your fiduciary duty to your client.

Real estate agents are in a unique position that enables them to identify and even prevent the occurrence of fraud by recognizing the red flags, asking appropriate questions, and giving the principals in their transactions the full picture of what consequences are associated with participating in mortgage fraud. While a lot of damage has been done in the real estate market, we can prevent more of the same from occurring in the future.

Know What Happens Is Your Do Not Pay Your Mortgage

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The different choices available to Canadians struggling to fulfill their financial mortgage obligations is determined mostly by what type of lending procedures are practiced in their province. Properties in Ontario, Newfoundland, New Brunswick or Prince Edward Island have mortgage agreements that initiate the primary recoupment process using the power of sale. In the provinces of Manitoba, Quebec, Alberts, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, the courts supervise a Judicial sale to recover the money owed. Although it is referred to as a Mortgage Foreclosure in Nova Scotia, the method is essentially the same as a Judicial sale. In Ontario, both options are available to financial institutions who are facing delinquent payments.

The power of sale provision in the mortgage contract gives all those who sign the contract a personal liability on the loan and can be done without a court’s involvement. Fifteen days following the borrower’s notification of the mortgagee’s intention to enforce the power of sale, communications are sent to anyone with an interest in the home, such as statutory lien holders, advisors or claimants of any subsequent encumbrance. Timing is dependent on whether the power of sale agreement is contractual, giving the borrower 35 days to remit the full amount — or a statutory power of sale which allows the borrower 45 days to sell the property and pay the balance.

Lenders are not able to proceed with their collection until this redemption stage is completed. This gives the borrower a opportunity to sell the property on the open market and clear the mortgage in full from the proceeds. This allows the borrower a chance to liquidate the property on the open market and with the proceeds repay the lender in full. The conditions of power of sale demand that both parties attempt to get the largest possible selling price with a paper trail to prove it or face legal action. If you are unable to recuperate the full amount of the equity in your house, the legal action can be taken from the lender for the balance.

As the name implies, a Judicial sale demands that the mortgage holder apply to the court to be allowed to sell the property. The judge then mediates the discussions between the mortgage holder and mortgagee, assigns a timetable for a resolution and mediates any disagreements that arise. The emission of an order absolute by the courts relieves the mortgagor of needing to be accountable to the lender’s ability to reclaim the entire amount owed from the liquidation of the house. With an order absolute, any other lenders or second mortgages have to be compensated from the sale of the property by the primary mortgage holder.

The idea of both mortgage procedures — the power of sale and Judicial sale — is to allow the mortgagee a fair chance to keep their house by settling the overdue amount. If further money cannot be secured under this timeline, payment extensions can sometimes be discussed or a longer redemption period allowed before the home is given to the lender.