After Lauren read an article about women in real estate investing over breakfast at the Avenue Cafe, she dropped by my office further down St. Charles to talk more about it. I’ve been investing in the Big Easy for many years now, but Lauren admitted she thought I was a bit of an anomaly. After all, NOLA caters to all types of people living and doing their own thing. She’d never considered that investing in real estate could be a viable alternative to her corporate job. Now that she knew other women were buying properties to rehab and resell, too, she couldn’t stop considering it.

She was concerned, however, that her lack of significant cash reserves could prevent her from ever getting started in her new career. Before she finished talking herself out of walking down her newfound real estate investment career path, I told her that there were several reputable hard money lenders in New Orleans that would be happy to help her. And, since we were already talking about it, she might as well hear about them from me.

The Best Hard Money Lenders in New Orleans

There are several reasons, I told Lauren, why hard money is an ideal source for funding real estate deals. First, getting a hard money loan is easier than trying to convince a bank or credit union—lenders that shy away from fixer-uppers—to give you money. And, the typical terms and conditions, like short-term time horizons and interest-only payments, make buying, renovating, and selling property within three to nine months more manageable. Plus, the property itself is often given higher consideration than your credit score, employment history, and tax status. So, your financial past doesn’t necessarily have to stall your attempts to improve your financial future with real estate investing. Whether you’re a new investor, like Lauren, or one who’s been around for a while, like me, getting the funds you need from a hard money lender in New Orleans can be easy.

But, just because a lender will give you money, doesn’t mean you should take it. It’s important to compare terms and conditions first, then choose a hard money lender that suits you and your project best. You also want to make sure you’re dealing with a lender that has a solid, reliable reputation and is known for serving your community of fellow investors well. Here in New Orleans, we’ve got several. In fact, some of the best hard money lenders nationwide lend right here in NOLA. Here are just a handful of them that I tossed Lauren’s way:

Finance of America

Finance of America offers competitive terms whether you’re an investor who hasn’t yet bought their first investment property, like Lauren, or one who has several under their belt, like me. They can cover 90% of your costs to buy a house and as much as 100% to fix it, up to a maximum of 75% of its After Repair Value (ARV). And, if you’re trying to build your portfolio quickly by buying multiple properties, they offer a credit line of up to ten million dollars, too. Finance of America also gives you 12 months to pay your loan in full—plenty of time to rehab and sell most fixer-uppers. Though, if you need more time, all you have to do is ask. They do charge interest rates and fees commensurate with your experience, so the more homes you buy, rehab, and resell, the less these costs will be. But, once you get more seasoned, it’s possible to be charged as little as 6.75%. And, you’ll typically find out fast where you fall on the fee spectrum.

RCN Capital

RCN Capital will also work with you regardless of your skill level as an investor. And, they’ll loan up to 75% of your property’s ARV, too. You can borrow as little as $50,000 or as much as $2.5 million for your project, though larger loans are only possible if you’re buying a big multi-family building. I like this option, personally, since diversifying my real estate portfolio has become more important, even exciting, over the years. The term length of your loan will be 12 months, though you can always settle up sooner if you’re able to buy, rehab, market, and sell your investment property faster. And, if you get tied up in unexpected repairs that delay your timeline, don’t worry. Extending your loan for six months is okay, too. They offer competitive interest rates as well, ranging from 7.99% to 10.99%. To help you gain more experience and, therefore, qualify for the best rates, they also provide free advice on their blog for anyone to read—whether you’ve borrowed from them or not.

Residential Capital Partners (ResCap)

Another competitive hard money lender that serves new and seasoned investors is Residential Capital Partners (ResCap). They’re able to fund as much as 100% of your project’s cost up to 70% of its ARV. The most you can borrow is $1.5 million, but for most NOLA fixers that’s more than plenty. Typical loan term lengths run about nine months and the interest rate and origination fees—maxed at 10% and three percent respectively—can be rolled right in. So, other than the initial deposit you put down on a house, your upfront costs to borrow from ResCap could be zero. Plus, it usually takes less than 15 minutes to apply for the loan and not more than two days to receive your terms. Once you’ve borrowed funds a few times to buy multiple investment properties, those terms will improve and so will your approval time. Since ResCap has extensive experience investing in real estate, too, they’ll do their best to help you so that they can keep doing business with you.

Any one of these three lenders that provide hard money loans for real estate investors will be a good choice. But, if you want more options to choose from, especially as your funding requirements shift over time, there are even more choices available. And, the easiest way to find, compare, and choose from among all the best of what NOLA hard money lenders have to offer is to get them to compete for you. Sound unusual? It is. But, here in the Big Easy, anything is possible.

A Better Way to Get Hard Money in the Big Easy

You know, Lauren is right. In many ways, we are steeped in tradition here in NOLA, but we also like to stand apart from the crowd and encourage others to do the same. So, when I started to invest in real estate, I looked for a path that was both tried and true as well as unique. As an independently owned and operated HomeVestors® franchisee, I found it.

Just by being a part of a long-standing, successful franchise model, I was able to get my own business up and running in no time. But, I also got something else that no other real estate investing company today has. I got access to HomeVestors®’ proprietary lending portal through which the best hard money lenders in New Orleans compete to fund my deal. This portal allows me to quickly and easily input the details of a potential purchase, then lets these hard money lenders respond with their most competitive terms and conditions for my project. And, the response time is fast. So, no matter which lender I choose, I always know it’s going to be one I can depend on. As soon as Lauren opens her doors as a HomeVestors® franchisee, too, she’ll be able to say the same.

If you need a better, faster, more individualized way to get hard money from some of the most reliable New Orleans lenders, call HomeVestors® today!

All Lenders in UGVille^SM were current at time of posting.

Each franchise office is independently owned and operated.