“The Future of the Private Money Industry”

 An Interview with Robert Hardy, Capital Benefit Mortgage

 LoanMLS is truly changing the way private money loans are bought and sold and allowing companies to expand beyond their personal networks to reach potential investors across the country.  Robert Hardy of Capital Benefit Mortgage shares his experience with LoanMLS and its impact on the future of the private lending industry.

Q:  Tell me a little bit about your company.

We are a private money lender, licensed in California.  We originate and service new loans, funded by private investors.  90% of our loans are residential with a large number of loans in the REO market purchased as investments or as rental properties. 

Q;  What types of notes are you posting on LoanMLS?

We sell residential 1^st TDs with LTV of 55% or less and investor yields of 10 – 13%.

Q:  Have you found that certain notes receive better response than others?

As you’d expect, we see greater response on our more attractive loans.

Q:  How do you screen potential buyers/investors who contact you?

We use the LoanMLS default format, so we initially screen using the qualifying questions provided and the standard confidentiality agreement which gives us an initial degree of trust.  Then we contact them directly to do additional screening.

Q:  Before you started using LoanMLS, how would you typically find buyers for your notes?

We would look through our existing portfolio of investors, people we had worked with over the years.

LoanMLS has given us an entirely new format, allowing us to expose our TD investments to a much broader audience that we would have no other way to contact otherwise.

Q:  How has LoanMLS impacted your business?

Before LoanMLS, there was no marketplace, no central place to go for TD investments. 

LoanMLS has opened our eyes to a new world – it’s a whole new, forward-thinking way to operate our business.  This is the future of the private money industry.  LoanMLS brings together buyers and sellers together in one place inexpensively and effectively – allowing for instantaneous communications. 

Q:  Do you have any tips that you’d like to share with other LoanMLS members?

The first thing is to have a good loan to offer.  Secondly, take advantage of the tools provided on LoanMLS.  For example the ability to provide more details on your loan and add pictures of the property.  Pictures of a good property go a long way in selling a note.  Finally, use a concise headline that has a little sizzle to it – something that will stand out and attract the attention of potential investors.