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If you have commercial property, whether your business occupies it or not, your property qualifies for a commercial bridge loan. You can use such a loan to purchase a commercial property or to refinance it to generate operating capital or investment capital.

If you own a residential property, if it is a multi-family dwelling and you occupy one unit, while renting the balance, your property can still qualify for a commercial bridge loan at Avatar Financial Group.

If you have a private residence that you occupy, but it is owned by a corporate entity and you use the proceeds for business purposes, in rare instances, your property can qualify for a commercial bridge loan. Contact Avatar Financial Group at 888-886-0097 to explain your specific circumstances and ask if your property qualifies for such a loan.

Hard money commercial lenders are generally restricted to funding commercial and investment residential real estate properties only. They are generally not licensed to provide residential mortgages. In some cases, such as with Avatar Financial Group, the company is able to lend on owner occupied residential real estate in one or states - Avatar is able to lend on owner occupied residential real estate in the states of Washington and California.

If you occupy a commercial property, using it as your place of business, then you have an owner occupied commercial property. You or your company, whether a sole proprietorship or a corporate entity, can own the property. If you own commercial property and rent or lease that space to other parties, you have a non-owner occupied or investment commercial property. If you us part of the property and rent or lease the balance, it may be referred to as a mixed use commercial real estate property.

These distinctions become important when asking for a hard money commercial bridge loan. Learn in advance whether the lenders you are communicating with fund the specific situation or type of property you own or wish to purchase. Ask about whether rates, points and fees will differ. This knowledge can save you time and money.

Hard money lenders need to order appraisals on the properties they insure. You can save thousands of dollars by NOT ordering an appraisal on your commercial or investment residential property before 'floating' your loan to the lenders.

Lenders will want to know the value of the property before offering a Letter of Intent (a letter that basically says, "If what you told us true, and if the value of your property turns out to be sufficient, we'll lend you so much money at such a rate with so many points for such an amount of time."). So how to provide that without spending the money for an appraisal?

Ask a real estate agent for a 'reasonable estimate' based on comparable properties within a reasonable surrounding locale. Ask several realtors if you are concerned about the accuracy. Take the average and submit that with your loan request. Take photos of the property, inside, outside and the neighborhood. It will be sufficient for a hard money lender to offer a Letter of Intent. And you willl save more than a thousand dollars by not having to pay for an appraisal twice.

Every hard money lender requires specific documentation for closing a hard money loan. Avatar Financial Group's loan documents include:

• Commercial Loan Application, which can be downloaded at our forms pages
• Appraisal
• Attorney Opinion letter
• Corporate Structure Documents
• Entity Documents
• Copy of any/all leases
• Insurance Information
• Title Report
• Survey
• Equipment/Inventory List

If you do not have any of these, it will affect the length of time until your loan closes. Avatar cannot proceed with a loan until each of these documents is provided by the borrower.

Avatar Financial Group offer hard money commercial bridge loans for the purchase and refinance of commercial and investment residential real estate. One of the greatest concerns in accepting a hard money mortgage is the monthly payment. In order to make the monthly payments as affordable as possible during the bridge loan period, Avatar Financial Group offers an interest-only payment option.

Using this payment option, the borrower does not pay down the principle of the loan at all. Rather, only interest payments are made each month. Points can be wrapped into the principle of the loan to reduce costs as closing time, as well. At the end of the loan, the principle and points, as well as any other charges, are paid in full when the borrower refinances or sells the property. Keeping monthly expenses to an absolute minimum helps developers, owners, and investors to take advantage of real estate opportunities that will yield significant profits upon exit.

Hard money lenders request financial operating statements for the company or companies that are requesting and guaranteeing loans. Here is what you need to provide when asked for a financial operating statement.

You will need two years' of data for the lender. Avatar Financial Group provides a form for your convenience on their website under the heading 'form' in the upper right of the top menu bar. To fill out the form, you will need gross income and a brief but complete list of expenses, generating a bottom line net income.

Providing two years' tax returns can often replace the need for this form, but check with your hard money lender to be sure.

If you are purchasing commercial real estate property and require a hard money loan to complete the deal, you will be asked for a number of documents to support your loan request. Having these documents ready will assist in closing your loan more quickly.

* Corporate Resolutions - a 10-15 page document that explains the structure of your corporation and who gets to sign for financial obligations)
* Two Years' Tax Returns or Other Financial Statements for the company
* 3 months' bank statements
* Personal Financial Statement for the principals
* Proof of where the 20% required cash infusion (downpayment) from the corporation will come from - bank statement may show the money there. If not, clear proof of where the money will come from is required before closing.

Being prepared with clear, trustworthy documents in advance will help your loan close more quickly.

It's important to keep in mind that commercial real estate loan brokers are not required to pass certification as with reseidential loan brokers. Therefore, it's critical to investigate and get recommendations from other borrowers who have worked with the broker prior to making a commitment.

A successful broker/borrower relationship can result in an excellent loan deal and the ability to choose from a variety of offers and lenders. On the flip side, an inexperienced or inept broker can add points to a deal unneccessarily, incorrectly select lenders and cost extra time.

Commercial property technically refers to a property that is being used for commercial, industria, research or other, non-residential purposes. For Avatar's loan criteria, however, any property that is not occupied by the owner as a primary residence can serve as collateral for a hard money or bridge loan. If you have a question as to the validity of the property for a commercial loan, simply ask yourself; "Does the borrower live there?". If the answer is no, the property is suitable.

Hard money lenders maintain varying lending criteria concerning the size of the loan, the value of the property, the maximum LTV they are willing to lend, and - of course - the location of the properties they are willing to lend on.

Most commonly, hard money lenders like to lend on properties located in urban and suburban locations. The opportunities for consistent income and recovery from economic downturns are greater in areas of increased population and commerce. This lowers the risk to the lender. If you are considering an investment property, take the location into serious consideration. It may help you finance the property more quickly and less expensively in the future.