Clarkstown is a city in Rockland County, New York. In 2021, Money Magazine rated Clarkstown as the 35th best place to live in America, and it is well-known for its safety, celebrity residents, great schools, and more. It has a terrific business scene and a plethora of jobs in healthcare, and jobs are expected to increase rapidly in the next three years.
As for its schools, Clarkstown is home to Clarkstown South Senior High School and Clarkstown North Senior High School, which are both nationally recognized schools. The city is well known for using green cleaning products and its commitment to environmentalism.
Clarkstown is considered by Niche one of the best places to live in New York. It has a population of just over 85,000 people, and Clarkstown has a suburban feel where most people own their homes. It is a place with thriving nightlife and diversity, and it is considered a terrific place to raise a family. Right now, the median home value of Clarkstown is $456,800, and the median rent is $1,805.
Right now, Clarkstown is a neutral market. Homes are selling for reasonable listing prices and homes tend to stay on the market for a typical length of time. Demand is matching supply in Clarkstown.
Hard money loans might be one of the best ways to invest in real estate in Clarkstown. Hard money loans are also known as last resort loans and short-term bridge loans, but their biggest advantage in the Clarkstown real estate market is they can be approved very quickly. Hard money loans can be approved within a couple of days, whereas traditional mortgage loans can be approved in more or less a month.
Hard money loans can be approved so quickly because they’re based on the property and the after repair value of the property, not the financial standing of the applicant. To be clear, credit score still matters, since hard money loans still have minimum credit score requirements of 600 to 620. Hard money loans use the property as collateral, which means the process for defaulting on a hard money loan is much quicker and easier for both sides than a foreclosure — the lender just owns the property the borrower defaulted on.
Because of this, hard money loans are very risky. And these risks are shown in the very unforgiving rates and terms of hard money loans. They have interest rates between 8–15%, repayment periods of more or less a year, and LTV ratios between 65–75% on average. By comparison, the average mortgage is a lot more forgiving with interest rates around 4.2%, repayment periods of 30 years, and LTV ratios of 80%.
Also, not every hard money lender is trustworthy. A lot of hard money lenders have reputations as loan sharks because of the fees they tack on upon signing, or the fees they don’t communicate well about like origination fees, closing costs, and underwriting fees. Other hard money lenders don’t invest to new investors, which forces new investors to rely on a good credit score and financial standing to make themselves appealing borrowers to hard money lenders. It’s essential to only trust the very best hard money lenders to give you the rates and terms you deserve.
Here are the best hard money lenders in Clarkstown for your real estate transaction.
