Fort Collins is the fourth biggest city in Colorado with a population just under 170,000 people, according to the 2020 census. Fort Collins is 56 miles away from Denver, but it is home to both Colorado State University and Front Range Community College. It was initially a military outpost of the U.S. military upon its founding, but the city has seen massive population growth throughout its history. It has seen significant development in the last half century.
According to Niche, Fort Collins is one of the best places to live in Colorado. It is located in Larimer County and gives its residents a dense suburban feel. It is known for having terrific public schools, being a great place to raise a family, and having plenty of health and fitness opportunities. There are also lots of outdoor activities, and Fort Collins is also a very commutable city with lots of parks. It’s home to a lot of young professionals with its home to Colorado State University. It has a median home value of $398,800 and a median rent of $1373. It is known as a city with the best public schools in America and one of the healthiest cities in America.
Right now, Fort Collins is a seller’s market. It is currently known for very tight supply and having demand that outpaces supply. It’s a place where homes are selling very fast and for higher than listing price. Investors are getting into bidding wars in the current Fort Collins housing bubble.
Hard money loans might be the best way to invest in real estate in Fort Collins. Hard money loans are also known as short-term bridge loans and last resort loans, but they’re mainly used for real estate transactions where investors are buying homes in disrepair and then flipping those homes for a greater profit. In particular, transactions like fix and flips, long-term rentals, and construction projects. Hard money loans give a distinct advantage of having very fast speeds of approval. While traditional mortgage loans take a month or more to be approved, hard money loans take a couple days to be approved. This is a tremendous advantage where real estate investors can put down faster bids and be more competitive in bidding wars.
Hard money loans can be approved with such speed because they have a different asset than traditional mortgage loans. Hard money loans use the property as both the asset and collateral of the loan, not the credit score of the borrower. It’s not like credit score doesn’t matter, since hard money loans use the credit score of the borrower as a minimum and to lower interest rates for new investors in particular. But there’s a different process for when a borrower defaults on a mortgage versus a hard money loan. If a borrower defaults on a mortgage, the bank forecloses on the property. But if a borrower defaults on a hard money loan, the lender becomes the homeowner in a very fast process.
Because this is such a big risk for the lender, hard money loans have lots of risks to complement their advantages. They come with higher interest rates, shorter repayment periods, and lower LTV ratios than traditional mortgage loans. Hard money loans in particular are known for their very unforgiving interest rates that can range anywhere from 8–15%.
It’s important not to just trust any hard money lender, and only trust the best lenders. That’s why we at Hard Money Lenders IO have made a list of the best lenders in Fort Collins.
