Greece is a town in Monroe County, New York, and is a suburb of Rochester. It’s the biggest town in Monroe County behind the City of Rochester itself, and has a population just above 96,000 people, according to the 2020 census. Greece is known as “the town of good people” and borders Rochester to the east. Greece has historically been rated one of the safest cities in America.
According to Niche, Greece is a suburb that has a lot of parks and is home to many young professionals and retirees. It is known for its great schools and being a great place to raise a family. It is a place where most people own their homes, and the median home value in Greece is $135,500, and the median rent in Greece is $982.
Right now, Greece is a seller’s market, which means demand is rapidly outpacing supply in Greece. This means there are not enough homes to keep up with demand, and real estate investors in Greece, and investors will also get into bidding wars over competitive properties.
Hard money loans might be the best way to invest in real estate in Greece. Otherwise known as short-term bridge loans or last resort loans, hard money loans are mainly used for real estate transactions. In particular, they’re mostly used for fix and flips, long-term rentals, and repairs of distressed properties.
Their biggest advantage in a seller’s market like Greece is their quick approval speed. Hard money loans can be approved so quickly because they’re based on the property, not the financial standing of the applicant. This doesn’t mean the credit score of the borrower does not matter — hard money lenders usually require minimum credit scores of 600 to 620. But this is not the main basis of a hard money loan.
In particular, hard money loans are based on the after-repair value of the property. They use the property as collateral, and if a borrower defaults on a hard money loan, the hard money lender takes on the property, which is much different than the process if a borrower defaults on a mortgage, which results in a lengthy foreclosure process. This can result in significant profit, but it can also result in a lot of risks for borrowers.
Hard money loans come with higher interest rates with 8–15% interest rates, compared to just over 4% interest rates of traditional mortgage loans. They also come with shorter repayment periods of just a year, which are shorter than traditional mortgage loans, which typically have 15 to 30-year repayment periods. Since hard money loans also have lower LTV ratios, this means real estate investors need to pay larger down payments for hard money loans than for traditional financing.
It’s important to be especially careful as a new real estate investor. Many new investors don’t get hard money loans since most hard money lenders require successful experience of investments. Some of these new investors often have to rely on strong financial standing to make themselves more appealing borrowers. Many hard money lenders also have reputations as loan sharks due to tacking on extraneous fees or not communicating well about fees, like origination fees, closing costs, and underwriting fees.
At Hard Money Lenders IO, we have made a list of the best hard money lenders in Greece. These are the best partners for your real estate transaction.
