Jacksonville is a city in Onslow County, North Carolina, and is the 14th biggest city in the state. It is the county seat of Onslow County, as well as the biggest city in the county. It is one of the youngest cities in America, as well as one of the fastest-growing ones, with a population just over 73,000 people. Jacksonville has a very large military presence and has an average age of 22.8, which makes sense given it is home to the United States Marine Corps’ Camp Lejuene.
According to Niche, Jacksonville is a place that gives residents a dense suburban feel and is also a place where most residents rent their homes. It is home to many families and young professionals, and is also a place where there are good public schools. Jacksonville is young, but it is also extremely diverse. It has a terrific night life, and it is an affordable place to live with a median home value of $154,900 and a median rent of $992.
Right now, Jacksonville is a seller’s market. Homes are selling very fast and for high prices, and demand is rapidly outpacing supply. It is a place where real estate investors are in a housing bubble, getting into bidding wars over the best real estate in the state.
Hard money loans might be the best way to invest in real estate in Jacksonville. Hard money loans are also known as short-term bridge loans and last resort loans. They are an alternative source of financing to traditional mortgage loans, being associated mainly with fix and flips, long-term rentals, and construction projects. In real estate, hard money loans are almost always associated with repairing a home in poor condition and then flipping it for a profit. In a seller’s market like Jacksonville, hard money loans give a terrific advantage of a very fast speed of approval. They can be approved in only a few days, whereas traditional mortgage loans can take a month or more to be approved.
This fast speed of approval is an instant advantage in a seller’s market that’s incredibly competitive, as time equals money in real estate investing. But hard money loans can be approved so fast in the first place because they use the property as collateral. 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. Every hard money lender prepares themself for this possibility so they can flip the home themselves and make a profit.
This is an inherent risk, so hard money loans are much harder to pay off than traditional mortgage loans. Hard money loans have higher interest rates, shorter repayment periods, and lower LTV ratios than traditional mortgage loans. Hard money loans have very unforgiving interest rates — they have 8–15% interest rates, which are substantially higher than the interest rates of traditional mortgage loans. Hard money loans also have repayment periods of more or less a year, which are significantly lower than 15 to 30 year mortgages. Lastly, hard money loans have lower LTV ratios, which means investors have to put down higher down payments to buy properties to show buy in.
It’s essential to only trust the very best hard money lenders because not every hard money lender is reliable. That’s why we at Hard Money Lenders IO have compiled a list of the best hard money lenders in Jacksonville.
