Ogden is the county seat of Weber County, Utah, only 40 miles from Salt Lake City and 10 miles from the Great Salt Lake. It has a population just over 87,000 people and is the eighth biggest city in Utah. It is known for being a major railroad stop, which makes sense given its nickname is “Junction City.” Ogden is also known for its rich history of manufacturing and commerce. It is close to the Wasatch Mountains, and is the location of Weber State University. Ogden is the biggest city in its metropolitan area, and its surrounding metropolitan area is considered a great place to raise a family as a result.
According to Niche, Ogden is a place that gives its residents a dense suburban feel, and most people own their homes in Ogden. It’s home to many families and young professionals, and Ogden is a diverse city with great weather, lots of outdoor activities, and a very easy commute. It has a good nightlife with Weber State university, and it also has a good amount of available jobs. Ogden has a median home value of $195,600 and a median rent of $872.
Right now, Ogden is a seller’s market as of June 2022. There are more people looking to buy home than there are homes available, and demand is outpacing supply in Ogden. It’s a city that’s a housing bubble, where real estate investors are getting into bidding wars over prime real estate.
Hard money loans might be one of the best ways to invest in real estate in Ogden. Hard money loans are known as last resort loans, and it’s important to understand why before throwing yourself into them as an investor. Hard money loans are sometimes used to stave off foreclosures, and they are known for their very high interest rates, short repayment periods, and lower LTV ratios compared to traditional mortgage loans. Hard money loans have interest rates anywhere from 8–15%, which are much higher than even the over 5% interest rates of mortgages in the current housing market. They also need to be repaid within a year, which also means they have very high monthly payments and can be hard to pay off if a real estate investment does not pan out. Last but not least, hard money loans’ low LTV ratios means investors have to put down much higher down payments than they would with traditional mortgage loans.
However, in seller’s markets like Ogden, sometimes the pros of hard money loans outweigh the cons. Hard money loans are known for their incredibly fast speeds of approval. They have much faster speeds of approval than traditional mortgage loans — while mortgages can take a month or more to be approved, hard money loans can be approved in a couple of days, which helps investors qualify and compete for competitive properties.
Hard money loans and mortgages are different because traditional mortgage loans use the credit score of the borrower as the asset, but hard money loans use the property as the asset. They don’t depend on the credit score of the borrower, even though they do have credit score minimums and can use credit to lower interest rates. Hard money loans use the property as collateral, which means if a borrower defaults on a hard money loan, the lender becomes the homeowner in a very expeditious process where they try to flip the property in lieu of the investor.
But it’s important to only trust the very best hard money lenders, which is why we at Hard Money Lenders IO have made a list of the best lenders in Ogden.
