“Bridge Loan Network has been providing our company with excellent leads for years. Their web portal provides an easy access to leads as well as a tracking system for expedited closings. Proud to be a member of Bridge Loan Network and we will continue to work with them to provide loans for their clients.”
– Liberty Funding
In today’s digital marketing world, businesses need to have a presence online, especially a company website. Your company’s website serves as a “home base” where new and existing customers can go to learn more about the different products or services you offer.
A company website is also extremely important for content marketing. Your content needs a place to live. Whether it’s blog posts, product descriptions or customer testimonials, you need a home to display information so that current and prospective customers can find it and access it easily.
Here are some other benefits of having a company website.
Having a company website allows you to expand your online presence and the ability to develop a digital marketing strategy, with little to no costs involved beyond the initial website hosting and development. For instance, if your company is using email marketing to engage with potential and current clients, then you need a place to direct these clients to convert them. Your company website is the perfect place to send your email subscribers to when you want them to learn more about your company, and the specific products or services you offer.
Additionally, if your company is interested in running, Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns, then you will need a “home base” to send clients. PPC campaigns are an excellent way to reach potential clients who are already more likely to be interested in your products or services since they are searching with keywords. But to run PPC campaigns you will need to have a website that you can lead these clients to when they click on your ad.
Overall, you’ll know exactly how much your website will cost, and you’ll be able to easily factor that into your overall return on investment for having an online presence.
Increasing the visibility and credibility of your company are major factors that make it extremely important to have a website. Even if folks have seen your company at industry conferences or networking events, they may want to conduct their own research online before working with you. Additionally, websites give your business added credibility. In today’s digital world, companies without websites are viewed as less credible and can make people wary to work with you.
In addition to showcasing your products and services available online, to help build your company’s credibility online you can also highlight why people should work with you. Provide client testimonials and your company’s mission statement. By helping your clients get to know what your company is all about, you are working on establishing a level of trust with them which is the first step into building long-lasting client relationships.
Websites are available and accessible consistently throughout the day, every day, providing convenience to anyone looking for more information. Current and potential clients can visit your site for support and information anytime that is convenient for them, which can also be outside normal work hours for your business. This means even after you’ve gone home for the day, your website can still help convert new clients.
The bottom line is, every business should have a company website. Additionally, creating a company website doesn’t have to be hard. There are a variety of website building services that you can use to design your company website in a short amount of time.
Bridge Loan Network is attending Geraci’s upcoming Captivate Conference in Las Vegas. The Captivate Conference which is taking place August 21st through 23rd at the Cosmopolitan Hotel will aim to connect lenders and investors and highlight the tools needed to grow your business.
The agenda for the Captivate Conference is filled with compelling panel discussions featuring the top industry experts. In addition to the mix of educational sessions, there will be numerous opportunities for networking with exhibitors and other attendees, such as Bridge Loan Network.
Bridge Loan Network’s Account Manager, Jacob Therrien, has also been nominated for the Innovate Impact Award. This award recognizes a product/service that has led to success through innovation and technology. We’re honored to be nominated alongside the incredible nominated innovators in our industry!
If you’d like to schedule a time to meet with our Bridge Loan Network Account Manager, Jacob Therrien at the conference, please email us at marketing@bridgeloannetwork.com.
For more details on the Captivate Conference, click here.
“Bridge Loan Network has been a game changer for my company. The software is modern and user friendly helping me stay organized and work more efficiently, therefore allowing me to focus more time on growing my business and follow up with clients. My clients enjoy having the ability to go into their loan files and submit documents, message with their loan officer, and watch the file progress in one safe and secure place. The BLN team has also delivered service at the speed my clients expect of me and I couldn’t be happier. Thank you to the whole Bridge Loan Network Team.”
– Lend Some Money, LLC
“I have had the pleasure of working with Jacob from Bridge Loan Network. He works very hard at helping me to find a home for my clients who need a loan for Real Estate Investing purposes. I would highly recommend his company to any who is a lender in the Real Estate Investor Market.”
– Everest Business Capital
Appraisals are a crucial step in the investment real estate industry and most private and hard money lenders require investors to have a completed appraisal done, before moving forward to underwriting and closing.
To ensure all our customers, including lenders, brokers and investors, receive the best customer service and quick turn times with their appraisal ordering, Bridge Loan Network has partnered with the nationwide appraisal management company, Appraisal Nation. Bridge Loan Network customers can now order appraisal reports directly in their lending portal and then have the completed report automatically uploaded into the system.
Before discussing more about how our integration with Appraisal Nation is a valuable add-on for our customers, it’s important to understand why appraisals are a vital step in the lending process.
There are three main sections of the appraisal report we’re going to discuss in this article, the As-Is Value, the After-Repair Value, and Comparable Properties, to help you gain a better understanding of the reports for yourself and your customers.
When an appraisal is being completed the appraiser examines the properties As-Is Value, which is the value the property is worth in its standing condition now, with no renovations completed. This value is an important factor for the lenders and may impact their decision to close the loan. If a property’s value is low, for instance, $10k, then some lender’s may choose to not lend on that property as it is below their minimum loan amount.
If the property has any type of rehab work needed, then the appraiser will also take into consideration the borrower’s rehab budget to determine the After-Repair Value (ARV) of the property. The ARV on the appraisal will tell the lender what the distressed property is expected to be worth after all the renovations on the rehab list are completed. ARV is often valued by both lenders and borrowers to ensure the project is lucrative enough for all parties, and each will see a return-on-investment.
Comparable properties are another aspect of an appraisal that is crucial to evaluating the value of the property in both its As-Is state and its After-Repair Value state. The appraiser will look at similar properties in the immediate surrounding area and compare the value of those properties to the value of the subject property. If there are no similar properties in the surrounding area, this could dictate that the property is in a rural area, which some private lenders tend to avoid.
Overall, in the private money industry, time is one of the most valuable assets. Our integration with Appraisal Nation saves your company time by streamlining the entire appraisal process. Simply place an order in the Bridge Loan Network software and Appraisal Nation will take care of the rest. Utilizing their nationwide network, your request will be assigned to a certified appraiser promptly.
After the appraisal is scheduled, Appraisal Nation’s Client Service team will continue to work with the appraiser until the report on the property is finished. Once the report is complete, Appraisal Nation has their in-house appraisers review the to ensure all fields are complete, and then the report is uploaded into the Bridge Loan Network software. The Bridge Loan Network software keeps all loan documents in one secure location for all members of the transaction, streamlining the lending process.
If there was ever a model generation for landlords to have in their rentals, millennials would be that generation. Born in the 1980s to the 2000s, the millennial generation has far outnumbered other generations, such as the Baby Boomers, and while the Baby Boomers have recovered from the Recession of the 2000’s, the millennial generation has not. With higher ratios of student debts and a competitive job market, millennials are not jumping into home-ownership but instead looking to rent for longer periods. This makes the millennial generation the perfect target to market your rental property towards.
Before setting up the listing or adding new repairs to the property it’s important to understand exactly who the millennial generation is and what they are looking for in a home.
Millennials have the ability to shape the rental market due to the huge percentage of current applicants looking for a rental, and this trend doesn’t look like it is going to change anytime soon.
With the millennial generation holding their current jobs longer than previous generations they are less concerned with great school systems or quiet neighborhoods and more concerned with their commute to work. When listing the rental include information about train station, bus routes, highway systems and main roads.
2. Environmentally Friendly
The millennial generation is also more conscious of the environment and going green. When renovating the rental property be mindful to add in green features such as energy efficient appliances in the kitchen and laundry room, energy-saving lightbulbs, low flow toilets and water-saving showerheads. These can be small updates but make a huge difference when it comes to the environment and cost-cutting on utility bills which is why this is appealing to millennials.
3. Acceptance of Pets
More than 3/4 of millennials are pet owners, and by limiting a rental to only those without a pet you are drastically reducing your pool of ideal tenants. Speaking from experience, one out of every three apartments I looked at was not pet-friendly, therefore I was willing to pay more to find that one apartment that would allow my pet to live with me. There are also certain ways to protect your rental as well with the addition of “pet rent” fees and security deposits.
The first-place millennials will look for a new rental is online so it’s important that you have a website and online listing for the home.
The rental listing should include:
It will also be beneficial to ask previous renters for reviews to place on your website as well because reviews and ratings are effective indicators of quality for the internet-savvy millennial users.
The millennial generation is important to the rental market since they are a hold a significant percentage of the current applicants and the trend toward renting over home ownership doesn’t look to be changing anytime soon. If you can ensure that your rental property fits into what millennials are looking for then you will find that vacancy issues with no longer something to worry about.
If you’re looking to buy and hold another rental property, Bridge Loan Network is here to help you find the financing you need.
Submit a free inquiry and the opportunity will be matched with our qualified and approved hard money lenders.
The simple application portal digitizes the lending process enabling brokers and borrowers to upload needed documents, authorize credit checks and have a full loan package for our lenders to review. Apply now!
Bridge Loan Network is attending and exhibiting at the upcoming 49th National Hard Money Pitbull Conference in California. The Pitbull Conference which is taking place June 2nd through 3rd at the Beverly Hilton Hotel is the oldest and largest organization of its kind in the country. Their mission is to educate brokers, lenders, and investors on the emerging opportunities that exist in the hard money lending space.
The agenda for the Pitbull Conference is filled with compelling sessions from hard money industry experts. In addition to the mix of educational sessions, there will be numerous opportunities for networking with other attendees and the awesome exhibitors, such as Bridge Loan Network.
“Bridge Loan Network always looks forward to attending the Pitbull Conferences throughout the year,” says Bridge Loan Network’s President of Operations, Jonathan Allen. “These events are essential for us as a hard money lending software company, to be able to network with the attendees as well as other exhibitors is invaluable.”
Be sure to visit the Bridge Loan Network team at the show. For more details on the Pitbull Conference, click here.
The warm summer months are one of the most active times of the year for the real estate industry. This is a time when college graduates move to new cities following jobs, and families feel more secure looking for a new home now that their kids are out of school for the summer.
If you are a rental property owner or a landlord with properties that are open for rent, then the summer season is the perfect time to prepare your rental properties for new tenants. The first impression your property makes is what’s going to help it stand out from all the other rentals they have looked at online and in person. And it’s important for your rental home to show that new tenants will have a landlord who cares about the property and who maintains it suitably.
For the purpose of this article, we are going to focus on how to prepare the exterior of the home to attract potential tenants. The interior is important as well, but since the weather is warmer, let’s focus on the yard work that needs to be done for tenants to see the value of an outdoor space.
Many renters, especially families will be looking for a place outside to enjoy the warmer months, as spending time with their kids who are off from school is at the forefront of their minds. By adding in a patio space and small garden areas with manageable plants and garden decor, not only are you adding ascetic and an outdoor living area, but you are also cutting back on the size of the lawn that will have to be maintained (by either the landlord or the tenants).
After previous tenants move out, or after purchasing a new rental property, it’s imperative to take care of any repairs needed, and check to see if any fixtures can be updated. This can include sealing cracks in the driveway and walkways, updating the mailbox, touching up chipped or faded paint and updating the light fixtures on the front of the home.
Overall, the summer months may be the busiest time of the year for the real estate market, but it’s also one of the few times you can really highlight the exterior of your home to attract potential tenants. Even the simplest of patio spaces and gardens can add a whole new look to the property and with clean paint and a fresh mailbox can attract a wave of new tenants and ensure they feel at home.
For more information on the importance of curb appeal check out our past blog post, 3 Tips to Attract More Buyers to Your Flip with Curb Appeal, as it can also apply to rental properties.
Submit a free inquiry and the opportunity will be matched with our qualified and approved hard money lenders. The simple application portal digitalizes the lending process enabling brokers and borrowers to upload needed documents, authorize credit checks and have a full loan package for our lenders to review. Apply now!
How important is the rehab list for a fix and flip project, really?
The answer is simple, it’s extremely important.
Having a detailed list of all the renovations needed when applying for a fix and flip loan is vital for the appraiser to develop a better understanding of the scope of the project and how much value the investor will be adding to the home.
When ordering an appraisal with a Private Lender both the rehab list and the appraisal order form are almost always needed. The appraiser is then going to look at two values: the current market value or As-Is Value and the After-Repair Value (ARV). With the rehab list being as detailed as possible, including the costs associated with each repair, the appraiser can then successfully determine the After-Repair Value, which can help determine how much a lender will loan on a specific project. For example, some lender will not lend above a certain percentage of the ARV.
Even though each investor has a different method of completing a rehab project, from stripping down to the studs, to adding luxury finishes, writing down the level of finishes on the rehab list is extremely important. The small details matter!
For example, when looking to update the kitchen as part of the scope of work it’s essential to go into detail about each specific update. Will there be granite counter-tops or laminate? Custom cabinets or stock cabinets? Stainless steel appliances? New flooring? These details will help the appraiser determine an appropriate After Repair Value.
Now that you have each specific detail of the renovation in the rehab list it’s just as important to have the costs associated with each detail. This is extremely important when reaching out to a private lender for a rehab loan, as this will highlight the costs associated, ensuring you receive an accurate and complete rehab budget. Many private lenders will provide their own template rehab list/ budget builder to complete, but they may also accept your own personalized rehab list as well.
Overall, be clear with your numbers, check the numbers several times to make sure that the totals match and that something wasn’t counted twice or that a rehab item was omitted. The more accurate and detailed your rehab list is, the more accurate your appraisal value will be and the easier it will be to secure a rehab loan.
Submit a free inquiry and the opportunity will be matched with our qualified and approved hard money lenders. The simple application portal digitizes and organizes the lending process enabling brokers and borrowers to upload needed documents, authorize credit checks and have a full loan package for our lenders to review. Apply now!
