Someone at NJHomerelief.com suggested that I search for what is called a "Hard Equity Lender." Well I found one// I have a good amount of equity in myhome. This is what he offered. He would put the equity and told us to put it to the mortgage payments for 12 months. Clean up my credit report. He will be makimg 12,800.00 on the deal. If i sell. i wll lose everything. If i refi my rate will definetly go up to at least 12% it is now at 10.95. after 12 mox , depending on the int rate at the time he expects us to be able to retun to a fixed 7.5 which we started out at 8 years ago. we will still be holding the deed. I have never heard of this before it sounds good. but you know the saying "if its sounds too good it probably isnt. Does anyone have any input or advice?? thanks to all who ansered my last question

Get to a bank and talk to a real lender. There are too many real estate scams going on right now. Don't get involved in anything that sounds too good to be true. Like you stated, "If I sell, I will lose everything", and your "hard lender" might be banking on that situation.Call a real estate lawyer if your are having financial troubles. They may be able to get you on the right track before you find yourself in a "lose everything" situation. And, take the terms of this offer with you.

I need a little more background to understand your situation. I assume you are behind on payments, your credit score is crushed, you might not be working but you have equity in your home. You cannot get financing from a traditional lender for a refi or 2nd loan, so you are thinking of going to a hard money lender. Hard money lenders remind me of mafia loan sharks. They usually charge a lot of money and a high interest rate. Hard money lenders also want there to be a lot of equity in the property. If you do not pay them they could care less they will take the house. Having said this in some situations they can be utilized when you need cash and you want it fast, for investments, but if you are on a sinking ship it will not help you in the long run. I think it would be better for you to go into a Chapter 13 bankruptcy and restructure your debt. You can dismiss the bk whenever you want. If you pay on time in BK there are plenty of lenders that will loan to you after 12 mos to lower the interest rate. If you have more questions you can e-mail at sst_vandy_2000@yahoo.com, but whatever you do I would watch out for the hard money guys.

I also think this sounds like a scam. he's making too much money off you. Go to your bank or credit union. Please, please, be careful you have too much to lose. Credit counsling companies are the ones who have been found scamming millions of Americans! I'm glad you asked this question because i think it will help others who are considering the same option. The market is down and so many people are being effected. P.S. I can't believe your intrest rates are SO high. You might talk with someone about that.

I'm a mortgage broker working in GA. I don't work in NJ, but I would be happy to offer what advice I can. A "hard equity" or "hard money" lender is typically a very last resort for home owners facing foreclosure. They are meant to be a kind of "bandage" after all other options have failed and using them will only work if you (as the borrower) have a definate gameplan in place to better your financial position enough to qualify for traditional mortgage within the 12 month period that the hard money lender will make the loan for. Classic situations like this would be recent divorce or lose of job where it has taken you a while to find a new job. Even with these situations, if you just contact your current lender and explain the situation, then within reason, most will be willing to work with you, provided that you can show them that you are putting forth the effort to clear up the situation. If you fall into the situation of just not being able to pay your bills, then you may have to look into more demanding measures such as changing your life style/spending habits, borrowing the money you need from a family member, or even selling your home and renting for a few years until you are back on your feet.The bottom line is that "hard money" or "hard equity" lenders are not for borrowers who are in financial trouble with no real way of improving their situation. If there is a definate benefit to taking the hard money loan, than that's one thing. However if you are having a hard time paying the payments on your current loan at 10.95%, then how do you plan to pay the new mortgage with the current balance plus the additional equity at 12.0% and improve your financial situation to be able to qualify for new traditional mortgage in 12 months?I'd have to know all of the details of your current situation to know for sure, but I am guessing that you most likely fall into the same boat with many others for whom a hard money loan just isn't going to help them out.