A hard money loan is a specialized type of asset-based lending by which a borrower obtains funds secured by real estate. Hard money loans are usually issued by private investors or companies. As with any other secured loan, the interest rate on such a loan is lower than usual due to the presence of a collateral.

You can check the status of the loan using specific tools offered by the financial institution you choose. As a rule, the most common tools to check the loan status are a call to the hotline, SMS request, request via messengers (Viber, Whatsapp, Telegram) or logging into a personal account on the website.

A loan disclosure is a document or set of documents in which the lender is required to set out all of the terms and conditions of the loan you applied of (including any additional fees, charges, insurances, etc.) in a completely transparent manner and describe all details of the handling and use of funds and data.

The main difference is that with a conventional loan the borrower is required to pay mortgage insurance only if the down payment is less than 20%, and with FHA (Federal Housing Administration) mortgage insurance is paid regardless of the size of the down payment. There is also a difference in the maximum loan amount.

To understand the big picture when choosing a loan offer, it is very useful to calculate the actual annual percentage rate (APR) on the loan. It includes not only the interest rate, but also all the additional fees and costs explicitly or implicitly included in the loan agreement. In principle, APR can be calculated manually using the formula, but there have long been special and very handy calculators for this purpose on the Internet.

Loan origination fee is an upfront fee associated with opening an account with a bank, broker, or other processing entity in connection with obtaining a loan. It is usually a fixed amount, but sometimes the fee is spread over the term of the loan or integrated into the interest rate. It is worth adding that in some countries, loan fees are prohibited at the state level.

There are several classifications of loans, so let's consider the most common one. According to it, there are three loan categories: bank, commercial and state. In its turn, bank loans are divided into personal, mortgage, loan on overdraft, factoring, forfeiting and intrabank loans. Commercial loans may be of the following types: signature, trade and advance. Finally, the state category is subdivided into state loan, subventions, grants, transfers and state tax loan.

The key difference between secured and unsecured loans lies in their very name. Secured loans are guaranteed by the borrower's property or assets, which protects the lender to a much greater extent. Unsecured loans do not require collateral, so there is more risk for the lender. These risks need to be compensated somehow, so the terms and requirements in unsecured loans are tougher than in secured loans.

For checking your loan status through Small Business Administration, you can contact SBA hotline and address consultants any question you have. In case you applied via the COVID-19 portal, SBA specialists will call you, as well as you might be able to use a pay-free hotline.

In order to qualify for a FHA (Federal Housing Administration) loan you must meet certain requirements. First of all, you must have a sustainable income. Then, you should have at least 3.5% of the total cost of the house as a down payment. Your FICO score should be no less than 580. Finally, your credit history must be normal and the house you are going to buy should cost no more than the amount you applying for.

Although the term has a rather wide range of meanings, in general, discount points are additional fees charged by the lender when issuing a loan. Through this fee in favor of the lender, the borrower is entitled to expect an appropriate reduction in the interest rate on the loan. In each case, the borrower should carefully evaluate whether it is advantageous to pay more as an upfront fee but receive a lower interest rate for the entire term of the loan, or to choose a higher interest rate with a lower down payment.