Commercial Loan Corporation – California Private Money Lender. Joseph Minton, Autumn Skerritt & Kerry Smith

Here Is How The Process Works For A California Trust or Estate Private Money Loan From Commercial Loan Corporation

By: Autumn Skerritt

Hi, I am Autumn from Commercial Loan Corporation. As the loan processor, I typically get introduced to the Trustee or Borrower after our Account Executive has informed them of the loan details and provided them with a clear understanding of the mortgage fees. After making an introduction call to the client, I put a “Needs List” together. A needs list is a list of conditions that I will need the client to provide before we can close the trust loan, estate loan, probate loan or mortgage. At Commercial Loan Corporation we try to make this process as painless as possible for our Trustees and Clients. My goal is for the “needs list” to have less items on it than there are syllables in the word tri-ni-tro-phen-yl-meth-yl-ni-tra-mine. The best part is, doing a trust or estate loan with Commercial Loan Corporation is easier than pronouncing the word.

To give you an idea of what type of conditions we need on a typical trust or estate third party mortgage, here is a great example of a typical “Needs List” that I send out to our clients:

1. Copy of the Appraisal done for the Trust or Estate
   – If you do not have one, we can order one for you
2. Copy of the Trust and all Amendments (if applicable)
3. Copy of the Trust Tax ID Number (if applicable)
4. Copy of your ID
5. Proof of Repayment Funds or a Pre-Approval letter for future financing. We can also assist you with this if needed.
6. Copy of Insurance Declaration Page (we can get this before funding if you don’t have it handy)
7. Copy of Death Certificates so title can file an affidavit of death (we will need the originals for closing)
8. Bank Account information for the Trust (if applicable)

I always review the needs list with the client so that I may answer any questions they might have. On occasion, I also use my ESP to answer some questions they have before they even ask them. Here is an example of some commonly asked questions.

1. When conducting a third party private money trust loan, most clients have been instructed by their counsel that created the Trust to get the home appraised at the time of death. We can often times use that appraisal for our trust loan. Doing so saves the client hundreds of dollars and can speed up the trust loan process. Once I receive that appraisal, I submit it to our review department to confirm the value still holds true and that the home is in habitable condition. That appraisal review process typically takes 24-48 hours to complete. “What if we never got an appraisal done at the time of death?” GREAT question! I am happy you asked that…. we have can offer a few simple options for you.  We can order an appraisal for you! Appraisals are usually completed in 2-5 business days; depending on the area where the home is located. A full residential appraisal typically costs between $350-$550, depending on the area, approximate size and value of the home.
2. A Copy of the Trust and all Amendments. This condition is only applicable when we are providing a mortgage to a trust. If a client does not have this information available, it is typically easy to solve by calling their Trust attorney and requesting them to email a copy over to me. Often times trust documents ranges from 5 to over 100 pages in size. I know it’s a pain if you are one of the lucky ones that have a very thick trust and no access to a scanner. To help we can always send you an overnight FedEx envelope so you can provide us with the trust documents that way. Once I receive the trust information, I review it with title and escrow. We confirm how many trustees there are and that they have the ability to sign on behalf of the trust.  This review process typically takes about 24 hours.
3. The Trust Tax ID Number is the condition that I typically get calls from clients on the most.The most common question is “where I can find our trust tax ID #”. The Trust Tax ID Number is not typically in the Trust paper work. It is issued by the IRS. I usually request an old tax form from the client which shows that tax ID number. Some clients have accountants associated with the trust and can also them for the Trust Tax ID Number. The Trust Tax ID Number is needed because at the end of each year we send out a 1098 to each and everyone of our clients so they have it for tax season.
4. The reason why we ask for a current ID is to confirm that the Trustee name matches our clients. We also use it to confirm the mailing address on the ID.
5. Because our loans are typically “short term” loans we want to make sure that the client has a plan or the ability to pay off the mortgage. We request review either the most recent bank statement showing that the funds are available for repayment, or an approval letter from a license mortgage banker showing you qualify for permanent. We can also provide you with permanent financing if needed and assist you with getting approved.
6. The reason we require a Copy of the Insurance Declaration Page is because while our loan is out, we need to make sure that it is covered by insurance in case of damage or disaster. If a client has a hard time getting this policy, no problem. I can always move this to a funding conditions and help the client obtain a policy from the insurance agency.  If the home is not currently covered by hazard insurance, we have a handful of insurance agents we can recommend that will take excellent care of the client.
7. We ask for a Copy of Death Certificates on every file because 8 out of 10 clients have not filed an Affidavit of Death on title. An Affidavit of Death is used to notify businesses, courts, and other places of someone’s death. This legal document is a sworn statement that legally states someone has passed away. The affidavit of death is typically used in conjunction with a certified death)  In order to lend to the trust after passing, this must be filed before the new deed gets filed. This is a added service we do for all of our clients at no extra charge. We want to make sure that its done the right way, so years after our transaction you will not run into problems.
8. We ask for the Bank Account information for the Trust (if applicable) because we need to know where to wire the loan proceeds. Because the Trust is borrowing the money, the funds must go to the trust. We typically cannot send the money to an individual when lending to a trust. To be extra cautious we do call the Trustee at the time of closing and ask them to verbally give us the account and routing number.  We do that to help prevent fraud. We do our very best to protect our clients. Some of the issues I have ran into with past clients on this, is the bank account has been dissolved at the time of death and the trust is no longer associated to a bank account. In that case we ask the borrowers to call their current banker and ask them to open up a new account in the Trusts name. If the clients have trouble with that, we can contact the attorney to help find a solution, that works best for that client (so far, we haven’t had to do that yet).

That was a mouthful!  The most important thing to keep in mind is that I am here to serve you. I am also just a phone call away and you can reach me at 877-464-1066 if there is anything that you need. So here is a quick recap of the Commercial Loan Corporation loan process:

1. I send out needs list to the borrower
2. Get everything back on the needs list from the client
3. I open title and escrow (that comes back within 48 hours typically)
4. I then submit the appraisal for review to confirm value of home (that comes back within 24 hours)
5. I do a final review of all the conditions along with title and appraisal review
6. Once everything is verified, I call the borrower and attorney and give them great news that we are ready to wrap up the trust loan. I then confirm the loan amount, net amount and all fees and terms with both client and attorney.
7. Once everyone agrees on terms and fees, I draw loan docs and releases them for review to the client and attorney (turn time to draw loan docs in about 3 hours)
8. Once the Client and attorney give Commercial Loan Corporation the thumbs up on the loan docs, escrow will send a notary out to the client and sit with them while they sign the loan document package. The signing typically takes 30 minutes.
9. After the documents are verified, the loan is funded!
10. WAIT!!!! One more thing…. We always ask our clients to let us know how their experience was with Commercial Loan Corporation. Here are some testimonials from past Commercial Loan Corporation clients.

If you are in need for a third party loan to a trust or estate, please call us at 877-464-1066 so that we can assist you! We successfully help clients receive an exclusion from property tax reassessment every month and we can help you too!