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CHRIS X: In the first segment here we are going to have Laith Daik from Texas Loan Star to talk a little bit about what Texas Loan Star can do for you as a real estate investor, or they offer lots of programs….
…We have got Laith on the line. Laith, thanks so much for being here.
LAITH: Well, thanks for having me on. It’s always a pleasure to spend some time with the Lifestyles folks and reach out to the membership. We love working with the new investors and seasoned investors helping them achieve their financial goals. So thanks a lot for having me on the show.
CHRIS X: Glad to have you on. I know it’s been a while. We haven’t had you on since we were back at the noon hour now that we’re in this 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. getting people home on their drive home in the evenings, I said, man, I have got to get Laith back on the program so he can tell us a little bit about what’s going on with Texas Loan Star. I know we hear about you guys all over the radio airwaves and all that fun stuff, so let’s get right into it. First of all, for those new listeners of the program, tell us about Loan Star and what exactly you guys do at Texas Loan Star.
LAITH: Well, we are a mortgage banker. We fund and finance our clients direct. So all residential products, purchase money, rehab loans, home improvement rehab, refinancing, anything residential related in regards to real estate. We are also a commercial correspondent in that we underwrite and close commercial loans and all types of income properties, multi-family, small office buildings, retail, and so forth. So we’re basically a real estate financing lender.
CHRIS X: Yeah. And you guys have been doing this for a while. How long have you guys been around?
LAITH: The company’s been around since 2001, so we are pushing towards ten years—eight years now and pushing towards ten. Hopefully we will be around another two to make that ten years, and we expect we will be. And I have been in the business—first thing I am the president of the company. I have been in the real estate finance business for about 15 years.
CHRIS X: Wow. Okay. So you have been doing this for a while I am guessing you have been with Texas Loan Star since the beginning?
LAITH: Yes, I was. I founded the company in 2001.
CHRIS X: Man, that’s pretty cool. So we have got the man with the plan on the program. So you can answer people’s questions. If you have got a question for Laith and you want to join us here in the first segment. How long have you guys been helping the members of Lifestyles Unlimited, Laith?
LAITH: Well, we started working with Lifestyles really back in 2001, and it was before there was a vendor program. We had a couple of good transactions with some of the members, and just like everything at Lifestyles, if you are doing a good job the word spreads fast. And we started working with a lot of members over time. And then eventually Lifestyles started the vendor program and we have been a member of that program since its inception. Been really a great run and a lot of fun. We have seen a lot of people change their lives, quite frankly, through their membership with Lifestyles. You know, it’s not uncommon at all for a white-collar client to leave a six-digit job to run their new real estate empire. So it’s really a lot of fun to see and great to be a part of.
CHRIS X: Absolutely. And you guys have obviously done a great job with the members of Lifestyles Unlimited, because I—I have been doing this program for a little over a year and a half now, and since I have been doing it all we generally hear is very good things about Texas Loan Star and of course you guys are all over the place—what I mean by “all over the place” everywhere you turn around I am hearing about Texas Loan Star. So you guys have obviously done a pretty good job—and I say “pretty good” I mean that loosely. You guys have done a great job with the listeners of the program, of course the members of Lifestyles Unlimited. And you guys don’t just work with members from Lifestyles Unlimited, you guys will do business for anyone, correct?
LAITH: Yeah. We lend all over the state of Texas on the residential side and nationwide on the commercial side. So we are not limited in regards to who we’re working with as long as—if there’s real estate involved, then we typically will have a program that we can offer. So anything real estate finance related we are experts in that business.
CHRIS X: Well, tell you what, I know you guys do conventional financing, you’ll do portfolio loans, and rehab loans and we are going to talk a little bit about all that kind of stuff, but first let’s go to the phones. Once again, if you’ve got a question for Laith Daik with Texas Loan Star he can answer some financing questions for you. Let’s pick up with Maureen out in Seabrook. Good afternoon, Maureen. Welcome to the Lifestyles Unlimited Real Estate Investor Radio Show.
MAUREEN: Hi. Thanks for taking my call.
CHRIS X: Sure. What’s on your mind?
MAUREEN: I have got a question about—I have reached the Fannie Mae guideline Freddie Mac guideline limit mortgages I’m allowed to have for lenders who are selling their mortgages. So I had purchased a property for cash, and I would like to see about getting financing for cash out. Is that something Texas Loan Star can do in-house?
LAITH: Yes, we certainly can. What your caller is touching base on is the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac number of properties finance limit and the underwriting overlays that go with that. They were at ten properties, they actually went to four then they went back to ten. So they are at ten properties currently, however anything past four the underwriting guidelines get very tight. As a company we saw this coming in 2008 as the guidelines kept getting tighter on investors and made it more difficult to finance clients that were trying to buy income properties. And so as a company we started a couple of very successful portfolio programs back in the beginning of 2008 that have helped our clients achieve their goals. And specifically the program that we do a lot of that’s been very successful is called our Loan Ranger Program. On that Loan Ranger Program it’s a portfolio program. The loans aren’t intended to be sold. We underwrite those loans direct in our office. There’s no limit on number of properties that you can own. So we have clients that have 20 properties that we’re making loans to. As long as you qualify within our guidelines then we can loan you money to help you buy properties.
