2021 was a landmark year for Asset Based Lending, with the introduction of new loan products and addition of new territories capped off by an acquisition from Rice Park Capital that will help ABL scale into one of the premier hard money lenders in the country. We want to share with you the company’s achievements, how our programs and process have evolved over the year, and what the future looks like for ABL in 2022 and beyond.
One of the biggest milestones this year was crossing $1 Billion in total loan originations since our inception in 2010. Coming out of the recession of 2008, ABL’s founders saw a gap in the hard money lending space and wanted to offer direct, transparent loans to real estate investors. The company focused on bridge financing in a tiny office out of Hoboken NJ and would lend primarily on fix and flips in the local areas. Since then, the company has expanded throughout the country and emerged as the premier hard money lender for real estate investors across the east coast, lending on fix and flips, new construction, cash out refinances, and most recently long term rental loans for real estate investors. Crossing that $1 Billion mark after 11 years and seeing the consistent record-breaking months has been extremely rewarding, as it means that our team is excelling in their individual roles and our borrowers are recognizing that the service ABL provides is second to none.
After our record-breaking 2020 year, ABL’s flexible capital structure allowed us to make many improvements to our loan programs and bring back one of our borrower’s favorites: the Zero Point loan. We often get asked about our Zero Point program and it is simple- if you’re in and out of your deal in 8 months or less, you save money. This is the perfect program for fix and flip investors or renovate to rent investors who have their investment strategy locked down and understand their project timelines and limitations. If a project is more complicated or uncertain of beating that 8-month deadline, we recommend paying points in exchange for a lower interest rate. For the real estate investors that are realistic with their scope of work and know for sure they’ll be done with their deal in the eight-month period, they should take advantage of the industry’s only true Zero Point program.
We mentioned our record-breaking 2020 year, but 2021 blew it out of the water. We crossed the $330 Million threshold for loans financed in 2021 before December ended, which is nearly double our total loan originations from the previous year. Of course, this meant we had a few record-breaking months this year as well, with December 2021 delivering 100 loans worth over $48 Million alone! These kinds of record-setting months and years are only possible thanks to our borrowers who put their trust in us to deliver on their loans every single time- and our team’s ability to do so. Much of our growth occurred during the pandemic as we continued being one of the few reliable hard money lenders for real estate investors and have continued with that reliability with every new borrower that we reach.
ABL’s record growth has led to territory expansion throughout the east coast including new states like Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and soon to be Texas. Immediately we began to have borrowers reach out and start to finance their projects in these states, with Georgia especially generating heavy interest in both bridge loans and rental loans around the Atlanta area. We pride ourselves on being local hard money lenders and shifted our staff around to ensure we have boots on the ground in these new states, ensuring we have knowledge of the local markets and continue developing strong relationships with appraisers, title agents, etc. in these new territories to best serve our borrowers. Our focus for the next year is to continue growing our footprint in these areas and show the real estate investors in these states the ABL difference.
After a decade of focusing on bridge financing for fix and flip loans or new construction loans, ABL decided to bring fixed-rate term rental loans to our in-house programs at the start of 2021. It was a rocky start as our teams learned the process and how it differed from our bridge financing- different terms, different closing times, and a different approach required. Our team quickly adapted to these new processes and underwriting terms and the program began to take off. These term rental loans are available for a myriad of investors: BRRRR investors, build to rent investors, buy and hold investors, and more. We designed these rental loans to be as flexible and versatile as our bridge financing, ensuring our borrowers receive the best possible loan for their investment strategy. Like our bridge loans, we offer no-doc rental loans to first time investors as well as seasoned pros, focusing our attention on the actual asset and utilizing the DSCR to determine a property’s viability. During the year we expanded our rental loans to include short-term vacation rentals, offering loans for Airbnb investors as well. ABL now boasts one of the most comprehensive rental loan programs for real estate investors looking to hold property as income-producing assets.
2021 By The Numbers
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New Hires
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Projects Funded
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Loan Amount
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Draws Funded
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Construction Funds Disbursed
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Funded Since Inception
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These improvements and company growth only tell part of the story- there’s over 300 verified reviews that highlight the hard work and dedication of the ABL team, as well as the appreciation and kindness of the borrowers that we work with. Our team has also been on the forefront of adopting technology to make our process even easier and less costly for our borrowers. For example, we began using an app called TruePic in 2020 as a response to managing draw inspections during the pandemic. Since then, we’ve continued to use the service for repeat borrowers that allows them to have their draw approved without the need of an inspector, saving the borrower time and money on their projects.
Ultimately, ABL is ending the year with its most exciting news since the company started in 2010- our acquisition by Rice Park Capital. This private equity acquisition will allow ABL to provide more flexible loan options and increase the lending capacity for the company, which will directly benefit our borrowers going forward. Our planned growth is 5x over the next five years, which will see the employment of nearly 100 new people across key roles in the company with the goal of exceeding $1 Billion in loan originations per year. The company will maintain its current streamlined loan process and borrowers will continue working with the familiar faces they’re used to- this acquisition will simply improve ABL’s ability to offer the most competitive loans for fix and flips, new construction, and rental portfolios.
We’re thrilled and as prepared as possible to take this journey forward, embracing all the challenges and learnings that will join us along the way. ABL is poised for an incredible 2022 and beyond thankful to the hard-working employees and borrowers that continue to choose Asset Based Lending for their hard money loans. This company was started to provide reliable and transparent loans for real estate investors, and 11 years later, our goal remains unchanged- we’re just bringing our mission to more borrowers than ever before.
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