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Private Lending Topic – I have received a number of email questions recently on very similar issues and thought I would address them as a group versus individual emails. The questions are broken down into general areas and include things to do and things not to do. The Don’ts include advertising on Craig’s List and the use of the word “Guarantee”. The Do’s include what are the best marketing methods. My comments on each are below….

Don’ts

Private Lending Advertising on Craig List – I do not recommend that you advertise on Craig List. It is too public and there are state and federal watchdogs looking for people who may be violating securities rules. I have said on many occasions that I do not recommend any advertising that is on a national scale including your own web site. This kind of advertising will get you into trouble with securities regulators and may be considered a securities offering to the public.

I know this from personal experience. Several years ago a person responded to my Craig’s List ad requesting information about my investment program. After several emails, the individual said he was ready to invest and I directed him to my title company to prepare the appropriate documents. Strangely, I never heard from the individual again after that. (more…)

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Private lending is the practice of borrowing money by a real estate investor to be used to purchase rental real estate directly from private lenders rather than a bank or other commercial lender. Private lenders tend to be ordinary people such as doctors, lawyers, accountants, business owners and possible retired people. Most private lenders are simply looking for better investment returns than they can typically get from bank CD’s, money markets or even bond investments. Over the past couple years these type investments have yielded a paltry 3% to 6% pretax rates. After taxes and inflation these investments have, in some cases, produced negative returns for their investors. This is why people are looking for better returns and private lending is the answer.

Private lenders are looking for returns in the 9% and 15% range and secured by local rental real estate. This kind of return will provide investors with positive investment return of almost 300% over CD’s and money markets. (more…)

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Finding a private money lender is an essential part of any real estate investor’s business. In the old days (pre-2006) you could easily get a mortgage or even hard money loan simply by showing up in the lenders office and filling out an application. If you could walk and talk you qualified for a loan.

But today in the post credit-bubble market those days are over. Getting money for your real estate investing business is much more difficult and likely to get even more difficult as the credit markets sort things out. So how do you get money for your real estate investment business? (more…)

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I recently attended a real estate investment seminar in Las Vegas. Between speeches by different “gurus” I would mingle with other investors and explain that I owned a hard money brokerage firm. Even though it has been around for almost a hundred years now, I was amazed how hard money lenders still seem to be mysterious to many investors. They either did not understand how the hard money lending industry worked or had heard that it was something they should avoid like the plague.

To put it simply, hard money loans are short term loans that are used for various real estate projects. The most common projects are house flipping, but they are also used in commercial construction and land development. (more…)

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Private lending is facilitated by lenders who are not supported or funded by the government. Private lending companies have to register themselves and fulfill certain criteria put forward by the law. Most private lending companies have their individual policies and work culture but are governed by the guidelines put forth by the state and federal governments.

Private lending is popular as borrowers can approach private lenders for certain loans that a government agency might not approve. Many private lending companies in the market specialize in giving credit to applicants with bad credit history. These companies are known as sub-prime lenders. They also have some customized solutions that may help a person with a really bad credit history. Still, the applicant must first check with the regular companies that lend money. There is a possibility that they may be able to offer good rates. (more…)

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Getting private money lenders into your real estate investing business is critical to your success as the credit bubble makes getting traditional mortgages very difficult. Mortgage lenders are now requiring 700+ credit scores and documented sources of income. This can very hard for most real estate investors. Hard money lenders are also drying up as the credit bubble continues to take its toll on borrowers. So how do you get money for real estate deals?

The answer is private money lenders. But how do you get private money lenders?

We teach our students how to use simple marketing techniques to attract private lenders. Once you start to attract private lenders you can set up one-on-one meetings or group meetings where you can lay out the advantages and benefits of investing money with you. (more…)

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The financial events of the last several weeks have most peoples head spinning. If it is not Fannie and Freddie being bailed out, it is AIG, Wachovia, WAMU or Lehman failing and forcing the US Government to take them over or filing bankruptcy.

And now we have passed a $700 billion bailout package for the Wall Street banks. As a result of the credit crises, the real estate mortgage market is freezing up and banks are now requiring super human credit scores and multi-year employment history to get a mortgage for homeowners or real estate investors.

Real estate investors are really getting hit hard and have no shot at getting traditional mortgages and are being squeezed out of the mortgage market. (more…)

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Wall Street is in utter turmoil and banks are simply not lending. Our financial system is not functioning and no one knows just how long the problems will last. Commercial real estate property owners, investors and developers are desperate for capital and many don’t know where to turn.

Is anyone still funding commercial mortgage loans anymore? Fortunately, the answer is; yes. With traditional, conventional lenders virtually out of the picture, the private sector has stepped in and is filling the “funding gap” that this crisis of liquidity has created.

Private lenders, to include, hedge funds, private equity firms, wealthy individuals and privately held financial firms, are still making deals and closing loans. These unique lenders, once referred to as “hard money” lenders, lend their own money from their own accounts and hold or “portfolio” the loans until maturity. They are cash rich and do not need to sell or borrow against their loans to stay in business. Private lenders are not deterred by the problems in the secondary mortgage backed bond market.

Private money will cost borrowers more than institutional financing, but lending standards are much more flexible and usually not credit driven. (more…)

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In a typical private money lending transaction, you the real estate investor (borrower) will borrow from a private individual (private lender) and the transaction is documented by a Promissory Note and Mortgage.

Additionally, you will need to name your private lender on your property insurance. We also recommend you included a disclosure statement.

Promissory Note

One of the most important documents you will ever sign with a private lender is the actual Promissory Note that creates the loan obligation. (more…)

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..One the most frequent questions I get from students or newsletter subscribers relates to how can I raise money to buy real estate investments through private lending without getting in trouble with the SEC. This is not an easy question but certainly an important issue. Before I would answer this question, I always tell people that I am not an attorney and the advice I give is from my personal experiences and education and should not be considered legal advice.

Is borrowing money for real estate investments from a private lender considered to be issuing a “Security” as defined by the federal SEC or possible your state SEC? The federal SEC defines a “security” as a financial instrument such as stocks and bonds including such things as notes or evidences of indebtedness etc…. (more…)