Archive for December, 2011

 

Conventional wisdom dictates that if you want to make a purchase with money you don’t have, you go to the bank to get a loan.  It’s a time-honored system used by thousands of Americans every day.  But it consumes an enormous amount of resources, either in the form of your actual monetary payments, the amount of time and energy put into appeasing the bank, and the opportunity costs of not borrowing more cheaply.  Instead of rushing to the bank to fork over your money, why not try to find private investors?  Although it requires a bit more cultivation of relationships on the part of the real estate investor, the benefits of acquiring private funding are myriad when managed responsibly.

The most convenient thing about a private loan is that it’s fast.  There is no bureaucratic or administrative process to wait for—as soon as you reach an agreement with your lender, the money is yours.  Presenting that cash up-front and in-full is a reliable way to buy fast and at a discount.  Second, credit is not involved.  This means two things: 1) you do not need to have good credit to secure a private loan, only the ability to pitch your idea effectively, and 2) the loan will not follow you for the rest of your life by showing up on the credit report.  For an investor, debt can be crippling, and acquiring funding without affecting credit is a very valuable skill to learn.

One other advantage of private versus bank loans is that there is no limit imposed on the amount of funding provided.  In other words, you may be approved for a bank loan, but not for one in excess of $20,000.  If you can find someone with the demand (funds and will) to support your investment project, then you can ask for as much money as you deem necessary or fit.  Further, rather than jumping through the legally-enforced hoops of a bank loan, the private loan allows you to control your environment, by actually participating in the drafting of the contract, rather than merely reading and signing it.

Perhaps the greatest advantage offered by the private loan is the tremendous flexibility it allows an investor.  Especially in the world of real estate and investment, having cash in your pocket allows you to play by whichever rules make sense to you.  It always affords you an exit strategy without leaving unfinished business with the bank.  It means you can make offers on properties with the confidence that you are the buyer who will show up with the cash in hand.  And it is much cheaper than having an investment partner, who will invariably take a larger share of your profit than a simple investor.  If you can, work hard to cultivate your relationships with private investors, which may ultimately prove profitable for your business.

Tell us what you think by leaving a comment.  If you would like to be notified when new posts are made to this site, be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed.

http://www.superiorprivatemoneyreturns.com

http://www.indianainvestmentpropertygroup.com

http://www.practicallyfreehouses.com

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    Wholesaling investment properties entails a high degree of trust, more so than in other areas of real estate.  What accounts for this emphasis on trust?  The nature of wholesaling involves spotting a good deal before anybody else does, getting the deal under contract, and then assigning the contract to another investor.  The investor must trust in your abilities as a wholesaler to know what will sell and how much potential profit there is to be made with perhaps minor renovations.  If you pick out properties that make the investors’ profit, you will start to build a name for yourself.  However, if you take advantage of investors, word will spread and your reputation will be tarnished.  The real estate world can be very close knit and investors know to ask about wholesalers.  The most important thing you can do to promote long term wholesaling is to earn a great reputation of supplying good deals.

    The investor believes in your foresight and responsible work-up of properties when he or she agrees to buy a property that you’ve found.  It is vitally important that you provide the evidence that the property you are selling to an investor will indeed make a profit.  Falsely leading an investor to the conclusion that a poor performing property is actually good is not only unethical, but will come back to bite you.  Of course, you do not have to be a magic genie: it is entirely understandable if your predictions do not come true, because after all, they are only predictions.  This is the assumed risk the investor takes in listening to your advice.  However, as a wholesaler, those predictions need to be based in evidence and not wishful thinking.

    If you find yourself with a property that is not as profitable as you once believed, it is better to assume the loss yourself or back out of the contract than to pass it on to your investor.  If you sell a property to an investor that tanks, other investors are going to know what happened. Word travels on the street! Investors understand assessing future potential is risky, but they also know when a wholesaler takes advantage of a new and inexperienced investor.  Investors have access to the same data that you do, and if they come to the conclusion that your property work-up was negligent or misleading, you’re done.  They will no longer trust your judgments and no longer buy your properties, leaving you no choice but to go out of business. Before you go into wholesaling, make sure to understand the importance of reputation to owning a long-term business and don’t sell anything unethically.

    Tell us what you think by leaving a comment.  If you would like to be notified when new posts are made to this site, be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed.

    http://www.superiorprivatemoneyreturns.com

    http://www.indianainvestmentpropertygroup.com

    http://www.practicallyfreehouses.com

    Based out of Indiana, Jay Redding is a real estate entrepreneur, consultant and educator with experience in residential and commercial investing.

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