For those who are new to real estate investing, it often seems as though there’s an “inner circle” of deal makers-the people who know where the deals are, how to get the money to buy them, and always get there first. It’s no accident that the same real estate investors work with the same hard money lenders and private lenders again and again. They’ve built a successful relationship based on helping each other to make money-and anyone can do this!
Seasoned pros who have built incredible wealth through investing in real estate know that their relationships with hard money lenders is key to finding the good deals before everyone else, and having a ready source of private money to borrow to purchase those properties.
Here’s how even the biggest novice at real estate investing can forge relationships that lead to more and more successful real estate transactions:
Have lunch with your hard money lender. Once you have found a good, seasoned hard money lender, invite him or her to lunch once every few weeks. And you can do this with a few lenders. Get to know them personally, as well as their restaurant preferences, and always pick up the tab. Over lunch, you can discuss what deals they’re working on, what you’re looking for-and you might even pick up a deal!
Of course, it might take several months of these lunches to produce any deals. But you’ll get to know more about their business (their lending criteria and what kind of deals they work on most often) and they’ll get to know your business structure too (for example, whether you invest as an entity or an individual, and whether you prefer to “flip” investment properties for a quick profit or “rehab” them before selling).
Share the wealth with your hard money lender. Once you know your hard money lender(s) well, you can refer real estate investment deals to them that fit their criteria. They’ll appreciate it, and most likely, they’ll remember that they “owe you one.”
Make the hard money lender’s job a little easier. You can do this by submitting a professional, organized loan package with compelling information about why the investment is a good idea and what your plans are-and why the lender should make a loan to you with confidence. Anticipate questions that the hard money lender or private lenders might ask, and answer them in the loan package.
Get to know the private lender too. Private lenders can be real estate professionals or savvy businesspeople, but very often, they are simply retirees with money to invest. They lend out their money and it comes back to them effortlessly in the form of mortgage payments-with much higher interest than a CD or money market account would pay.
But just because private lenders don’t have to be actively involved to collect their checks doesn’t mean that they aren’t curious about the deals they are funding. If you send your loan payments directly to the private lender, remember to always send them in early, enclose information on how the project is going (such as before and after photos), perhaps let them know how much profit you made, and thank the private lender for being a “partner” in your project’s success. That makes the deal more rewarding to them-and those private lenders will be more likely to help you with future real estate financing needs.
Work with the same real estate investing team of hard money lenders and private lenders for continued success. Once you have a successful investment deal or two under your belt, don’t forget who helped you get there! If it’s possible, work with the same hard money lenders and private lenders on other deals-doing so shows that you are a person of integrity and someone they can trust.
Real estate financing through hard money lending is not about your credit score, your income or even whether or not you’re gainfully employed. Hard money loans are based on asset value-the quick-sale price of the property you’re buying. And that means that anyone can be a successful real estate investor…as long as you have the right relationships.