Media

Superlatives abound in the world of real estate investing. Articles, podcasts, and other media boast headlines like ”10x Your Business” and ”1,000 Doors in Only 2 Years.” The private money industry isn’t immune to peacocking either. Introductions boasting of how much in assets one has under management or origination volume to date are common. Those pronouncements can certainly be a little intimidating to a local lender like me, especially in a world where bigger always seems better. Trying to “keep up” with these boasts can lead to self-imposed goals that demand scale at breakneck speeds and the sacrifice of one’s

Knowledge is power. This oft-quoted adage applies to all things, private lending included. In our increasingly digital technology-driven age, the daunting task of sourcing, aggregating, and distilling the quantity of available information is understandably daunting, especially from a relative beginner’s perspective. For many, this initial knowledge base is the most substantial hurdle standing between them and obtaining true financial independence through private lending. That is the exact conundrum Alex Breshears and Beth Pinkley Johnson are planning to address in their upcoming book, Lend to Live: Earn Hassle-Free Passive Income in Real Estate with Private Money Lending, which will be available to

When you are considering an investment, don’t make the mistake of relying solely on opinions and experience rather than on data. Relationship building and networking are paramount to success for the small, independent private lender. These low-key lenders tend to fly under the radar. They don’t publicly advertise and typically do not have a brand that sets them apart in the real estate community. Additionally, these truly private equity lenders likely have less capital to deploy, and they are more risk adverse than institutionally backed lenders with more experience, resources, and deal flow. What Are Relationships Really Worth? Most will

It’s no secret there’s a lot of capital chasing yield right now. With historically low interest rates in the U.S. for a few years, many investments are seeing diminished returns. As a small or new private lender, you may often battle it out against larger, institutional capital offering super-low interest rates to your best borrower prospects. On the other hand, keeping your reserves in a CD at a bank often yields returns well below inflation, especially with the current economic outlook in the U.S. Given these choices, individual investors and investment managers may feel desperate. Wanting to at the very

This week we attended the American Association of Private Lenders annual conference in Las Vegas, our 4th time over the years. It has been a great way to make new connections with others in the industry and receive timely updates and industry trends. The exhibition hall is a phenomenal way to access tons of resources and vendors able to assist any private lender – big or small – with solving current business challenges specific to private lending. One year we went seeking support for automating our originations processes. Another year we were looking at the possibilities of establishing relationships with

Recently, I reviewed some old collateral we pulled together years ago for prospective investors seeking us out for private money placement. What stuck out to me while reviewing these pieces was the number of times I used private money and hard money interchangeably. As a novice in the field, back in 2014, I didn’t really understand or care about the difference in definition. In all honesty, I felt it was more semantics than anything else and who really cared what you called it so long as we provided a financial solutions people needed. However, I began to understand the true