Newbie to Real Estate investing

[Cheryl J McGrath]

Hello all you lovely people. Newbie Cheryl here again with a question. 

  Can someone tell me, I've been dealing with private investors with personal cash to invest. What's their procedure on a normal basis?  I do my research and it seems like most of them are scammers. It's really hard to tell sometimes, they are really good. Other than research and common sense. I'm unfamiliar with their practice. 

My experience has been

that, the person on the other end of the email sends me a very informal application, also require a origination fee. They approve the loan. Then they ask me to sign the contract and send the fee requested. Which is usually 5-10% of the requested loan amount. Sometimes they will negotiate the fee, but they want the fee upfront, before they transfer funds to my account. 

Is this how they make money?   I've chose this type of financing, due to a low credit score and very little money of my own to contribute.                          It seems like a rough way to go.  This Newbie would appreciate any information, from all you "Pro's".

Thanks to you'all for being there for newbies like me. It's so helpful and kind of you.... Cheryl