New investors looking for a private lender, or advice in general

OP

New to Real Estate · Fort Myers FL · Member since 2019 · 31 posts · 15 votes

5y

@Kyle Mccaw Yes it is! It is definitely the hardest part. But also the most important part. But ok thank you I will check them out right now. Do you know anything about his rates or if he has a website?

Real Estate Broker · Naples, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 6k+ votes

5y

The market is hot. Buyers are paying ridiculous high prices. The ONLY way to buy is under market. That is one of the keys to a successful investment. I am a broker and investor in SW FL. My office is in Naples but most of my rentals are in Cape Coral. let me know if I can be of any help.
John Thedford

Kyle MccawBusiness Member

Property Manager · Keller, TX · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

5y

@Shannon Vinson - Joanna Rinella is the Cape Coral expert for Marshall Reddick. Google them for their contact.

McCaw Property Management4.4907 Reviews

Website View Page

OP

New to Real Estate · Fort Myers FL · Member since 2019 · 31 posts · 15 votes

5y

@Kyle Mccaw Thank you! I appreciate it.

OP

New to Real Estate · Fort Myers FL · Member since 2019 · 31 posts · 15 votes

5y

@John Thedford Yes it is for sure. Could you tell me what you do as a broker? And how the process works for using a broker to purchase investment properties?

Real Estate Broker · Naples, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 6k+ votes

5y

I help people acquire and sell properties. I also provide property management. If you send a pm I can give you info to browse the MLS on my website. Thanks.

1 Reply

Real Estate Broker · Naples, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 6k+ votes

5y

BTW--I will provide you with a list of guidelines to help you in your investing decisions.

OP

New to Real Estate · Fort Myers FL · Member since 2019 · 31 posts · 15 votes

5y

@John Thedford That would be great! Anything you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

Jeff TumbarelloPro Member

Real Estate Broker · Fort Myers, FL · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 323 votes

5y

I am down to partner up on a good deal

OP

New to Real Estate · Fort Myers FL · Member since 2019 · 31 posts · 15 votes

5y

@Jeff Tumbarello Great! What is your preferred method of contact? I would love to chat and see what we can come up with.

1 Reply

Corey Chappell

Investor · Oklahoma City, OK · Member since 2021 · 6 posts · 13 votes

5y

A hammer will go a long way to building a house but a hammer alone will not do the job. You need a lot of tools in your tool belt so to speak. The first thing I would advise is get as much knowledge as you can. After all it's a career and a profession so you want to be the best right? That requires years of study, practice and more study! The more tools in your tool belt the more opportunities you will have.

If you are dead set on fix and flip but have funding issues AND issues finding a good deal there's an easy fix:

Step 1:) spend half your time getting in with local investors that are also interested in fix and flip

Step 2:) spend the other half of your time getting in good with local wholesalers

Notice I didn't say spend any time looking at houses?

Let the wholesalers bring the deals to you. If you see one that looks really attractive you get with the local fix and flip partners to see what they think. If they also think it's a good deal the wholesaler is happy, you're happy and your fix and flip partner is happy.

If you find one local fix and flip expert that's willing to mentor you that's great. If you have several you can bounce projects off to see if they are really good deals that's even better. And these partners will have a lot more experience and connections when it comes to traditional/ hard money lenders. They will also be able to help you tell a good deal from a bad one and can help you learn how to estimate your repair costs, marketing costs, estimated time on market etc.

Your experience level will go a long way in determining how things go. If you keep presenting your fix and flip partners with "deals" for 5% below market that need 45% in repairs it probably won't last long. But then my question would be how experienced is the wholesaler you're using to source the deal?

Find 2-3 GOOD wholesalers in your area.

Find 1-2 GOOD fix and flip partners who don't mind you learning a little, taking some of the risk and getting a bit of the action.

Yes it will be hard work, but then again so is getting a law degree and spending 20 years in front of a judge. That's what a career is. If you live in a moderate to large city finding a few good partners on both sides of the equation just takes a little time and effort.

4 Reply

OP

New to Real Estate · Fort Myers FL · Member since 2019 · 31 posts · 15 votes

5y

@Corey Chappell That's really good information thanks man! So how do I go about finding a good wholesaler? And how do I know if they're good?

Corey Chappell

Investor · Oklahoma City, OK · Member since 2021 · 6 posts · 13 votes

5y

@Shannon Vinson Great question man. Most bigger cities have some sort of real estate investment group club or meet up. Some are free, some charge a couple of bucks for admission or a small membership fee. Usually they meet once a month. If you're trying to get started these are great places to network.

Be warned that a lot of new investors come to these events, never do a deal and are never seen again. You want to be sure you're not one of them and you want to be sure you connect with the people in the area who are really making things happen.

I would go primarily to try and find fix and flip partners because everyone there claims to be a wholesaler. Just ask the person organizing the event if they can suggest 2-3 fix and flip pros you may be able to speak with. Find those three people, give them the 30 second elevator pitch about what you're looking for and see if you can strike up some interest. Even if they don't want to work with you they may know another flipper who would.

NOW you can find a wholesaler. Best part if the fix and flip partner likely already knows the wholesalers you're looking for. Maybe they just don't want to be on everyone's list or don't have time to go over every single deal but they likely know who you're looking for.

If you can get even 1 of these GOOD wholesalers you can get on their buyers list and start seeing what their deals look like. Now you have a bit of a baseline to compare other potential deals too.

Now if you see a "we buy houses" sign with a name or phone number you don't recognize you can simply call and ask to be added to their buyers list. Tell them the type of deals you're looking for (info which the fix and flip partner will give you) and see what kind of deals they send you.

Are they better than the deals from the "good" wholesaler? You may have found a little known gold mine. Are they all 2% below market value with a $20K assignment fee? Probably not a wholesaler who will be around long.

A little networking goes a LONG way in this business. Think of it this way: One good agent, One good mentor, One good lender, One good wholesaler = the life you dreamed of. You don't need thousands of people in your circle. You just need to be sure your circle knows what it's doing.

OP

New to Real Estate · Fort Myers FL · Member since 2019 · 31 posts · 15 votes

5y

@Corey Chappell Man I can't thank you enough for sharing this information. You explained everything perfectly, and gave me an entire action plan! That all makes perfect sense and I'm going to try to get to my local REIA as soon as they have the next meeting.

Chris K.

Investor · FL · Member since 2020 · 179 posts · 55 votes

5y

@John Thedford

Even though market is hot, and if you are a long term holder of property (+7 years) and if a property is still cash flows positive, do you advice a first time investor to purchase in Florida during these times ?

Why it why not?

We know the market is hot, but when are property values (close to beaches) going to come down?

Corey Chappell

Investor · Oklahoma City, OK · Member since 2021 · 6 posts · 13 votes

5y

@Shannon Vinson No problem man; that's why I'm here! (now if the website would just throw me a free pro membership for my time lol) Glad I could help. A few more recommendations to think about:

Have something to bring to the table. If you have cash on hand great! If not what do you have? Credit score? Ability to do manual labor (painting, clean up etc) There isn't as much risk in fix and flip as people think and teaching someone the ropes is a LOT of work so what can you offer a fix and flip partner that makes their life easier AND more profitable?

Learn as much as you can about fixing. Construction methods vary from place to place and even time period to time period. A house built in 1940 wasn't made from the same materials and techniques as a house built last year. Do you know how to spot water damage? Foundation issues? How would you fix a lot of ugly cracks in brick? What type of roof is good and which type is bad for your market? How do you take the home from what it is today and make it something every home buyer in town wants to buy? That's what you need to know (and everything in between).

Use this as chance to learn more about wholesaling. Learn from the deals you see and find out what makes a good deal and what makes a bad deal. Later on this may be a tool in your tool belt you can use to source your own deals (once you have more experience and a marketing budget).

Think outside the box. I had a friend who offered to work for free for an entire year if the best in the business would mentor him. He's been killing it ever since (still not as good as me but he's way better than average now!).

Most of all never stop learning. A doctor has a medical "practice" this is your "practice". The luckiest people I know make their own luck.

OP

New to Real Estate · Fort Myers FL · Member since 2019 · 31 posts · 15 votes

5y

@Corey Chappell Man that's awesome. I definitely agree with having something to offer in exchange for knowledge or experience. But ok thanks man I'm going to keep this information on hand so I can always refer back to it! Again I really appreciate you taking the time to reply.

William Craft

Member since 2020 · 28 posts · 10 votes

5y

@John Thedford Hi John! I saw this comment and was automatically excited to connect with you. I am new real estate investor looking to buy my first rental property in the Port Charlotte, Cape Coral, or Fort Myers area. I would love to connect with you directly about your experiences with investment properties in Cape Coral. I live in PG now and work in Fort Myers.

Dmitriy Fomichenko

Solo 401k Expert · Anaheim Hills, CA · Member since 2012 · 18k+ posts · 6k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @Shannon Vinson:

My friend and I are trying to get our real estate careers started, and we're finding it pretty difficult to afford the 20%-25% down payments for the properties in our area. We're interested in fix and flips to start out, and then work our way into rentals. We know that cash is king when it comes to buying power, especially in the current market.

We've already had two potentially profitable properties snatched up before we could even go look at them. So we know that conventional financing just isn't going to work. So to me, a private lender makes the most sense in my situation. We are in the southwest Florida area; Lehigh Acres, Fort Myers, Labelle, Cape Coral etc. If anyone is interested please let me know. I would also really appreciate any advice that anyone can share for alternative methods of purchasing real estate with low money down, in my specific area. Thanks!

Good luck with your REI journey Shannon!

Daniel Lopes

Member since 2021 · 1 post · 0 votes

5y

@Kyle Mccaw have you considered getting an FHA loan ? I think it's a smart option and you only need to put 3% down.

David Dachtera

Rental Property Investor · Rockford, IL · Member since 2014 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @Shannon Vinson:

My friend and I are trying to get our real estate careers started, and we're finding it pretty difficult to afford the 20%-25% down payments for the properties in our area. We're interested in fix and flips to start out, and then work our way into rentals. We know that cash is king when it comes to buying power, especially in the current market.

We've already had two potentially profitable properties snatched up before we could even go look at them. So we know that conventional financing just isn't going to work. So to me, a private lender makes the most sense in my situation. We are in the southwest Florida area; Lehigh Acres, Fort Myers, Labelle, Cape Coral etc. If anyone is interested please let me know. I would also really appreciate any advice that anyone can share for alternative methods of purchasing real estate with low money down, in my specific area. Thanks!

Understand that there are two different kinds of "private" "lenders" ...

The first are as you're probably thinking: individuals in the business lending out their own funds on hard-money terms.

The second are lesser known / understood: people you already know - friends, family, neighbors, etc. - who would be willing to invest in your deals for a return on their money. Here's where a good knowledge of self-directed retirement funds comes in lotsa handy. Many folks are looking for less risk and volatility than Wall Street can offer, but don't know it's out there or how to access it. Learn how to help them learn.

My $0.02 ...

Real Estate Broker · Naples, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 6k+ votes

5y

@Chris K. @William Craft feel free to send a private message or call me direct. I love working with investors. You can also access MLS listings on my site. I have held a license since the early 2000's and been investing for the past nine years. I will give you 100% to help you. John

1 Reply

Warith Ojelade

Flipper/Rehabber · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2019 · 1 post · 0 votes

5y

@Corey Chappell thank you so much for sharing this. I’m in Sacramento just starting out my real estate career as well.

You answered all my questions. I will be sure to attend meetup groups to learn more about Fix and Flip and to connect with local flippers and wholesalers.