Are we suppose to pay upfront fees to private lenders?

[Teresa Williams]

My husband and I are new to real estate investments and we are trying to find a legit private lender that don't sound like they scamming. We have gone through a few referrals and friends and we can't seem to find any. The ones that we have contact their origination processing fee is way too high.  Can someone on here point us in the right direction? My credit score is too low for a traditional banking loan and my husband doesn't have any. We already put in an offer for two multi-family property rental.