Has anyone had any dealings with Privatemoneymen.com?

Question

I have had some discussions with an organization called Privatemoneymen.com they are located in Georgia. They do private lending. Has anyone out there had any dealings with this company? If so what did you think of them and did they deliver, if they didn't then what was your experience with them. I need to know what others think of the company and if they have helped you?

Michael Hickmott · Answer

Thanks Chris I did. I talked to them over the week end and the most they would tell me is they are a Delaware company, didn't share their corporate name, but they certainly wanted a lot of information from me, such as bank statements, copy of social security card, and a lot of other stuff that I just don't feel comfortable in giving out to anyone that I don't have any kind of relationship with. I asked them the name and phone number of their lawyer; I didn't get that information either. So I'm moving on, I'm trying to do a 100% seller finance deal today on an 8 unit apartment, in light of no one else coming to the table, we'll see how that plays out. Thanks again Chris, but like I say I did have misgivings right out of the blocks.

Chris Martin · Answer

It looks like a novice group of one or two individuals. They may or may not have funding available at the time of application. Too many red flags (no SSL, P2P lending?, etc.) for me to consider, but I'm not a customer in that market. Always check, too, to see if they have done any loans. You just need a reference to a county where they have done business, then check their recorded documents to verify that their talk has some substance.

It's obvious to me. These hard money lenders are hardly 'private money'. Since they advertise that way, you can call them out on it and ask how many loans they have done as individual private lenders, in their own name, and verify via recorded county documents.

Michael Hickmott · Answer

Thanks Chris, I checked with the State of Georgia and they are not registered under that name. Funny, my company has a web site and we list our corporate name and the name of our attorney. I have asked this company to give me the name of their company and I will check them out with the BBB, I also asked for the name and phone number of their attorney. I would really like to believe they are legit, because we are always looking for money to finance our deals. To bad there isn't any legit company out there that does this, at least I haven't found one yet, just all a bunch of scams, but after all this is America! I've never been "taken" in a business deal because I always check everything before I make a move.

Chris Martin · Answer

Find out the name of the company behind the web site. I think you'll find out their company is fictitious. Beware of their applications and all their screens, because they don't use SSL and score a 0 (zero) on my 'are you serious?' meter.