HOW do I find private lenders?!?! Please help...

[Sarah Miller]

Hi!  Is it possible to contact a financial institution who does SDIRAs and ask them to reach out to their clients about possibly investing in real estate? 

I am really struggling with HOW to find private investors!! 

Do I find a property I like first?  I can't possibly get something under contract without first showing proof of funds -

So I thought maybe I could have a few private lenders lined up, go find a property I like, take it back to the few possible lenders I might have and then get a commitment which would then allow me to make an offer...

[Ann Bellamy]

I don't know that I totally agree with the description of hard money vs private money that @Matthew Nixon gave.  

In fact, I don't agree with many descriptions of hard money that you'll find on BP and elsewhere.  And to make it more confusing, it varies greatly by region, so what may hold true in CA might not be the case at all in OH or MA.  

Hard money by definition is a loan based on a hard asset. Real estate is the hard asset. It doesn't mean hard to get or hard to deal with. So a hard money lender is making loans based on the value of the asset, and not on someone's credit score or DTI.

You can have sketchy people lending money and calling themselves hard money lenders or private money lenders.  In fact, most of the hard money lenders I know are not institutions, most are simply straight up business people.  A few are sketchy.  A few real estate investors are sketchy too. A few mortgage lenders are sketchy.  A few contractors are sketchy.  And on and on.  

My point is, it doesn't matter what you call it, it pays to ask around and do your due diligence.  Look for lenders local to you, and look for local references.  If they are highly regarded locally, you can speak to other investors who have done business with them.