Should I loan money for a flip if I need the money in 12 months?

[David Light]

I currently live in London and have some money in the U.S. I'll need to buy a personal residence and cars when I return in July 2016. My question is should I loan this to a business partner who wants to complete a flip? I would put in the terms that it was due back in 9 months and have had good experience lending on a flip with this person before. Is it worth the risk of something going wrong and not getting paid back in time? It sure would beat the bank interest rate if I just leave the money in my savings account. Anything else I could do to safeguard myself?

[Joel Owens]

A regular flip should take just a few months. Should be able to do 2 to 3 flips in that time if they have experience.

Definitely friend or not you need a professional agreement drawn up by an attorney. These things sound great going in but when something goes bad that is when the upfront agreement is worth it's weight in gold.