How do I start private lending?

[Travis Darden]

Hello all, I have a question about how does one become a private lender?  I have some resources that I would like to use to make some passive income.  What are the usual terms?  How many months is normal?  What happens if they don't pay you back?  And the last item that I really need to understand is how much to I charge to loan out my money?  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.    

[Travis Darden]

Wow! Okay, you all are outstanding and in a matter of an hour, taught me a lot!  My potential situation is that I have a colleague in NC that is putting together a deal and asked if I want to be a part of it. I want to and I'm thinking 10% is the min I can take. 4 months would be the length of the loan; 50k. He's an experienced, successful wholesaler that has a pretty vast network and is buying a deal that he needs some funding for. Just want to be sure I'm covered in the event something goes wrong... He's been assisting me in getting my flipping/wholesaling business going.  I'm at the very beginning stages right now; cold calling and sending out post cards.