Private Lenders email solicitation

[Dixia Martinez]

From FaceBook I was approached by a Private Lender to fund my first Flip/Investment. He has forwarded his website and phone # and says he’s the CEO. Before “applying” and sending him my personal and financial information how can we be careful and make sure we are not sharing those things with a stranger? He’s private so he has no registered company etc. https://www.globallncm.com/terms.html There is an online application.

[Jeff S.]

Their website stinks to high heavens, @Dixia Martinez, with all the telltale signs of a scam through and through. Bad English, foreign idioms, unrealistic (really weird) terms, and an expectation that you will send them money via Western Union. Scam!!!

With typical hard money rates around 10 to 12 percent plus a few points, do you really think someone is going to make a $10M loan to you, a newbie, at 6 percent? Do you really think they will approve you for this in 6 hours after you send your application, as the say? This is nothing more than a scam, designed to extract an up-front fee from you and likely your personal financial information, which also has value.

LinkedIn, Facebook, Craigslist, Connected Investors, and most other online sources are cesspools, Dixia. Even the lender list on BP is not vetted.

Lending is a business based on relationships, not online anonymity. Stay off the web when looking for money. There are just too many scammers out there and it’s very hard to tell who is who or which website is even legit.

Local real estate clubs are your best bet; face-to-face. Under normal times, you’d be hard-pressed to toss a stone into any real estate club and not hit a private lender. You would go to lunch, bring a list of informed questions like these, and develop a relationship. There is almost never a reason to do business with an online stranger.

Until we can socialize again, your best option is to go to Meetup.com and call some local real estate club operators. Ask which lenders regularly attend their club and who have the best reputations. Call these people and have a conversation with that same list of questions.

Never rely on anonymous strangers you met on the web, Dixia, to find your money.