All Forum Posts by: Brenda Whittaker

I hear there are a lot of private lending scams out there.  Are there none beyond your own personal acquaintances that are reputable?  Do they all charge application fees?  What is the best way to check a prospective lender's credentials?   Or if there really is a lender behind the website?  Are there organizations that report on them?

@JScott Yeah and who needs a lawyer for that, right? I mean it's obvious I need to work out that lawsuit, which I am doing. They got a judgement, that was 2 years ago, and I have been holding them off by making small payments, promising them a final solution as soon as I am able. For now I do not have $25K to give them, so I have one rental home for sale and plan to make them a smaller offer if and when it sells, and take the rest to pay down one of my mortgages against my own home and use the rest to do one low cost rehab flip without having to go to a lender, sell and repeat until I can pay down that entire 2nd mortgage on my own home, and this should strengthen my position and stabilize things a little better. Then when Im more stable maybe I can go to some private lenders, set up an LLC and streamline the beginning of a more professional business position. In the meantime I would like to read "The Book on Flipping Houses." As for that judgement, I decided early on to think of it as a lesson, as a motivation to get seriously moving on my investing, think of the people that sued me as business partners in a way, and the cost as a sort of tuition. It happened for a reason, so I'm just going to make sure it doesnt "cost" me, meaning, if I use it as a reason/motivation to earn an extra $25K, it was $25K I wouldnt have made if it never happened, so it didnt cost me anything, including psychologically or emotionally. If I earn an extra $25K and learn something, I will have come out ahead.

@Al Wilson But you're right, I was mixing apples and oranges.  This thread and this community was a big help in understanding that, 

@Al Wilson I dont think I would seek a lawyer to ask about lending.  I'm pretty sure he would tell me to look for a lender to ask about lending, and to come to him when and if I need law advice.  Contrary to popular belief, lawyers don't know everything.  But thanks and best wishes to you.

@Crystal Smith thank you!  I think you are correct.  I kind of came to that understanding slowly along with this thread.  This is a great place, here at BP.  

@Mike Jury thanks so much!  I hope that latest project of yours worked out well.  Where do you like to invest most?  Funding an entire project with a short term loan would be nice but I do expect to come out of pocket a bit, at least a few grand.  Thanks for your post.  

@JScott  Yes I do know all the answers, to the questions you asked me.  You insinuate I am not reading these posts, well I have read EVERY one of them, over and over again.  You accuse me of not being willing to listen or learn, how dare you.  I am listening to everything, and having to decipher a LOT of conflicting information, so I'm actually doing a hell of a good job here, and have made large strides of progress, so I suggest you take your insults and go find someone else to lay them on.  You are out of line, throwing your insults at me like that.  There are plenty of good people here to talk to that don't feel the need to be on the attack of my character, which by the way you know nothing about.  I don't need the likes of you, your negativity, your derogatory personal comments or your advice.  Stop replying to my posts.  

@Brandon Hicks thanks so much.  Nice and to the point.   @J Scott "why would you want to be taking on more debt right now?" answer = because Im an experienced rehabber, and can earn my way out of this debt with a few projects.  I said Im an experienced rehabber, I can fix houses, Im not an experienced finance/entity guru, before anyone scoffs at my claim to be an expert anything with a debt challenge.  I create beautiful move-in ready homes out of garbage, that's why.  Second, you said "And why would someone lend you money?" answer = Because I am an experienced rehabber and the deal is supposed to qualify, as far as what I am being told.  One of the biggest real estate investor topics is where to get funding for your projects if you do not have a million in spendable cash or a million dollar 9-5 with a w-2 and 800 credit.  That's why.  Further, I do have income, from the 3 rentals.  Thats why I wanted to do more projects instead of just selling and wasting all that cash paying stuff off with the capital that I could have used to invest.  Any good investor can understand how much better it is to have cash to buy real estate than to have to grovel for lenders.  Seems pretty simple to understand the why's here.

This is awesome.  

@Richard Balsam  You assume wrong when you say I need to burn the checks.  I did not spend money frivolously, I did exactly what you suggested I do as if for the first time doing it, bought low cost rentals.  I do not spend money on junk, I never buy clothes, dont have a car payment, I eat at home, I hate trinkets.  I dont need to burn checks to control myself.  I bought 3 rentals with lines of credit, and the interest rate rose and I got sued, so situations changed, plus i was laid off from a job since taking that line of credit.  Its also to be proving to be difficult to manage out of state rentals, so Im learning.  But Im not spending lines of credit on liabilities.  I only spent lines of credit on Assets.  However, my borrowing power is not present anymore, too much debt to income, no w-2, banks cut me off, Im not going to get a line of credit.  I wish I could.