All Forum Posts by: CJ Wallace

Bet that got your attention!

Don't get me wrong  I am a huge believer in using private money but I would recommend that newbies not use it!

WHY?! You may ask! Private money is great and will take you far but if you are new and especially if your private lender is new (such as a friend or family member) and depending on you to take care of their money I would recommend a Hard Money lender!

A hard money lender normally knows how to evaluate a deal better than the newbie and will make sure the funds and you are protected. The Hard Money lender I have used the most in Richmond looks at every property he lends on and has rejected a lot of deals (not mine by the way since I was at this business for 15 years before I met him) but this keeps the newbie out of trouble. A few years back I picked up a few houses from him that other investors could not complete and then he got even stricter on  making sure he was protected.

Now by doing this and protecting the money he was lending he was also protecting the investor and the peoples money he was working with. So it turns out to be best for everyone!

So my recommendation would to do a few deals with a hard money lender first and then start using private money. Yes you will probably make less money but it will also help keep you from losing it all!

My 2 cents worth anyway!