All Forum Posts by: James Bares

@Jorge Caicedo

The best way to find a private money lender is to look to your sphere of influence or people you know personally and have an actual relationship with. The biggest difference between private money and hard money, besides the better interest rates, is the relationship between you and the lender. Hardest thing about securing private money is convincing these people to actually put up the funds so make sure you have a plan in place. So, in short ask your friends, family, colleagues, co-workers, or anyone you know and feel comfortable asking to lend you money. Another suggestion would be to check out the BiggerPockets hard money lender network (link below). Before you do that do your homework as hard money can be risky. I recommend reading Bigger Pockets Presents The Book on Flipping Houses. Best of luck to you!

http://www.biggerpockets.com/hardmoneylenders

Thanks for all the replies and the great advice! @Bill Gulley thanks for pointing out the possible usury issue but Bubba sounds like he would be from Alabama and I doubt Cajun Man would loan him the money haha.

I have a question related to private money lending. I am a real estate agent and one of my investor clients is using private money to fund their rehab and resale projects. In Louisiana when making an offer on a property, especially distressed properties, you must provide proof of funds to have your offer even considered. The private money lender is funding the projects through his 401K. How should we go about showing proof of funds? Clients have an LLC set up and I recommended they speak with their real estate attorney. Thank you in advance.

@Brandon Turner: Glad to be a part of the BP community and thanks for helping make this all possible.

@Michael Faulk: Thanks for telling me about BP's agent's guide to working with investors I'm sure it will be a great resource.

@Robert Leonard: Thanks for the heads-up about the investor group in Baton Rouge I will definitely be getting in touch with them and look forward to attending the meetings.

@Andrew Massaro: Thanks for the welcome.

@Paul Timmons: Thanks I've actually read the Ultimate Beginners Guide and will definitely check out the free podcasts. Congrats on the World Series!

@Will Barnard: Appreciate the welcome Will glad to be part of BP Nation.

@Mya Neubauer: Helping people is the best thing about being a real estate agent! Hopefully, joining BP will make it possible to help even more people from what I learn here. Making money is a nice bonus too!

Thanks for the welcome Dawn!

Hi Fellow Bigger Pocketeers,

Been following bigger pockets for over a month but just decided to officially sign up. Seeking to learn as much as possible about real estate investing, specifically more about buy and hold and flip/rehab strategies.

Began my real estate investing journey back in 2007 when I decided to quit my day job as a functional exercise and rehab specialist and be a full-time flipper. Needless to say I wish I would have known about Bigger Pockets back then. Took my lumps and learned a lot and now I'm a real estate agent helping out other investors achieve their investment goals. My brokerage deals primarily in single family properties.

Looking forward to meeting all of you and becoming a regular contributor to the BP community!