It will raise the value of your home and allow you to ultimately borrow more.

As you know the Banks learned this the hard way it took them a few years but once they realized what the realities were you saw all sorts of mitigation plans borrowers could use so they could keep their properties. 

. :) A lot of "private lenders" are actually borrowing on a personal HELOC to re-lend to you.

Then borrow, beg and hustle for the extra 2%!

I have an investor friend that I can partner & borrow money with but that would be my last resort.

Regardless who the borrower is, YOUR LLC CAN NOT ORIGINATE THIS LOAN if the lender is your self-directed IRA.Here is a direct link to the rules:https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-prohibited-transactions

Since I'm borrowing private money to fund real estate it doesn't make sense for me to put it in the market because then I would have to borrow more private money at a high premium to offset the money I've invested in the market.

I had ZERO savings and had to borrow the down payment (which now must be seasoned in your account or borrowed with FHA - which might be hard in the area you live in) - During this "down time" aka "kick some butt time" you can be learning creative ways to purchase:   ie Lease Options, Subject Tos, Wholesale, Partnering, getting private lenders, etc.  

I was curious to know what actual or potential impact (if any) the current COVID-19 pandemic, Fed rate cuts, etc. would have on "hard money" lending and borrowing? 

Some helpful posts so far, and yes it wold be very , VERY nice to have a large amount of liquidity to be able to buy & rehab a house w/o having to borrow money in this roller coaster economy we're facing.