I have found that many of my investors have been having issues with fraudulent private money lenders down here in Florida.With that being said, I was wondering what types of precautions can be taken when dealing with a private money lender.

What is the range of fees typically paid to a hard money vs a private lenderThank you,Matt

If you understand an asset class such as real estate (or private lending, or venture capital ...) and can get better results for your IRA by investing in what you know, then a self-directed IRA makes sense.

@Costin IorgulescuThe IRA LLC may be you best bet to control custodian fees.

I personally would rather try to use OPM and put my own money to the best possible use such as doing private lending, investing in syndication or note fund, or even index mutual fund... all of those would yield me over 10% return.

The other option is to use a conventional loan but hard money/private money for the down payment.

I would bet the MLS has good deals you just need to spend more time searching and act quickly. 

There's a vacant lot down the street from me that has sat for decades and I'll bet the owner just passes it down to their kids. 

Would a hard money lender or Private Lender be a good source of funding?

At $1.2MM, there better not be much public improvement, utility, or private facilities required.- For something small like this, you're gonna need someone local who's more of a boutique developer.