Learn alternative, creative deal structuring asap.Don't get bogged down by institutional lenders telling you what is or is not a good deal.Happy Investing

Loan to others: There are a variety of different people and institutions that you could loan your money to that would make you varying rates of return.

They are contracted by HUD and various other lending institutions to sell their distressed real estate.

Looking to network with institutional buyers, people who have experience raising capital, 50+ Unit Multifamily buyers. 

I have tried a couple of times to get a $3,000 personal loan from different financial institutions to consolidate my credit card debt and have been turned down each time2.

University and college housing is a good investment to start with, verify that the students pass background checks and have a guarantor for each one, some institutions also require first-year attendees to dorm at the university (Harvard, MIT, etc.)

@Domanique Huggins - yeah a 401k is great way to leverage your assets (as long as you go the loan route) - you're essentially loaning yourself the money and then paying yourself the interest (or your mom) instead of someone else.Few things to remember about the 401k loan - you can only take it once until you pay it off i.e. you can't take 20k, then come back and borrow 15k more until you pay off the first loan (this may vary a little by institution but seems to be a industry norm).

As a result we make loans all the time at 12% interest to borrowers who qualify with institutional lenders at 7% but refuse to pay an upfront commitment fee.

Specialty assets are a harder niche for investors, it is typically occupied by larger institutions but it's worth a crack at.

The phrase "institutional private money lender" is an oxymoron.