Here's some info Brandon Turner did on his Blog:http://realestateinyourtwenties.com/blog/hard-money-lenders-loan-sharks-of-the-real-estate-industry/Alternatives you might try would be private lenders - friends, relatives, real estate agents, contractors, etc.

Altough I prefer Direct lenders and Private financing for now.

.:)With respect to your answer from #1 (and I'm consulting the State MHA and legal counsel FYI), assuming I'm comfortable with the financial cost of doing this is my best bet to immediately try to finalize the purchase of any of the RTO units?

Being as they are my parents they would more than likely simply loan (no interest)/give me the money, but I want to approach it from a business standpoint A) to show them they would get better returns than just sitting in the bank and could be great supplemental income for retirement years and B) I'm not looking for a handout but truly trying to learn how to structure deals for private money in the future.That being said those of you who have partnered/joint venture would you be so kind as to share some of your different agreements?

In Option A the 120k would payoff the private investor completely so that wouldnt be an issue.

Would I have to go the private lender or hard money route to get started?

This sends them a private message.

He modifies boilerplate note documents to make them specific to private money investors and sets up pretty much anything we need.I keep him on retainer for $500 per month, and all of my closings have no costs on his side.

(I say "luck" because many folks tried exactly the same strategy in 2003 and ended up in a much worse position than if they had not made their bet.)

What if he wants to send his kids to a private school & needs $15k to do so?