Starting out as a private investor

Starting out as a private investor

Member since 2024 · 18 posts · 8 votes

Hi everyone

Wow, it's been over a decade since I was on BP, nice to be back.

My business partner and I have a fairly large portfolio of SFH's that we purchased as rehab projects using hard money. After doing this for 15+ years, almost all of our properties are paid off. As we get older, we no longer have the desire to add more homes to our portfolio.

That said, with our experience doing rehabs, working with private funding and with the majority of our homes paid off, we are now in a good place to start offering investment funding ourselves.  But obviously, we have spent the better part of 20 years on the buyer's side of the table, so we are looking for some general advice, tips/tricks, or even the pitfalls of setting up a hard money lending arm to augment our current business model. 

As you can imagine, we already have an attorney who specializes in real estate and an accountant who is well-versed in rental property accounting best practices (but she admits she doesn't have a lot of experience on the private lending side of the business). 

Are there any good materials (books, websites, etc.) you might recommend?  Any general advice you can share on getting this ball rolling?  We have a fair amount of money to lend and we want to see about getting things moving.  For the record, we are very comfortable with our local market in Pittsburgh PA so for the time being we will be sticking to loans in the region.

Thoughts? 

Thanks for reading

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Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
2y

It's great to hear how you've built such a successful portfolio over the years.

I'd love to connect with you. I'm based in Florida and have been in the real estate game for four years now. I started with flipping properties, then started doing direct-to-seller marketing, and transitioned our operation to wholesaling only. We're looking to get back into flipping at least 30% of the deals we get and are interested in raising capital for these projects.

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  • Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    2y

    It's great to hear how you've built such a successful portfolio over the years.

    I'd love to connect with you. I'm based in Florida and have been in the real estate game for four years now. I started with flipping properties, then started doing direct-to-seller marketing, and transitioned our operation to wholesaling only. We're looking to get back into flipping at least 30% of the deals we get and are interested in raising capital for these projects.

  • Specialist · NJ · Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 653 votes
    2y

    Hey Mike, I know Pitt very well.  many of the members of my investment group are in Pitt.  Been in Lawrenceville, Verona, Troy Hill, all over.  Nice city to start an investment career.

    I've closed many. many bridge/rehab loans.  Here are standard terms as of today:

    2 points

    10.49% - 12% rates

    75% - 90% LTC

    100% rehab included up to 75% of ARV

  • Lender · FL · Member since 2024 · 34 posts · 10 votes
    2y

    Hi Michael,

    It's great to hear about your successful journey in real estate. Transitioning into hard money lending is a natural step given your experience. To get started, educate yourself with resources like "The Book on Private Money" by Matt Faircloth. Ensure your attorney is well-versed in lending regulations and set up a strong legal framework. Develop thorough underwriting standards, leverage your network for marketing, and streamline your documentation process. Starting local in Pittsburgh is wise, and as you gain experience, consider expanding your reach. Best of luck in your new venture!

  • Member since 2024 · 18 posts · 8 votes
    2y
    Quote from @Stacy Patel:

    Hi Michael,

    It's great to hear about your successful journey in real estate. Transitioning into hard money lending is a natural step given your experience. To get started, educate yourself with resources like "The Book on Private Money" by Matt Faircloth. Ensure your attorney is well-versed in lending regulations and set up a strong legal framework. Develop thorough underwriting standards, leverage your network for marketing, and streamline your documentation process. Starting local in Pittsburgh is wise, and as you gain experience, consider expanding your reach. Best of luck in your new venture!


    Thanks Stacy!  

    The book recommendation is great, I am going to start there.

    Thanks again!

  • Member since 2024 · 33 posts · 12 votes
    2y
    Quote from @Michael Gonda:

    Hi everyone

    Wow, it's been over a decade since I was on BP, nice to be back.

    My business partner and I have a fairly large portfolio of SFH's that we purchased as rehab projects using hard money. After doing this for 15+ years, almost all of our properties are paid off. As we get older, we no longer have the desire to add more homes to our portfolio.

    That said, with our experience doing rehabs, working with private funding and with the majority of our homes paid off, we are now in a good place to start offering investment funding ourselves.  But obviously, we have spent the better part of 20 years on the buyer's side of the table, so we are looking for some general advice, tips/tricks, or even the pitfalls of setting up a hard money lending arm to augment our current business model. 

    As you can imagine, we already have an attorney who specializes in real estate and an accountant who is well-versed in rental property accounting best practices (but she admits she doesn't have a lot of experience on the private lending side of the business). 

    Are there any good materials (books, websites, etc.) you might recommend?  Any general advice you can share on getting this ball rolling?  We have a fair amount of money to lend and we want to see about getting things moving.  For the record, we are very comfortable with our local market in Pittsburgh PA so for the time being we will be sticking to loans in the region.

    Thoughts? 

    Thanks for reading


     HI Michael! Welcome back to BP! 
    It’s great to hear about your transition into the hard money lending space. Given your extensive experience, you’re already in a strong position. Here are a few tips to help you:
    - Market Research: Study the local hard money lending market to understand competition, typical loan terms, and borrower expectations.
    - Loan Structure: Define your lending criteria clearly—interest rates, LTV ratios, fees, and terms. Transparency helps build trust with borrowers.
    - Networking: Build relationships with real estate agents, rehabbers, and other investors to source potential borrowers.

    Best of luck with your new venture!






  • Jamie DietzBusiness Member
    Lender · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2015 · 175 posts · 90 votes
    2y

    I have a similar background and made the transition to private (Hard Money) lending several years ago.  There are several resources, books and masterminds available to help getting you started.  Feel free to reach out to discuss.   

    Next Door Capital514 Reviews
  • Lender · Nashville TN, USA · Member since 2024 · 142 posts · 30 votes
    2y

    It's great that you're considering transitioning into private lending after building such a strong portfolio over the years. I highly recommend "The Millionaire Real Estate Investor" by Gary Keller. While this book is geared towards investors, it offers valuable insights into the mindset and strategies of successful real estate professionals, which can be adapted to lending.

  • Beth JohnsonPro Member
    Lender · Renton, WA · Member since 2018 · 227 posts · 216 votes
    2y

    Check out my book in the BiggerPockets bookstore - Lend to Live: Earn Hassle-free Passive Income in Real Estate with Private Money Lending. It's pretty comprehensive on how to get started with your own capital and the safeguards you'd need to take in order to secure your capital investment. Other books are either high level how they got into PML or how to raise private capital (not as the lender). Our book is exclusively on how to safely find and fund private money loans for passive income and secured by real estate. 

    I also have a Facebook group called Lend2Live: A Private Lender Collaborative you can join exclusively for PMLs to connect, learn and share best practices. Lots of great experienced PMLs there - both passive ones that do it as a side hustle and small to medium sized PML business owners like me who started out with my own capital and grow over the past decade to have nearly 100 investors. I started out private placement of others capital and then moved over to a private debt fund because of the volume. It just wasn't operationally efficient to continue brokering. At any rate, let me know if you have any questions! I have a event in Vegas in a few months just for PMLs, if you are interested in that! 

  • Member since 2023 · 34 posts · 13 votes
    2y

    You could also consider selling your investment homes using seller finance.  You could continue to get the income without the hassle of being the landlord.  

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