thinking of becoming a private money lender

[Chudney Wesley]

I was approached by a well know flipper in my area.  He is only looking for 15K. Here are the details, he is looking for 3 people to lend him 15k. He needs 45k to flip this property. after the property is complete he says it will appraise for 180. I believe realistically it will appraise for at least 150 but not 100% sure. He has financing in place to give him back 50% of the appraised value (90k) if it does in fact appraise for 180. So he would pay his investors back with the 90k he will receive from financing the equity. He will give me an additional 10k on top of the 15K I put in. Sound like a great deal right?? turn around for the money is 8-10 weeks (his crew is usually in and out on these things) But Im not sure what type of questions I need to ask or what type of contracts I need to have in place to protect myself.  I already have checked the mls for recent sales in the area and everything checks out. does anyone have experience in private lending?

[Joel Owens]

The waters are muddied by the fact there will be you and 2 other investors on the rehab deal. It makes your capital outlay less but more risky in other ways.

If this flipper is so prominent then why can't they raise 45k from one person??

If 15k makes up most of your money then it sounds risky. If you are sitting on a ton of cash and this goes south and you only get 10k back of 15k then chalk it up to experience and a small loss write off.

No legal advice given.