Fund & Grow Financing

Creative Real Estate Financing
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Fund & Grow Financing

Justin SheleyBusiness Member
Investor · Rockford, IL · Member since 2016 · 94 posts · 220 votes

After listening to the Clayton Morris podcast (EP115 with Mike Banks) about the company Fund & Grow, I became intrigued with the idea of using business credit cards to buy rental properties using the BRRRR method. The whole concept seemed too good to be true, so I hopped on BiggerPockets to see what people were saying about Fund & Grow. I always find great content here, and more often than not I find the answer to my question before I even need to post and ask about it. However, with Fund & Grow, I didn't find much. (If anyone knows of a discussion about Fund & Grow that I didn't find please link me to it) There are a few discussions where people were considering using Fund & Grow to finance a deal, but none that I saw that went all the way through the process and used the funds to find a deal.

That being said, I decided to start this discussion post and share my experience with the company from day 1 till I refinance and hopefully complete the BRRRR method.

For anyone not familiar with Fund & Grow, they are a company started by Ari Page that helps you establish business lines of credit for the purpose of creating working capital for small businesses. In my case, I will be using the line of credit to buy properties in Rockford, IL and rehab them into rental properties.

Phase 1:

Currently I have enrolled with Fund & Grow and completed my initial consultation. This cost $3,000 for their service of negotiating and securing the business credit cards. I spent 1 hr on the phone with a very friendly consultant and discussed my plans for the business credit and established a sole proprietorship for both my wife and I. This allows the business lines of credit to not affect my personal credit score.  The first push for business credit will begin next week, and I should have access to an anticipated 60k by the following week. My wife is not currently receiving accounts yet until a more established credit history can be created for her.  We are currently lining up several refinancing options with banks in the area so that they are aware of what we intend to do. Currently we are being told that we can refinance the properties we buy with cash after 6 months. This is key for us, because we intend to buy and hold these properties and do not want to get stuck after the initial 12 months of 0% interest expires on our business credit cards.

Phase 2 is going to be actually receiving the cash into our account and making our cash purchase. I tried for brevity sake to not go into the entire Fund & Grow concept in my initial post, but if anyone has any questions, comments, or concerns I'd love to discuss them.

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Most Popular Reply

Drew Cameron
Lender · Peabody, MA · Member since 2015 · 82 posts · 49 votes
9y
I used a similar system to receive roughly $40,000 in credit cards at 0% for a 12 month period. The company I used took 10% upfront and then helped me liquidate everything so I had usable funds fairly quick. I was able to do a flip with the funding I received and pay back all the money before my interest free period ran out. It was expensive, but the flip more than covered everything and I was able to get in the game. I would do it all over again if I had to.
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  • Josh Barnes
    Roy, UT · Member since 2017 · 4 posts · 0 votes
    7y

    Fund and Grow has been a great partner to work with in getting interest-free credit cards for me to purchase a rental property. They teach you how to pull cash from the card (for a small fee) by either using a balance transfer (I did this to a HELOC where I could), using GoldMoney (where you buy gold with a credit card, sell it, then deposit the cash into my account), or a service called Plastiq.

    While all of these services came with a small fee, John, Jason and the team were great to work with in guiding me through the process. I found balance transfers to be the easiest where possible. When that didn't work, I liked the option of using Plastiq. GoldMoney was okay, but getting the account approved took a few months but was great after that.

    Just be sure to map out everything, including when the promo 0% interest rates expire so you can plan to have the cards paid off.

    0Reply
  • Mike G.
    Real Estate Agent · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2016 · 589 posts · 275 votes
    7y

    reading this particular thread on fund and grow. . . ive got to say is priceless.  . .  thanks for all the good info from so many people there is too many to list. 

    0Reply
  • Christine Summers
    Member since 2018 · 1 post · 0 votes
    7y

    I am not in the real estate industry other than having my own home but, I have begun my own business.  If you are looking for capital this may be company you are looking for.  I learned of Fund & Grow from my daughter’s client. I was very skeptical at first and very familiar with online scams. When I decided to start my own business and knowing the risks, I did my research and found that they are legit. So far, my experience with Fund&Grow has been great!! Donna has helped me achieve a total of $40,000 in my first round of funding. Donna has been so on top of the whole process and in keeping me informed that it was really a walk in the park. I work a full time job and am starting my own business so that I may leave that behind.  F&G took the burden of the financing off of me so that I have the time to focus on my business. I am looking forward to my next batch!!
     

    A new business venture is hard on your personal credit and the costs can add up fast.  Fund&Grow has made this possible for me. Yes, there is an upfront fee,  no you do not have to pay for the newsletter and no you do not have to renew annually if you do not require more credit and F&G provides a service to remove the inquiries from your personal credit.  If you have plenty of money and credit to run your business without this funding, then I you should keep your costs down and utilize them for your business.  For me, the fee is a cost of doing business and my revenues pay back those charges.  I have only been in business for a few months and not trying to advise anyone.  It takes money to make money.

    0Reply
  • John S LewisPro Member
    Jackson, NJ · Member since 2017 · 167 posts · 48 votes
    7y

    I've been working with Brandon Kroon since the spring of this year. He is very attentive and always responds to my emails within 24 hours. Although I haven't reached the business credit amounts I was hoping for, they are still working at it, and I look forward to additional lines in the future.

    0Reply
  • Michael Saberniak
    Rental Property Investor · Chatham, MI · Member since 2015 · 39 posts · 12 votes
    7y

    Okay, I do not read through all 20 pages of comments, buy why would anyone use this service with the high fees when you could apply for business cards on your own? US Bank has given me some pretty nice credit limits with only 3% transaction fee to get the 0% for 18 months. I would think in under an hour of study you could figure out what cards to apply for and get some nice signup bonuses.

    1Reply
  • Daniel Rutledge
    Anderson, SC · Member since 2016 · 91 posts · 40 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Michael Saberniak:

    Okay, I do not read through all 20 pages of comments, buy why would anyone use this service with the high fees when you could apply for business cards on your own? US Bank has given me some pretty nice credit limits with only 3% transaction fee to get the 0% for 18 months. I would think in under an hour of study you could figure out what cards to apply for and get some nice signup bonuses.

    Getting them in an LLC is much better but harder than getting them in your name. A maxed out card in your name crushes your credit score but has no impact if in a business name.

    0Reply
  • Michael Saberniak
    Rental Property Investor · Chatham, MI · Member since 2015 · 39 posts · 12 votes
    7y

    Yes, I was referring to getting them in an LLC. Can see that would be hard with a newly formed LLC though.

    0Reply
  • Caleb Coats
    Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2017 · 9 posts · 5 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Michael Saberniak:

    Okay, I do not read through all 20 pages of comments, buy why would anyone use this service with the high fees when you could apply for business cards on your own? US Bank has given me some pretty nice credit limits with only 3% transaction fee to get the 0% for 18 months. I would think in under an hour of study you could figure out what cards to apply for and get some nice signup bonuses.

     I like your question @Michael Saberniak. I researched this method a lot and decided not to pursue it. With the $3995 fee and the 3-6% hit trying to pull out the funds, I'm not sure how people are really benefiting from this. Anyone pulling out less than $100k is taking a 7-12+% hit. Plus like you said, a little research and you can learn this process on your own (1. apply for cards, 2. ask for rate increase, 3. request to get credit inquiry off personal report and 4. using various methods to get cash out).  The one thing that I am still hung up on is how Fund and Grow is able to set up a new business that can qualify for credit. I am finding that good old fashioned relationship building seems to yield the most favorable funding methods. Go to meet-ups, build a relationship with a good HML or private lender and the process will be much easier with favorable terms.

    1Reply
  • Jose Gonzalez
    Real Estate Investor · Turlock, CA · Member since 2013 · 27 posts · 8 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Caleb Coats:
    Originally posted by @Michael Saberniak:

    Okay, I do not read through all 20 pages of comments, buy why would anyone use this service with the high fees when you could apply for business cards on your own? US Bank has given me some pretty nice credit limits with only 3% transaction fee to get the 0% for 18 months. I would think in under an hour of study you could figure out what cards to apply for and get some nice signup bonuses.

     I like your question @Michael Saberniak. I researched this method a lot and decided not to pursue it. With the $3995 fee and the 3-6% hit trying to pull out the funds, I'm not sure how people are really benefiting from this. Anyone pulling out less than $100k is taking a 7-12+% hit. Plus like you said, a little research and you can learn this process on your own (1. apply for cards, 2. ask for rate increase, 3. request to get credit inquiry off personal report and 4. using various methods to get cash out).  The one thing that I am still hung up on is how Fund and Grow is able to set up a new business that can qualify for credit. I am finding that good old fashioned relationship building seems to yield the most favorable funding methods. Go to meet-ups, build a relationship with a good HML or private lender and the process will be much easier with favorable terms.

    I haven't use them myself, did a lot research to figure out how they do, I have an old corporation(retail store) with established lines of credit and credit cards already setup, I did apply for a couple more some with same banks I already have a business credit but got a new ones with an zero intro rate to beef up on cash for holiday season. more cash at hand more available to invest and increase profits for us.

    I am thinking of setting up a new business to start a new venture (Car Dealership,Taco Truck or both in same lot), being in California is no easy for corporations since there are a lot of fees and taxes for some corporations. When I do I will probably do a consultation with Fund & Grown to see how they can help me or if it is better doing it myself.

    0Reply
  • Quinton Moore
    Lakeland, FL · Member since 2015 · 1 post · 0 votes
    7y

    “I heard of Fund and Grow while listening to a real estate podcast by Clayton Morris. My experience was awesome. My consultant was John Madison. John was very helpful and answered all of my questions and concerns. John made the process of obtaining personal and business credit easy and smooth. I received every card that John applied for in 30 days as promised. John was also able to get credit line increases on several of my cards. I would recommend Fund and Grow to anyone in need of business funding. Thanks Fund and Grow!”

    0Reply
  • Nicholas Lawson
    Palm Desert, CA · Member since 2017 · 8 posts · 4 votes
    7y

    @Justin Sheley, I was wondering if you would list the business cards that were applied for and those which were received? Do you know what F&G stated was the intent of your SP on the applications? Did you ever receive copies of the applications they submitted on your behalf? What were your personal credit card limits prior to applying for the business CC's? Were you able to get the inquires removed from your credit history? If yes, can you explain how you did this? 

    Thank you! 

    0Reply
  • Shanda Peay
    Member since 2018 · 1 post · 0 votes
    7y

    Sabrina Ubele was great. Listen to Morris Invest and found them. Got my business credit and now I’m on my was to making my real estate goal happen. Really great company. 

    0Reply
  • Dwayne Avery
    Member since 2018 · 1 post · 0 votes
    7y

    $37,000 in business funding in just a couple of weeks!!!

    Financial freedom is the ultimate goal that we all hope to achieve and that goal can become a reality with the awesome business credit program provided by Fund & Grow. Entrusting your personal credit profile to a credit acquisition firm can be an unnerving process. My concerns were immediately put at ease after the first conversation I had with my account specialist, John Madison. He thoroughly went the process with me and laid out a step by step process for me to follow.

    After that initial conversation, I simply followed the instructions, kept up with our email communications, and let John take care of all the correspondence and negotiations with the credit institutions. In just two short weeks, I received $37,000 in business credit in my first round of funding!

    The attention to detail was top notch and the constant communication was first rate. I look forward to working with John in the future to obtain my business goals. If you are serious about changing your life and obtaining the business funding that will help you in that journey, look no further than John Madison and the competent folks at Fund & Grow. 

    0Reply
  • Michael Saberniak
    Rental Property Investor · Chatham, MI · Member since 2015 · 39 posts · 12 votes
    7y

    Wow, that is a lot seemingly of fake referrals. 

    3Reply
  • Brent Shedrick
    Member since 2018 · 1 post · 0 votes
    7y

    Hello, BP family,

    Just want to leave a quick review from my experience working with Fund & Grow. To make a long story short, these guys are extremely awesome!!! I had the pleasure to work with Brandon Kroon, this guy customer service was fantastic!! Always kept me in the loop of what's going on, and was prompt in doing so. He was able to obtain 41k in my first round. Am very eager to know how much I will receive in my next round. 

    0Reply
  • Justin SheleyBusiness Member
    OP
    Investor · Rockford, IL · Member since 2016 · 94 posts · 220 votes
    7y

    @Nicholas Lawson

    I ended up getting cards from US Bank, Chase, and American Express. I never did see the applications that were submitted on my behalf, and personally did find it a bit confusing about how exactly I was being represented after the fact. I already had a 25,000 personal credit card from Chase, so I was able to use that along side of the 29,000 I received through Fund and Grow. 

    I was supposed to remove the credit inquiries and do another round with Fund and Grow, but I never followed through with it. 

    Bottom line for me was that Fund and Grow supplied the money I needed for my first couple major BRRRR deals, but then things started to snowball after that. My banking and personal connections began to improve and I've been using lines of credit from the equity in the homes I've BRRRR'd. I pay a little more in interest but I've found it's a lot easier to access the funds for the purchasing of property.

    I don’t think I used F&G to it’s full potential but it was great to get things rolling, and then I moved on.

    6Reply
  • Daniel Rutledge
    Anderson, SC · Member since 2016 · 91 posts · 40 votes
    7y
    You mentioned you are using lines of credit on the homes you have purchased. Are you referring to a HELOC? If so I'm interested in where you found a bank that would do a HELOC on investment properties.


    Originally posted by @Justin Sheley:

    @Nicholas Lawson

    I ended up getting cards from US Bank, Chase, and American Express. I never did see the applications that were submitted on my behalf, and personally did find it a bit confusing about how exactly I was being represented after the fact. I already had a 25,000 personal credit card from Chase, so I was able to use that along side of the 29,000 I received through Fund and Grow. 

    I was supposed to remove the credit inquiries and do another round with Fund and Grow, but I never followed through with it. 

    Bottom line for me was that Fund and Grow supplied the money I needed for my first couple major BRRRR deals, but then things started to snowball after that. My banking and personal connections began to improve and I've been using lines of credit from the equity in the homes I've BRRRR'd. I pay a little more in interest but I've found it's a lot easier to access the funds for the purchasing of property.

    I don’t think I used F&G to it’s full potential but it was great to get things rolling, and then I moved on.

    1Reply
  • Maurice Colbert
    Rental Property Investor · Blacklick, OH · Member since 2015 · 111 posts · 80 votes
    7y

    @Justin Sheley which bank is letting you heloc an investment ? 

    0Reply
  • Justin SheleyBusiness Member
    OP
    Investor · Rockford, IL · Member since 2016 · 94 posts · 220 votes
    7y

    I currently have 2 lines of credit through Holcomb State Bank. One is on one of my investment rentals, and the other is on the live in flip we are doing. We are waiting the 2 years to avoid capital gains, but were able to use 75% of our equity in the property.

    2Reply
  • Nicholas Lawson
    Palm Desert, CA · Member since 2017 · 8 posts · 4 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Justin Sheley:

    @Nicholas Lawson

    I ended up getting cards from US Bank, Chase, and American Express. I never did see the applications that were submitted on my behalf, and personally did find it a bit confusing about how exactly I was being represented after the fact. I already had a 25,000 personal credit card from Chase, so I was able to use that along side of the 29,000 I received through Fund and Grow. 

    I was supposed to remove the credit inquiries and do another round with Fund and Grow, but I never followed through with it. 

    Bottom line for me was that Fund and Grow supplied the money I needed for my first couple major BRRRR deals, but then things started to snowball after that. My banking and personal connections began to improve and I've been using lines of credit from the equity in the homes I've BRRRR'd. I pay a little more in interest but I've found it's a lot easier to access the funds for the purchasing of property.

    I don’t think I used F&G to it’s full potential but it was great to get things rolling, and then I moved on.

     @Justin Sheley, thank you for your insight. Your statement that "I never did see the applications that were submitted on my behalf, and personally did find it a bit confusing about how exactly I was being represented after the fact" inspired me to start a new thread titled "Fund And Grow + Equivalents - What Goes on Behind The Scenes?" I would be grateful for you and anyone reading this to check out that post and let me know what you think. 

    Thanks!

    2Reply
  • Justin SheleyBusiness Member
    OP
    Investor · Rockford, IL · Member since 2016 · 94 posts · 220 votes
    7y

    Sounds good, I’ll check that out.

    0Reply
  • Joseph Reyes
    Member since 2018 · 4 posts · 1 vote
    7y

    I just finished my first round of financing with Fund & Grow. Totally psyched! Fund & Grow is the real deal! First, I signed up with F&G around three years ago. At that time they told me that my financial situation was not favorable to going forward. I had already paid their fee so of course I was concerned that my fee was lost. I kept in touch a few times over the past three years and each time it was confirmed that I was still not ready. Each time they confirmed that my account was still open and I didn’t have to worry about my fee being lost. Just recently I contacted them again because I knew my finances were greatly improved and that I knew it was time we could move forward. F&G talked to me and did every, single thing they said they would do! They did everything possible to move me forward. They worked in such a way that instilled confidence in their operation. So our first round got my firm $76,000 along with a much higher credit score. So a big shout out to Danyelle Roller and Anthony Ford who worked closely with me and Veronica Purdy and Zac Ricci who gave me guidance. I’m very impressed with this group!

    1Reply
  • Vishnu Chintam
    Flipper/Rehabber · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 1 post · 2 votes
    7y

    Hey BP!

    I just started the F&G program this week. I'm about to submit the documents they requested. My question is for the business credit card utilization. I was told by F&G that you can use all of the limit on the business CCs but the utilization should be I believe 50% before the next round of funding so that the banks that they go back to will increase the limit, meaning you should pay down the card to 50% utilization. So for those of you who have gone thru round two or three what was your utilization %? Along with this, I was listening to a podcast with the CEO of Creditsense and Z funding. In the podcast, he said that no one should use over 40% of the unsecured business credit lines i.e business credit cards if they want to build commercial credit lines, which ultimately is my longer-term goal. 

    So my questions are as follows:

    1.) For those of you who have gone thru round two or three with Fund and Grow, what was your % utilization of the credit cards before you went to the next batch?

    2.) For those familiar with commercial lines of credit, will a utilization of over 40% on business CCs destroy chances of getting the lines of credit?

    3.) Has anyone use credit sense or z funding? If so, how was your experience with them?

    I hope my questions make sense, it seems a lot of people are looking at F&G for a downpayment etc. but if the business credit cards high utilization puts future potential commercial credit lines in jeopardy seems like people should be aware. 

    Thanks in advance for your input!

    2Reply
  • Maurice Olson
    Mandeville, LA · Member since 2015 · 1 post · 0 votes
    7y

    My wife and I decided it was time to take our business to the next level so we signed up for Fund & Grow’s program. We are so happy that we did. Brandon Kroon was especially strong. He secured over $100,000 in funding in a few short weeks in our first round (not counting the $50,000+ my wife was able to secure on her end). The folks here are very professional, they respond to your questions in a timely manner and they keep you posted every step of the way. We have only just begun the process and are excited to start the next batch of funding. If you are on the fence about signing up, and you really need help with financing and getting the credit you need to start or catapult your current business I would strongly recommend letting Fund & Grow do the work for you.

    0Reply
  • Tyler McDaniel
    Flipper/Rehabber · Tampa, FL · Member since 2015 · 19 posts · 4 votes
    7y
    So far, my experience with Fund&Grow has been great!! Jason Alonso helped me achieve a total of $83,000 and I am looking forward to my next batch! I have utilized my funding for my fix and flip projects. Thank you Fund&Grow.
    0Reply
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