Fund & Grow Case Study 2019 (A detailed and in-depth analysis)
Hello all!
After two months of thorough research, my wife and I decided to take the leap into using Fund & Grow to fund our first rental property investment. We decided to use Fund & Grow (F&G) over other similar companies like Midwest Corporate Credit (MCC) because F&G charges less for their services. We will pay a $3,500 upfront fee to get started with F&G which is cheap compared to the 10% fee that MCC would charge on the total amount of business credit that they obtained for you. For example, if MCC obtained $100,000 worth of business credit for you, the total fee would amount to $10,000 based on the 10% fee.
I was inspired by several other BiggerPocket users who have posted similar case studies, so I wanted to add more value by posting my own case study of F&G in an attempt to inform and inspire anyone else who reads this and is hesitant or just starting out. I will try to be as detailed as possible about all of my interactions with the company, and if all goes well, I will post a separate case study about my first investment property and the turnkey company that we decide to use. Let’s get started!
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December 31, 2018 - I signed up to get “pre-qualified” by F&G via Clayton Morris’ website, Morris Invest, so that I could get a $500 off coupon. I only went through the Morris Invest website to get this discount.
SIDENOTE: I personally would never use Morris Invest to buy investment properties because of the countless horror stories I’ve read about the company here on BiggerPockets and various YouTube videos. I will include a few below, but I implore you to do your own research. A simple “morris invest reviews” Google search will give you an abundance of information that will save you thousands, possibly tens of thousands of dollars in the long run.
Scary BiggerPockets Case Study About Morris Invest: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/392727-morris-invest-case-study-20
Another Scary BiggerPockets Case Study About Morris Invest: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/562268-turnkey-nightmare-with-morris-invest-indianapolis
Scary video of a Morris Invest property that was sold to an investor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0jXyRHrbYo
Another Scary video of a Morris Invest property that was sold to an investor:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_txQfbuEARA
BACK ON TOPIC: After signing up for the pre-qualification I received an automated email from F&G. The email said that one of their consultants would be reaching out to me shortly to get started, but if I wanted to I could call them using the number provided in the email. I wasted no time and dialed the number. Marty answered. He said that he was on the phone with someone else and asked if he could call me back to which I obliged.
He quickly called back within 2 minutes and began explaining to me in a nutshell what F&G could do for me. He immediately tried to sign me up for the program. I didn’t feel comfortable giving him my credit card so soon - the process seemed a little rushed. I told him I was going to give it a few days to talk it over with my spouse who also happens to be my partner in this (F&G allows you to do the program with a partner at no extra cost). He seemed content with that and sent me an email with some information and his personal line. I would like to add that Marty was very pleasant to speak with. Tomorrow is New Year’s Day, so I will have to wait until the following day to call him.
January 2, 2019 – Welcome to 2019 everyone! Around 11:25 am EST, Marty gave me a call, but I missed it, so he left a voicemail asking if I was ready to sign up for the program. I am ready, so I gave him a call back. After about 20 minutes of personable and enjoyable conversation, Marty got me signed up. The total after the $500 discount was $3,497. I am thrilled with my initial interaction with F&G, at least Marty, he was pleasant to speak with and optimistic about my journey. Of course, there is the inclination to be cynical and say that Marty was just being nice to get a sale to meet some quota, but my intuition expected otherwise.
Here are the key takeaways from today’s call:
- F&G will start by building both me and my wife’s personal credit before getting us business credit to increase the amount of business credit we will be able to obtain. This will take approximately 6 months. My credit score is at a 706, and my wife is at a 690.
- F&G will work with us for 18 months total. 6 months of personal credit building, then 12 months of business credit. We do not have to pay any additional costs for the extra 6 months, which is nice.
- When working with F&G, you do have to sign a power of attorney form. If you aren’t familiar with what this is, it’s a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs, business, or some other legal matter. This may be a little unsettling for some. For me, I don’t mind doing this. You have to make that choice for yourself. They do give you the option with the click of a button to REVOKE the power of attorney at any point during the process if you want.
I received an email to register my account with F&G. Once I signed into the dashboard, there was a video that explains the next steps in the process. You can actually view the unlisted video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=77&v=P3siQvQttUQ
I scheduled my first call with my wife as an attendee for Friday, January 11 at 11:00 am EST which is about a week away. Looking forward to the initial call! I should note that F&G has a large influx of clientele, so you may have to wait upwards of 1-2 weeks before your initial consultation call. If I would have known this, I would have signed on to the program earlier. But now you know! Next update in a week after my first call.