Tag Archive for: make money

How to Retire: Retirement Scares Me

How to Retire: Retirement Scares Me

Retirement is just around the corner. It’s tiptoeing closer and closer…But, you’re not ready.

And that TERRIFIES you.

Because the stock market is constantly up and down, banks aren’t paying much if anything, and retirement accounts like PERA are questionable.

So, what can you do to prepare for retirement? Because whether you like it or not, it’s creeping towards you.

Well, one of the best and most secure strategies is private lending.

There are thousands of fix and flippers, landlords, and other real estate investors who can’t get a traditional loan through a bank. So, they turn to private lenders.

Someone like you. Someone who has a chunk of money they’d like to safely invest so they can boost their income…and their retirement savings.

So, how exactly do you make money in private lending? Well, it’s pretty easy, actually.

Step 1

Find a trustworthy real estate investor who needs cash to buy a fixer upper.

Step 2

Create a private note that includes the interest rate for your loan. Rates vary in private lending, so it’s your decision on how much you charge.  And how much you charge depends on how much you trust your borrower.

Step 3

Collect interest payments and boost your retirement savings.

That’s the basic gist. And if you’d rather have someone else find trustworthy real estate investors, create your note, and oversee the life of the loan, then you can use a licensed and experienced company like ours to help you handle it.

Here’s the thing. Since the beginning of time, people have needed money. And they’ve always needed to borrow it from someone. Why not you?

Don’t let retirement scare you. Take control now and start investing your money in a way that will help you face retirement…and face it with confidence.

Ready to talk about investing your money in real estate? Great! Our team is always here to chat.

Happy investing!

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New Money Chat: How to Fund a Flip

New Money Chat: How to Fund a Flip…and Other Real Estate Deals

During our next Money Chat, lending expert Mike Bonn will discuss How to Fund a Flip (and other real estate deals).

If you’ve always wanted to get into real estate investing, but you have no idea where to start when it comes to buying properties, then this Money Chat is perfect for you.

We invite you to join other like-minded real estate investors and ask all of your questions to a lending expert.

How to Fund a Flip

Are you interested in joining Mike’s Money Chat? Then register for FREE here.

During the chat, you can expect Mike to answer common questions like:

  • What are my funding options?
  • What is hard money?
  • How do I qualify? What credit score do I need? Income? Experience?

By the end of the Money Chat, you should have a much better grasp of how to get going in real estate investing.

Can’t make it? It’s okay, because we’re running a second Money Chat next Thursday. That way you have an opportunity to listen, learn, and ask all of your questions on how to fund a flip (and any other value-add property). And if you miss next week’s chats, no problem because Mike will be hosting many more in the future.

So, mark your calendar!

When?

Tuesday, August 31 @ 6 PM MST

OR

Thursday, September 2 @ 11 AM

Where?

Virtual nationwide.

Register for free at my.demio.com/ref/1j9cO1wJ3Co6QkW1

Mike and the rest of the Hard Money Mike team looks forward to seeing you on Tuesday or Thursday (or both).

If you have any questions about our weekly Money Chats, then our team is here to answer them any time.

Happy investing!

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How to Buy a Rental Property: 5 Ways To Fund Your Real Estate Deal

Do you want to know how to buy a rental property? Then check out these 5 ways to fund your real estate deal.

If you’re interested in generating positive cash flow with a rental property, then it’s important you know how to actually BUY a rental property. Like, where does the money come from? Because most real estate investors don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars sitting around.

Most will need a real estate loan.

So, let’s take a quick look at the various types of real estate lenders you can rely on to fund your rental properties. Just like fix and flips and other value-add properties, you have 5 different options, and each of these options have various pros and cons.

5 Ways To Buy a Rental Property - Explainer Video

Hard Money.

Hard money is a great option when you need to close a deal fast. We’re talking days instead of weeks or months. Plus, most hard money lenders offer 100% financing.

The downside is hard money can be expensive. Rates tend to be higher than other lenders. But this type of loan is intended to be short-term. If used correctly, you only pay these high rates for 6 months or less.

Non-Traditional Loans

Another option to buy a rental property is using a non-traditional loan. These are excellent for those who don’t have—or don’t want to use their tax returns. Unfortunately, they also come with high rates, so they’re more expensive than some of your other real estate funding options.

Banks

Banks are useful for those who can make the cut. They offer lower rates and allow you to keep your real estate loan in your LLC or business name.

But banks also have the strictest requirements, and if you don’t meet those requirements, you’ll get rejected. Worse, they require 3-5 year terms, so you can’t get in and out of them as fast as hard money and other loan options.

Traditional Loans

Traditional loans are one of your cheaper options because they offer the best rates. But be careful, because these types of loans have stricter requirements. And, unlike banks, you can’t put the loan in your LLC or business name. You have to keep it in your personal name.

OPM (Other People’s Money)

Compared to all the other real estate lenders, OPM offers the lowest cost and highest flexibility. You only pay interest, so there are no points or other random fees. Better yet, you and your lender can set the terms together.

The only downside to OPM is finding those who are willing to lend their money to you. But that’s where gaining experience and knowledge in real estate investing helps. The more you know, the more you can prove you’re worth the investment.

So, there you go. If you’re interested in buying a rental property, one of these 5 options can help you actually BUY it. Which one is the best? Well, there’s no right answer to that, because every real estate investor has a different path. What works for you might not work for someone else.

Ready to find out what YOUR path is? Great! Our team is here to help. We’re excited to set you on a path that helps you make the kind of money you need…to live the life you want.

Happy investing!

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How To Boost Your Credit Score in 3 Easy Steps

How To Boost Your Credit Score in 3 Easy Steps

Let’s talk about 3 easy steps you can take to boost your credit score.

Now, what’s the big deal about credit scores? Well, think of it like a baseball game. You can hit it out of the park and claim victory…or strike out and lose.

When you win the credit score game, you win countless opportunities. These include:

  • Good rates
  • Affordable loans
  • And, in the end, hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Yeah, really. Hundreds of thousands of dollars. Because a good credit score means cheaper bills that add up over the years.

So, what does a winning credit score look like? Ideally, you want to aim for 700 or higher. But the higher your score, the better your chances of taking home a big trophy.

Let’s take a look at 3 easy strategies to help you prepare for this financial game.

Increase Your Available Credit

Call your credit card company and apply for a higher limit. That way it’s easier to keep your credit usage at around 30%. What do we mean by that? Well, let’s take a look.

If your credit card balance is $800 and you have a maximum credit line of $1,000, then creditors can see you’re using 80% of your available funds…which, to them means you’re living on the edge and struggling to meet your financial obligations.

Ouch.

Now, if your credit card balance is $800 and you have a maximum credit line of $2,000, then creditors see you’re only using 40% of your available funds. Still not a home run, but you’ll definitely score a few runs.

Because the better your credit usage, the better you’ll look to creditors. They’ll see you as someone who’s financially responsible. AKA, you pay your bills.

Pay Extra

A large part of your credit score is based on your monthly reported balances to the credit bureaus.

If you can find cash to pay down extra on your credit card before your next statement due date, then the credit bureau will be very happy with you. And your credit score will go up.

If those first two strategies don’t work for you, then you can always take a third approach.

Get a 60 to 90 Day Note

You can get one from a bank, a family member, a friend, or a private lender—like us! Use the funds to pay down or pay off your credit cards so you can keep your projects moving along. And your cash flow…well, flowing!

If you take one, two, or all three approaches to boosting your credit score, then we can guarantee you will knock it out of the park and win the credit score game!

Happy investing!

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How To Make Money with a Bridge Loan

How to Make Money with a Bridge Loan

Let’s talk about how you can make money with a bridge loan, especially if you’re stuck in a project or need temporary funding.

Now, you might be wondering, “What the heck is a bridge loan?” Well, it’s basically a short-term loan that closes a financial gap.

Bridge Loans Explained for Real Estate Investing

Let’s take a look at an example. If you have a hard money loan for a fix and flip or another value-add property, but you’ve run out of money, then this could be a perfect solution to help you finish it.

Because it’s way cheaper to get temporary funding than to get stuck in an expensive loan. It could take months or years for you to figure out a way to come up with the money to complete the project.

Not to mention dealing with the costs of an incomplete project. You have to think about things like materials, contractors, taxes, insurance…the list goes on and on.

Bridge loans also work great for starting a new project while waiting for current project to wrap up. You can use the equity in the current project to secure a new one. Once your current project closes, you can pay off the bridge loan and move on to your next real estate deal.

You can even use this type of funding to make a cash offer on a value-add property.

Essentially, a bridge loan is immediate cash flow.

It’s an excellent way to keep your projects moving along and your cash flow, well, flowing! Bridge loans prevent you and your bank account from growing stagnant—or worse, depleting. And that’s the last thing we want to see happen.

If you’re ready to chat about your options, we’re here to help! Our team is eager to set you on a path that helps you make the kind of money you need to live the life you want.

Happy investing!

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How To Make More Money with More Lender Options

How To Make More Money With More Lender Options

Let’s talk about how you can make more money with more lender options.

Because one of the biggest problems that impacts your cash flow is getting too comfortable with a single lender.

We’re talking about thousands-of-dollars-kind-of-impact.

The Alarming Truth About Your Real Estate Loans

Let’s face it. Sometimes it’s just easier to keep using the same lender for all your loans. But here’s the truth: Sticking with the same lender will suck money out of your pocket every month and make banks fatter.

Stop giving the banks your extra money every month!

That’s money you should be using to make your life easier and more enjoyable. If you want a leg up on most real estate investors, then spend an hour or so and shop around for lenders who can get you the best deal on each loan. Why? Because not all lenders are made the same or have the same products available. Or, worse, they think mainly of how much money they can make and not how much they can increase your monthly cash flow.

Let’s look at two examples that cost our clients thousands of dollars. All because they didn’t want to shop around or change their current lenders:

Example #1

Our team recently spoke with two couples who purchased a fix and flip together and decided to keep it. Neither had tax returns that made the cut to qualify for a traditional loan. So, they needed to use a non-traditional loan that qualified them using bank statements for income.

An important side note: Once you venture into non-traditional loans, rates can vary greatly between lenders. There are fewer lenders who offer these products, which leads to them charging higher fees.

So, back to our example! Our two couples entered a loan for $575,000 that had a 5.8% interest rate. They stuck with this loan for two weeks until they called us to chat about other options.

Our team priced the same loan 1.5% lower. That cheaper rate saved them hundreds of dollars every month, which means they enjoyed a huge boost to their monthly cash flow.

Example #2

A real estate investor reached out to us to chat about a rental property he wanted to purchase.

His current hard money lender offered him a loan that wouldn’t require him to use his tax returns, because he writes everything off and doesn’t show taxable income.

He decided to call us to see if he had other options. Using just market rents and a good credit score for approval, we were able to quote him a rate 1.125% lower than the lender he was currently working with.

Again, this was a big cash boosting move on his part. All because he chose to shop around rather than stick with who and what he knew.

As the markets tighten, there ARE ways to increase your positive cash flow. And there ARE ways to get the best rates and loan products for your unique situation.

Often times, it pays to avoid hitting the easy button for your loans. We understand comfort zones are a big deal for a lot of real estate investors, especially when it comes to funding their value-add properties.

But if you don’t break out of your comfort zone, you and your cash flow won’t grow the way it could (or should). So do your due diligence and spend the time shopping around. Go ahead, and discover your lender options. If you do, we can guarantee you’ll see your cash flow soar.

Ready to chat? Great, our team is here to help. We’re excited to set you on a path the helps you make the kind of money you need to live the life you want.

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Busting Myths: How You CAN Afford Hard Money

Busting Myths: How You CAN Afford Hard Money

It’s time to start busting myths about hard money, and discover how you CAN afford hard money.

Today, we’re going to bust one of the most common misconceptions about this investor-friendly lending option:

“Hard money is too expensive!”

False!

This is How Real Estate Investors Afford Hard Money

When you get a hard money loan, it doesn’t mean you have to automatically pay 12% interest or more.

In fact, if you take these 3 steps, the cost of your hard money loan will be drastically reduced:

Prove you have experience.

If you show a hard money lender you’ve completed real estate deals successfully, then they’ll feel more confident in giving you money. And confidence means better rates.

How can you show your experience? The best way is to present a real estate portfolio with before and after pictures, budgets, and profits earned.

Be willing to put money down at closing.

If you have skin in the game, then a lender will likely be more willing to lower the cost of your loan. Why? Because it reduces their risk.

But how much money should you try to put down at closing? Ideally, 10% or more. But even as much as 5% will help lower your loan’s cost.

Maintain a good credit score.

Your credit score matters when it comes to loans. The better your score, the better your rates.

If your credit score is on the low side (below 670), then you can find simple ways to boost it. Here are 3 tips to get you started:

  • Stop using your credit card and start paying it off. Simple, but effective. And when you hit a $0 balance, do NOT close the account. Closing an account that’s in good standing is anti-productive in keeping your score healthy. You want to show you have good credit history. So if you close your accounts, then your history won’t exist.
  • Keep your card balance low. Like, under 30% of its maximum. So, if your card has a maximum credit line of $1,000, then don’t let your balance rise above $300.
  • Pay your credit card bill on time. Again, simple, but effective. If you make your payments on time for the next 12 months, your score WILL rise.

Hard money doesn’t have to eat up all of your profits. We assure you that if you take these 3 steps, you can greatly reduce your costs and actually boost your profits considerably.

Stay tuned for our next video where we discuss the myth of getting trapped in a hard money loan. Spoiler alert, another pitfall that’s easily avoidable if you take a few simple steps.

Ready to chat about your hard money and other lending options? Great! Our team is here to help.

What is hard money? Learn more on our YouTube channel!

Happy investing!

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How to Make Monthly Income: 3 Methods for Real Estate Investors

How to Make Monthly Income: 3 Methods for Real Estate Investors

Have you always wanted to learn how to make monthly income? Well, today we explore 3 methods for real estate investors.

As a real estate investor, you likely believe cash flow is king. Because why else would you put your hard-earned money into value-add propertied?

Hopefully, a lot of it.

But let’s take a step back and ask ourselves:

“What is cash flow?”

Because, the truth is, all of us have different goals, expectations, and perspectives when it comes to making money off our investments.

There tends to be 3 popular approaches to cash flow. These include:

  1. Putting less money down
  2. Making monthly income
  3. Using cash-out refinancing to gain the most leverage

All of these cash flow methods share two common similarities:

  • Using the BRRRR method.
  • Buying discounted properties (non-MLS listed properties).

Let’s take a closer look at the second cash flow approach:

Making monthly income.

3 EASY Ways to Make Monthly Income in Real Estate

This is probably the most common strategy among real estate investors, because most of them like to create a consistent monthly income. Why? Well, probably because they want to:

  • Replace a full-time job;
  • Supplement their current income;
  • Or create a nice sized nest egg for their future.

Let’s look at an example.

Jane the Investor doesn’t mind putting SOME money down at closing. And, on top of using the BRRRR method and buying discounted properties, she tends to focus on 3 methods to ensure she makes positive monthly income.

What are these 3 methods? Well, let’s take a look.

  1. Focus on maintaining a healthy credit score. The higher your credit, the better your rates, which means you pay less money to the banks and keep more money in your pocket. Every. Month.
  2. Choose investor-friendly real estate lenders who offer options. We’re not just talking about one or two options, but many. More options means better financing. And better financing means, yet again, less money to the bank and more money in your pocket.
  3. Invest in higher quality properties. That means putting some work into a value-add property so it’s, well, nicer. Nicer properties tend to draw tenants who treat the property, well, nicer! They’re more respectful and cause less damage than tenants who rent lower quality properties. Better yet, when a property looks nicer, it tends to be more desirable. That means demand increases and you can charge a higher rent. And higher rent means higher cash flow.

So, there you have it! If you’re looking to generate solid, consistent, monthly income, then this would be a great strategy to take.

Ready to discover how you can make a good monthly income? Great, our team is here to help.

Happy investing!

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How to Put Less Money Down on Your Real Estate Deals

How to Put Less Money Down on Your Real Estate Deals

When you put less money down on your real estate deals, you keep more money in your pocket.

Now, if you’re a real estate investor, then chances are you put a lot of focus on positive cash flow.

But what does cash flow really mean?

Well, all investors have a different perspective, but most fall into 3 popular categories:
  1. Putting less money down.
  2. Making monthly income.
  3. Gaining leverage with cash-out refinancing.
All of these cash flow strategies share 2 common similarities:

Today, let’s dig deeper into the first cash flow strategy: putting less money down.

Put Less Money Down on Real Estate Investments

Investors who take this approach like to focus on leverage. Limiting the amount of money in each real estate deal leads to higher leverage. Higher leverage means you keep more money in your bank account. But it also means you lower your MONTHLY cash flow.

But that’s okay. It’s not always about monthly income.

It’s also about equity.

Investors who use this strategy aim to limit their initial outflow so they can keep more money in their pocket, and possibly buy more value-add properties with the same money.

What do we mean by that? Well, let’s take a look at a sample:

Let’s say Jane and John each have $50,000 to invest.

Jane decides to buy her property at the full retail value of $250,000 with a 20% down payment.

20% / $250,000 = $50,000

That’s Jane’s entire savings. So, she can only afford to buy the one property and must save up to buy another.

John, on the other hand, decides to use the BRRRR strategy to invest his $50,0000. Because he wants to limit the amount of money he puts down at closing.

So, John finds a wholesale property (aka, a discounted property) for $225,000 that has an ARV of $300,000. He puts $25,000 in for renovations, which leaves him with $25,000 in his bank account. Plus $50,000 of equity. He can use that money to do, well, whatever. That includes buying more value-add properties. We’re talking 2-4 additional houses.

So, while Jane used all of her $50,000 to buy ONE property, John used his $50,000 to buy multiple properties. Or simply live more comfortably.

Does this sound like your kind of cash flow strategy?

If not, no worries. There are still plenty of strategies to take, and our team is here to help you discover which one works best for you. We’re excited to set you on a path that makes you the kind of money you need…to live the life you want.

Happy investing!

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