Foreclosure Investing Money Can Come From Anywhere

As a foreclosure investor, you never know where your money to do the next deal might come from. In this article I'll tell you a story about how networking with people might turn up your next private investor.

When I first began investing, I figured I would have to go through the traditional lending channels. But I also knew that was very cumbersome. So I wanted to find a source of private funds. One person said if you dont have your private funding in place, you can miss out on many good deals. Well, I knew I wanted private funding, but I didnt know where to look.

In August 2002, I was doing a foreclosure deal with a double closing. Everyone at the closing table was dressed very sharply--except for me. For those of you who know me, you know that I can dress pretty dang casual in any given circumstance, and when I first started this business I did it all the time. Now, I will dress up somewhat for closings, but a tie is still out of the question.

So I did this deal with all these well-dressed guys there. When we finished the closing, the mortgage lender for the buyers came up and introduced himself to me. I will call him TB.

TB said that he had seen the numbers, and that I had made more money then anyone at that table. My response was my usual: Well, you win some, and then you win some that are bigger. And I left it at that.

Well, funny how things happen. I did another deal, and at the closing table sitting across from me was TB. This was a stinky deal. But TBs professionalism and his ability to work under pressure and get the deal done impressed me. I told him so after the closing. Again, he said that he saw the numbers and he still was pretty impressed. This time, I had a business card and gave it to him.

The next morning, TB called. I may have a business opportunity for you, he said. And we scheduled a time to get together.

At lunch, TB asked if I ever needed money. He saw how much creativity and enthusiasm I had for the deals I was doing. He also was impressed by the fact that I always seemed prepared. He offered to fund deals, up to 90% LTV. That was the difference between him and hard money lenders.

I thought to myself, BINGO!! I had been looking for money, but didn't know where to get it. Now, I had an investor. TBs money was expensive--12% interest and 50% of profits--a very, very steep price! However, at that time I needed the money to do my real estate deals, and TB became a source of my funds.

These days I use 12% money on a regular basis and this works just fine for me now.

The lesson of this article: never be surprised where your funds can come from!