Can we build equity and acquire assets without banks while rebuilding credit??

Question

Hi.Thank you for taking a look at my post.  I hope we can help each other.  I have 3 goals for this post. 1 - to reach out to this community for opinions, leads, and hopefully contact info for private lenders who really do lend based on the asset and not focus on our marred credit. 2 - maybe members (and of course me) can find someone else on this site who is/are in similar situations and can put resources together to start making lots of money without the banks.  3 - just being honest...I simply need to vent my frustrations in a safe environment where I'm sure there are others who can relate :-) I am getting back into real estate fix & flip, rehab after several years of life altering events and recuperating from personal injuries.  I am not an agent or anything like that. I'm just really good at finding and negotiating awesome deals that I end up having to flip. I've worked my butt off to save and purchased one here and there but I need to find funding to get to the next level.  I joined this site because my credit is in repair and I'm working the information I read about in this forum.  Having gone from a high level of success to wondering how I was going to get from the bedroom to the bathroom,  I feel like this is the one place I can trust to put myself out there and get meaningful, non-judgmental peer-peer responses with solid pertinent information. Hence why I could use some opinions and hope to get some leads on lenders that might help me out.  With several properties under contract, I'll have to flip to other buyers at discounted values if I can't find a lender.  I've spoken with about 20 lenders who claim they are "private", "hard money", "Asset-based" commercial loans, investor driven, bad credit, blah...blah...blah...only to find out they really are just like dealing with a bank. I am not claiming to have great credit and I realize on paper I look pretty weak. However, the whole time they are making claims they are not credit driven...what do you think the first thing they want is...yup...credit scores!  Even though the numbers of the asset are very strong and purchased in an LLC. They all require full doc personal financials...the whole time they are saying they don't really judge you on credit....RIGHT! While these "direct lenders" and "private money lenders"  may not have to work under the federal bank lending regulations, THEY are not interested in anyone who doesn't meet THEIR rigid requirements.  Which in reality are exactly the same as the regular banks.  I have yet to find one lender that truly bases their decisions on the property asset without pulling credit, bank statements, etc.  They all will only lend a portion of what is needed (50 -75% LTV or LTC )based on the lowest value they can determine (Purchase price or appraisal which ever is lower) which means they have essentially no risk and the investor has to bring in a lot of cash. No difference. They are essentially all the same and just boast about being different. This is all fine if that is how they run their business. I am the last to judge them for that. However, I am tired of wasting my time talking to company after company making these claims but really won't put their money where their mouth is!!   I have also looked into a lot of the sites for peer-peer funding. In general they are all fantastic and serve a great purpose. Especially for kids and fundraising purposes. But I'm working on a business. On those sites, you really have to put your self out there on the front line and air your dirty laundry to the world in order to participate. I realize I could do that and tell my sad story and why I want people to invest in me and my project. Frankly, maybe I'm too proud or going about this all wrong but I'm just not ready to post my story to the world and ask my friends and family for handouts. I don't want people feeling sorry for me or my name all over the internet telling people my credit sucks (even though it isn't that bad now). Let's be honest - who posts on a peer-peer funding site for their own benefit if you have your financial life in order!! That said,  I'm sure none of us would be on this site if we didn't have or have had financial turmoil in our lives.  Who cares why.. it happens. Hopefully, we all realize that is not what defines us as people and we can all achieve our dreams like any one else.  It just might take longer, or a bit more work. You get the picture. So I thought, what if others on this site are experiencing the same things.  Do you feel like you are missing out on opportunities to make your money grow? Maybe you have improved your credit but don't have enough cash to get a loan. Maybe you can't get a loan because of credit  but you have cash. Maybe you can't get a bank account and are missing out on investment opportunities because your money is sitting under your mattress.  Seems to me people on this sight are all focused on the same thing and have the best interests of others in sight.  We also have this fantastic forum to discuss our money issues and glean insight and information from others that helps us improve our situations.  I'm wondering if we could partner up our strengths and find ways to benefit by working together with other like minded members.   You thoughts are of great value. Please post.

Answer 1

Are you debt free? Do you have any cash to throw into this? If no... what about subbing out under someone else or getting in GCing or Foreman for a bigger company while you cleanup your personal finances? Real estate is AWESOME, but if you can't cashflow at least a good chunk of it, you can get in a pretty scary spot...  What kind of assets do you have? Could you flip your own home and use those monies to invest in your next flip and live as cheap as possible through a few flips until you have a good bit of cash built up?