Note: Laws and regulations regarding the advertising, registering, and formalization of private loans vary enormously state-to-state. Generally, these rules apply to the borrower rather than the lender, but even lenders should be aware of what the laws in your state say about these transactions. Of course, this article is not intended as legal, accounting, or other professional advice. Always consult with your legal, accounting, or other professional before making any investment.  Further, nothing in this article should be construed as an offering or solicitation of a security.

          Private lending is a strategy in which even moderate-income investors can easily get involved.

          There are plenty of real estate entrepreneurs and rehabbers who want to borrow your money; if you let it be known you have as little as $20,000 to lend in most markets, someone will be right there ready to put that cash to work.

          If all goes as it’s supposed to, it’s a truly hand-off investment; you just sit back and collect checks.
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Indulge me in a fable, and see if it jibes with your current, or perhaps past, experience as a developing real estate entrepreneur:

You’re standing on a sidewalk with your nose an inch away from a brick. It’s a good brick. You’ve studied it for a while, and you’ve come to the conclusion that it’s reddish, rough, and surrounded on all four sides by parts of other bricks. You’ve looked at it long enough to decide that it’s a pretty great brick.

Someone walks by and asks, what are you doing? Looking at this brick, you reply.

Are you sure it’s a brick you’re looking at? the stranger queries. You might want to take a step back, because there’s more to see here than you think.

So, you take a step back, and you realize that he’s right: the brick you’ve been so obsessed with is just one of many. In fact, from your new perspective, you notice out of the corner of your eye that there’s also something else--a hole, with glass and wood in it. I
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We live in an age where there’s literally information and training everywhere. From Zoom to podcasts to TikTok to YouTube to FaceBook, you can’t turn around without being exposed to the latest and greatest "wow factor" strategy or "new wisdom".

With all that success advice right at our fingertips, why is it that according to Inc. Magazine, more than 85% of people today don’t like what they do for a living? How can it be that the majority of Americans wake up every Monday morning dreading going to their place of business?

One clue is in the nature of the message that much of the modern-day success literature promotes:

• "You should be outworking everyone around you"
• "You can manifest anything you want"
• “You have all the power to control everything"
• “Being rich and unhappy is better than being broke and unhappy”
• “The purpose of a business is to be profitable”

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If you don’t think that real estate investing is a relationship business, you haven’t been paying attention. 

It’s your connections with other investors that bring you the local knowledge, the referrals to the right professionals, the money, the partnerships, and the deals that let you prosper now, and for years to come.   

But these relationships don’t ‘just happen’ for most people. You have to be intentional about building and maintaining them, just like you’re intentional (I hope) about building a rental portfolio, or a buyer’s list, or a marketing plan.   

COREE exists, in large part, to provide a platform for you to find and interact with like-minded folks who can encourage and help you be successful, but you have to do your part, too. Here are some tips for the 95% of us who aren’t just natural ‘connectors’:  

1. Be intentional about your professional development. Read More...

          Way back in the mid-90s, I went to a workshop taught by the great Pete Fortunato.

          Several times during this event, he mentioned deals he’d negotiated or financed with the help of what he called “financial friends”.

          At the time, I had two thoughts about this: first, “Why does a guy who’s been in real estate for 30 years and is probably richer than Croesus need other people’s money to do deals?”.

          And second, “That’s great for him—he has decades of experience, so I bet he both knows a lot of people and is able to impress them with all the deals he’s done. I wonder how long it’ll be before some of these ‘financial friends’ find me?”

          As time has passed, and experience and observation has filled in the blanks, I’ve discovered the answers to both questions.

&nb
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Cabinets account for a large percentage of remodeling budgets. Flippers, landlords, and homeowners, often focus on price during kitchen renovations.  Although cabinets made of different materials might look the same on the outside, what the cabinet is made from and how it is constructed, can have long-lasting implications, impacting not only aesthetics, but durability, environmental footprint and ultimate cost.

The least expensive cabinets are generally made of medium density fibreboard, MDF, an engineered product is made by breaking down hardwood and softwood residuals into fine particles, combining them with resin and wax, then applying heat and pressure.

There are several disadvantages to MDF.  Water absorption is one. MDF soaks up water like a sponge. If exposed to damp or humid environments, it can swell, losing structural integrity resulting in sagging,

MDF’s fine particles also make it difficult for screws to hold, cracking or splitting when screwed into the edge of the board. Although MDF’s smooth surface is good for painting and finishing, veneered or laminated MDF products are prone to chipping around the edges
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Think back for a minute—what was your first thought the first time you saw one of those handwritten signs at the highway entrance? You know, the one that says, “Handyman Special Must Sale [sic] $87,000 555-5555”? Or the first time you saw a bandit sign that said, “I Buy Houses Close in 7 Days”?

Unless you happened to have encountered one of these messages for the first time after you’d already started studying real estate, your reaction was probably a mixture of:

• Suspicion (“Is this for real? Who tries to buy houses by putting a sign on a telephone pole?”)
• Confusion (“Handyman’s special WHAT? What are they trying to sale [sic] me, exactly?”)
• Mistrust (“How can they possibly buy a house in 7 days when it took my bank 45 to close?”)
• Curiosity (“Who puts these things up, agents?”)

Today, of course, you completely understand the goal of such marketing, because today you live in a bubble populated by other real estate entrepreneurs who eat, breath, and sle
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Scope of Work: The Foundation of a Successful Rehab

“The scope of work is bigger than anybody understands, If you don’t get it right, your project will go off the rails.”

A detailed, clear scope of work ensures that contractors know exactly what needs to be done and eliminates any “I thought it would look better this way” surprises. Here’s what Ray emphasizes when creating a scope of work:

✔ List Everything: Every task, material, and finish should be outlined in detail. “If you don’t specify the grout color, don’t be surprised when your contractor picks something crazy.”

✔ Time Estimates: Define how long each part of the project should take. If a job should take 45 minutes, and your contractor thinks it’s a full-day job, that’s a red flag.

✔ Material Costs: Have a rough esti
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Your credit score is a key factor that affects many aspects of your financial life, from securing a mortgage to getting favorable interest rates. Many factors can impact your score—some of which might even surprise you. Some strategies may seem counterintuitive at first, but following these steps can help improve your credit score by up to 100 points. Here’s what you need to know:

1. Keep Your Credit Card Balances Below 10% of Your Credit Limit

One of the most impactful things you can do to boost your credit score is to keep your credit card balances low. Ideally, your credit utilization ratio (the amount of credit you’re using compared to your total credit limit) should be kept below 10%. For example, if your credit limit is $1,000, aim to keep your balance under $100. When you lower your balance, you reduce your credit utilization, which can improve your credit score. Not only will paying down your balances increase your available credit, but it also signals to creditors that you manage debt responsibly.

• Do NOT Close Paid-Off
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In the world of real estate investing, finding the right financing option can be the key to success. One of the most effective loan products that has gained significant attention in recent years is the Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) loan. DSCR loans are especially popular among real estate investors due to their flexibility and streamlined approval process. These loans are tailored for investors seeking to maximize their portfolios without relying on personal income or traditional credit scores. Here’s why real estate investors should consider DSCR loans as a financing solution.

What is a DSCR Loan?

A DSCR loan is a type of financing where the lender evaluates the borrower’s ability to repay the loan based on the income generated by the property itself, rather than the borrower’s personal income or credit score. The debt service coverage ratio is a financial metric that compares the property’s net operating income (NOI) to the total debt obligations, typically the mortgage principal and interest, taxes, insurance, and any homeowner’s association fees. A DSCR ratio of 1.0 or higher indicates that the property
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