Hard Money Facts

When you’ve successfully launched your first rental investment—maybe you've renovated the place and stayed within budget, tenants are secured, and you have consistent cash flow coming in—it can feel like you’ve cracked the code. Passive income, long-term equity growth, and tax advantages are just a few of the reasons smart investors look to investing in rental properties in the first place. But the real momentum starts when you go from one or two properties to building a full-scale portfolio.

So, how do you scale strategically and what should you keep in mind as you grow? We've outlined a few smart strategies to help you build your rental empire, one property at a time.

If you're looking to maximize your returns, here’s a comprehensive look at the real cost of a fix and flip, with key expenses you need to account for before signing on the dotted line.

If the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes have your stomach in knots, you’re not alone. America is grappling with an affordable housing crisis. Demand remains high, but rising interest rates have created a gridlock in supply. It’s tempting to hunker down and wait for the storm to pass during such uncertain times. While this defensive approach is common, history teaches us that challenges often mask opportunities.

As the new year approaches, the real estate market continues to evolve, presenting new challenges and opportunities for investors. Whether you're focusing on fix-and-flip projects or building a portfolio of long-term rental properties, staying informed and agile is key. Here are some practical tips to help you thrive in the year ahead.

As the new year approaches, it's the perfect time to set fresh goals and shape your investment strategies for success in 2025. Real estate investment properties offer exceptional opportunities to build wealth, but maximizing returns requires a thoughtful plan. Here are some key steps to help guide your investment property strategies and make 2025 your most profitable year yet. 

Rental properties continue to be a popular investment option, offering the potential for steady passive income and long-term financial security. However, success in this area requires careful planning, knowledge of the market, and a clear investment strategy. Whether you’re a seasoned investor or new to real estate, we've outlined four of the most important things to consider when investing in rental properties today.

As you trade those shorts and tanks for sweaters and fireside blankets, try not to get too cozy—motivated real estate investors know that this chilly season can offer a hotbed of opportunities. From less competition to potential tax deferment, we're outlining some compelling reasons why winter might just be the perfect time to get your next project underway.

Down payments are a standard part of private lending. Real estate investors often accept them as a necessary step to finance their rehab projects, focusing more on securing the lowest interest rates. However, the down payment you make significantly impacts your business, leaving you cash poor in a cash-intensive industry.

CNBC’s Squawk Box recently reported that through the first eight months of 2023, the real estate investment community turned to private lenders to fund their deals 70% of the time. It’s no secret why single-family real estate investors choose private lenders over traditional banks: speed. The private lending community moves faster than traditional banks and, thanks to their business acumen and experience, is more likely to take mitigated risks during uncertain times.

That said, it is not uncommon for real estate investors to hear “no” from lenders in periods of market volatility. When interest rates are high, lenders—especially those backed by Wall Street—are far more scrupulous of the deals coming across their desk, which can extend their time to approve or deny your loan. The longer it takes for your deal to be approved—the greater the likelihood of the deal falling through. A “no” hurts, but if received in a timely manner, still leaves you with time to find financing elsewhere. A “slow no” can be death by a thousand cuts, evaporating the time you need to find a financing solution. 

What’s an investor to do? Here are a few practices single-family real estate investors can employ to circumvent a “slow no” from private lenders, as told from three of Residential Capital Partners’ account executives, James Loffredo, Kyle Dreyer, and Hunter McLean.

The first rule of investing: don’t lose money. The second rule: don’t forget the first. (Thank you, Warren Buffet.)

Residential Capital Partners has been in the investment-making business for over 25 years. Along with my three partners, we’ve adhered strongly to rules one and two, as well as generating several other investment principles to live by, gleaned by our own experiences—namely in respect to the importance of due diligence, rigorous financial analysis, and conservative exit expectations to mitigate risk and protect margin.

The following principles have shaped the structure and growth of Residential Capital Partners over the past 15 years, but they’re applicable for any investor, whether you’re wholesaling houses, rehabbing and flipping houses, or investing in single family rentals to build wealth. 

In business as in life, you’re only as strong as your relationships. Which is why we’re so proud of our relationships with HomeVestors franchisees over the last 15 years. Our relationship spans the global financial crisis of 2008, the global pandemic of 2020 and the rising interest rate environment of 2023. Through it all, we have been honored to help the franchisees at HomeVestors succeed in good times and bad.

Henry Ford said it best: “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”

To tell our story of success with HomeVestors, we gathered Residential Capital Partners’ leadership and a couple of HomeVestors’ top performing franchisees for an interview that’s been a long time coming.

How did HomeVestors and Residential Capital Partners first join forces?

Paul: Everyone in finance has a story from 2008. For Residential Capital Partners, it was the beginning of our relationship with HomeVestors. The global financial crisis created a void of credit in the single-family rehab and rental marketplace and HomeVestors needed a balance sheet lender to supply financing for its franchisees. Wall Street shut down and traditional banks sat on their hands, but we decided to lean in and provide capital to the HomeVestor franchisee community because we were so impressed with their training, work ethic and values. Since that time, we’ve closed 3,153 loans for HomeVestors franchisees.

Single-family real estate investors are usually good with numbers – they have to be in order to achieve success in the real estate investment business. The math equation going into every real estate investment is paramount to profitability – which makes it easy to get fixated on finding the lowest possible interest rate (especially when interest rates are high), and potentially overlook the signs of a wily lender attempting a bait-and-switch.

Suspicious you’re not getting the deal that got you to walk in the door? Here are the telltale signs your private lender does not have your best interest in mind, and how to avoid the bait-and-switch trap: