Finding money for your RE deals

After investing in multi-family real estate properties for decades, I found some tips very useful as resources to put yourself in front of the people who may have the funding for your deals. 

Everyone starts out the same way going to REIA meetings (Real Estate Investor Association Meetings). They go to the meet ups having to do with Real Estate Investors buy and hold property, landlord associations, multi family, flips, wholesalers, you name it. Everyone in the room is there for the exact same reason. To grow their real estate business. Although you may strike up that conversation with someone who has a common interest in what you’re trying to do, and actually have money to fund your deals, more often than not I have found these environments to be a network sharking event. 

I referred to “sharkin”g as scoping out the room while you’re supposed to be paying attention to someone else. This behavior builds a shallow relationship from the start. People are very in tune with who may be talking to them. If they’re looking you straight in the eyes telling you about their business and see you looking over their shoulder for the next person you want to talk to, you have pretty much ended the relationship. This, is “sharking” the room.

Unfortunately, this is what happens in networking events where everyone in the room is involved with real estate. Don’t get me wrong. Some people in the room actually do have money and will invest in your deals. But the odds of you finding that person when everyone else in the room is looking for them to gets fewer and far between.

So how did you do it? 

How do you actually increase the odds of having a one on one conversation with someone who may actually be able to find your deals? Well to state the obvious. Increase your odds. In Dr. Stanley’s book “Networking with Millionaires” he gave several examples of this. 

The trick is to put yourself in front of affluent people who may not actually be related to the real estate business. I’m going to give you a few ideas here that may help you to expand your mind looking for funding for your deals. Let’s first start by asking to really basic and simple question.

Where do you find affluent people?

Let that one sink in for a minute. What are the networks in circles in your life you already have formed were affluent people converge? I want to preface all of this by saying that they should be genuine interests that you already have in your heart. Don’t pretend or be a poser going into an event that you know nothing about, or have no heartfelt interest in. The other people in the room will sniff you out in a heartbeat and wonder what the heck you are doing there?

So, how does this work?

Well, I will use myself for an example so maybe you’ll get the idea.

I own a 1998 Z3 BMW Atlantic blue Convertible Roadster. She’s my baby. She’s a beautiful car. And I truly love to drive her and enjoy when other people share an interested in her. Recently, she turned 25 years old so now she is a classic car. So I have joined a classic car club where I live. Now, once a month, I get to hang out with people who genuinely love to talk about classic cars. They talk about their cars. We all have pictures of our cars on our phones. We share stories. We share other events that we’ve been to and other cars we’ve seen. It’s a great camaraderie. Well guess what? Upkeeping a classic car is not a cheap hobby. Some of these enthusiasts are business owners or investors in other industries and would welcome the opportunity to write a check, and get a bigger one back. All of these owners, sometimes hundreds at one event, are all affluent people! There is probably only a small fraction of them that have ever been approached to invest in real estate deals. They probably all know about real estate and I’ve heard wonderful things that you can get some great returns. But probably no one in that group of affluent people has ever presented the opportunity. You get to be the first.

So for me, it was a Classic Car Club. It’s something I absolutely look forward to every month to see the other cars and talk to the other owners. I love the cars, I love the stories, I love the people. We have a lot of fun. It is all about building the relationships.

So where is another pocket in your life that you can find affluent people? If you are affiliated with a non-profit organization, or are involved in any type of charity organization, you are surrounding yourself with passionate people who care for a cause and will take action. Call me crazy, but I find rich people to be more generous with their funds and giving than people without money. So in a charity, or a non for profit, there are usually pockets of people affluent, who are very passionate about the cause. Showing up and contributing to the cause lets other affluent people see you in your best light. Not to be fake or phony, but because you have a heart to be involved as a volunteer.

Charity events and fundraisers can be a lot of fun too. Try this idea on for size. Find a cause near and dear to your heart. Purchase a mailing list of affluent people affiliated with that cause and invite them to the event. Keeping on the theme of cars. What would it look like if you purchased a list of Porsche enthusiasts to a wine and cheese event for a brief presentation about the charity you, and they, support? You can get pretty specific on which filters you can get a mailing list for. Get creative, have fun, make a difference. Well if they’re ready to buy a Porsche (or already have one), they probably have some discretionary funds they could put towards your nonprofit. Then you get to build relationships. Eventually you will be asked, “What do you do for work?” Then you get to tell them about the returns you get for your investors investing in Real Estate. “Interesting, tell me more”.

You say you don’t have the time or inclination to promote or put on such an event? Well, that’s fine too. Then find one and just show up. All you have to do is be there, understand what’s going on. Have passion about the cars, or whatever the event is and talk to the other attendees. It’s not that hard to strike up a conversation with someone you already have a common interest. Not sure which event you should attend? Get on to the Meetup web site and start searching for topics you are interested in where affluent people may be there. Sounds like a great date night.

Back you bags.

My third tip is probably my most fun and enjoyable. Everyone loves to go on a vacation. So here’s another obvious statement. People who travel, usually have money to travel. They’ve saved up enough money to travel, or they already have enough money to travel whenever they want to. You’ll know after a few minutes of speaking to someone if they travel a lot. Ask them where they’ve been. What were their favorite places to visit.

If they tell you, they been saving up 10 years to take this vacation then they’re probably not the affluent pocket you’re looking for. If they start telling you about their fifth trip to Maui, or how they have a condo on a tropical island, then chances are they’ve worked really hard to get there and have some money that they may be interested in investing with you. Investors want to write a check and get a bigger one back. Can you provide that opportunity?

And by the way. There is real estate everywhere on the planet earth. So it would not be a prior stretch that your trip to a tropical island would have a couple meetings with brokers and realtors to talk about the real estate market once you get there. Document everything. Then the whole trip becomes a nice bundled up tax deduction. You just never know what you may find. That Broker or Realtor may be able to put you in touch with other investors that you can start some partnerships relationships with.

Thinking out of the box.

The whole point is to get creative and think out of the box. If everyone in the room is buying and selling the exact same thing, Real Estate, it really lowers your chances and the odds of making that golden connection. Put yourself at an affluent event where real estate isn’t even the main topic on the venue, then you have increased your chances tremendously to make the connection with an affluent person who may be interested in investing in your real estate deals.

Looking forward to doing business with you!


What’s on Your Mind?

Do you have any other ideas on this topic you could share to help our online community? Please chime in to share a comment or review. All feedback is welcomed. Thank you in advance for your continued support!


Warmest regards,

Brian Lucier
Belaire Property Management
Regional Property Manager
(978) 448-0669 office
info@belaire.co
www.belaire.co
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