A FEW HINTS ON HOW TO SPOT A SCAM

FROM ADMIN:

If a post or comment begins with the following words, I would run the other way:

Good day, Am a private lender, Are you looking for a US based lender, or if someone calls themselves Mr, Mrs, or calls you Sir or Madame. All these are red flags that shout scam, or at the very least, someone from outside of this country. Also, if their phone number is posted showing a number 1 before the area code, this is a RED FLAG!

If their email address is a Hotmail account, stay away. No lender would use Hotmail, it is the universal sign for scam. Gmail and yahoo are all fine. I used a Gmail account back when I was a lender. If it is a small lending shop with only a few employees, there is no reason for a lender to have their own specialized email account.

If a lender offers 100% funding on a commercial property, run the other way!!! One exception, Joint Venture funding will sometimes go to 100% in exchange for an equity percentage of the property. Other than that, there is NO 100% commercial funding.

If you need a lender, use a United States based lender with REFERENCES!

Admin

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Comment by Alan Lobato on June 29, 2020 at 7:09pm: One other item you may add to the comments.

Upfront fees

Comment by Louis Rosenberg on August 1, 2018 at 5:25pm: Absolutely!

Comment by HJ Babila on March 31, 2018 at 2:12pm: I agree 100% ,. we dont need top deal with scammers wasting our time keep it up ..

Comment by Linda Hair on July 12, 2016 at 8:22am: I have been emailing some that i found and i would love for it to work so that I can grow in my real estate business but even voicing concerns of scam and asking for references, I am still hesitant on sending money and waiting for transfer of money. There are a lot out there and it is scary for us that are getting started and needing legit private and hard money lenders or bridge lenders . I am in need of legit funding so any recommendations would be appreciated.

linda

Comment by Larry Foster on April 16, 2016 at 9:04am: Could not agree more with the commthey asked for 350.00 for doc preparation fee's and requested an appraisal. I am personally in a situation with a co that has promised rehab and aquisition monies for a projet I have. Tight closing time and they co has stopped communications. This firm runs ad's on this site and if you want to know who they are, please reach out to me @ 1note.management.co@gmail.com

Comment by Joseph A. Chilcote on February 10, 2016 at 1:42pm: As necessary as it is for me to find funding to continue my rehab business, I had to turn down a guy who gave me nothing but red flags. It was too easy, no security required, no references, incomplete sentences and broken English in emails, a flimsy, unusual contract, and more. I had no idea there would be scammers here but there are. I won't say the name because I did not actually do business with him but if someone asks me privately, I would. Be careful out there. We all know the drill and we all know what normally is going to come at us when we ask for money to do deals. The owner of this site would do well to introduce a "1-5 Star" system where lenders are rated according to the experiences and successes had by the borrowers. Then we'd at least have a feel for who we are dealing with.

Comment by Admin on July 28, 2015 at 4:48pm: Hi everyone, this is the owner of The Real Estate Finance Website. Here are a few other things you should avoid when looking for funding on this or any website:

* Someone that tells you they can give you a loan at a guaranteed rate, 3% for example. Lenders have many different rates and they vary depending on the property, equity position, and borrower qualifications. NOBODY says you have a loan at a rate of 3% without knowing the scenario beforehand, only then do they issue an approval with rate, term, and conditions

* Avoid ANYONE that does not show their phone number in their member profile on this or any website. If they are a real lender, they will show their phone number 100% of the time!!!

Comment by Joe Bennett on July 20, 2015 at 7:59pm: Good stuff. It's always good to hear the opinion of someone that really knows. Thank you!

Comment by Craig Mayes on July 1, 2015 at 9:55am: Good post. Very helpful.

Comment by Jay Pasquarille on June 26, 2015 at 1:18pm: This is very awesome that appreciate the information that you have given I was confronted with one today appreciate this info so I took it your advice before hand because he wanted $1600 to send him and he would give us the $45,000 in the mail on the MasterCard. That's why I ran away from it. Thank you