You can acquire foreclosure properties by going to the bank and getting a loan. One of the challenges with that is you can only get so many loans in your name. As of this writing conventional lenders will only allow you to have 4 loans in your name. This article explains what I did instead: found private money.

The people youre looking for are private individuals who have money to invest in real estate. Many of these people may currently keep their money in CDs, mutual funds, IRAs, etc.

Why do they put money into these types of accounts? They want a good return on their investment. If you can offer them a higher return than theyre currently getting on their CDs, money market accounts, etc., do you think theyd be interested in talking to you? Absolutely!

However, heres one of the challenges. These people are not knocking on your door. Youve got to go find them. Just like the creative real estate business is a numbers game, so is the ability to find private investors.

Are they hard to find? No. Its simply a numbers game and it takes a little detective work to ferret out these investors--but you'd be surprised what can happen in a year.

In order to be successful, though, youre going to have to put CONSISTENT effort into finding this type of person. If youre not putting in the effort of finding funding partners, youre probably in the wrong line of work. However, if youve got the attitude of I know I can, I know I can, I know I can, and will take massive amounts of action to find these private investors, you will do very well in this business and you will find your investors. And as long you continue to find properties that are profitable to the private investor the money will stick around. Youll even start to get calls from these investors wanting to invest in you and your business if you are successful.

Private investors are relatively easy to find. You can find them by talking to people and telling them what the type of investor youre looking for. Believe me, if you offer the type of returns that the creative real estate business can offer, the word will spread like wildfire that there is a person out there who can give above average returns on investments in a very short amount of time.

One of the easiest ways to get in front of private investors is to meet with all the private professionals that you know. Do you have a doctor, a CPA, a lawyer? All of these people are great to start with. Youd be amazed at the amount of money that your CPA deals with on a daily basis for his clients.

You may say to yourself, "I dont have the experience or track record to find private investors. Why would these people give me any money?" However, if you can offer them X amount of return on investment, secured by at least 70% to 80% loan-to-value on real estate, youre going to find these people. Money follows opportunity. And in this case, you are the opportunity.

Show your potential private investor that youve done your homework. Provide them with the details they need to see. Provide them with the projected profit, and give them the peace of mind that you know what youre doing. Believe me, if you continue to produce returns that excite them they may offer you more and more money and they will have friends that will do the same. It just takes time.

Just remember that most private investors who lend you money are interested in a return on their investment. If you happen to make more money than you thought you were going to make on a deal, throw the private investor a little extra. Put a little more on the top. Whatever it takes to start using a private investor, use one.