In the challenging realm of real estate investing, Banjo, and Erica Camardelle have emerged as a dynamic duo. As guests on Jay Conner’s popular podcast, “Raising Private Money,” they shared their remarkable journey of raising $3.3 million through private money lenders. Their story is a testament to determination, innovation, and strategic networking, providing invaluable insights for both novice and seasoned investors.
Struggling with Cash Flow and Early Challenges
When Banjo and Erica launched their business in 2018, they faced the same obstacle many entrepreneurs encountered: a lack of capital. Despite their innovative approach to creative deals, which often involved offering existing note owner financing instead of cash payments upfront, they soon found themselves constrained by financial limitations. With scarce capital, their ability to purchase new properties dwindled, leading to a temporary halt in their business activities.
Additionally, the couple encountered operational challenges. The absence of robust systems and processes meant that most of their time was consumed with property rehabbing, diverting their focus from closing new deals. These initial setbacks underscored the necessity of securing a reliable source of funds to sustain and grow their venture.
The Breakthrough: Learning to Raise Private Money
A game-changer for Banjo and Erica was discovering the art of raising private money. By tapping into a network of private lenders, they managed to secure funding for their real estate transactions without relying on their own capital. Their first private lender marked a significant milestone, allowing them to navigate the market with newfound confidence and financial backing.
Their strategy revolved around understanding the mutually beneficial nature of private lending. Private lenders could enjoy predictable, high rates of return, while Banjo and Erica leveraged their funds to acquire and rehab properties efficiently. This symbiotic relationship became the cornerstone of their successful business model.
Private Lender Luncheons: A Networking Masterstroke
One of the duo’s most effective strategies for attracting private lenders has been hosting Private Lender Luncheons. Initially intimidating, these luncheons have now become a preferred method for Banjo and Erica to introduce their private lending program. By gathering around 25 acquaintances—including team members, friends, and family—and providing an overview rather than a pitch for specific deals, they created a low-pressure environment conducive to discussion and education.
The luncheons emphasized key aspects such as protection and the benefits of partnership, making prospective lenders feel secure and valued. Attendees were given forms to express their interest levels, which Banjo and Erica later followed up on through phone calls. This non-direct approach allowed potential lenders to express interest without feeling pressured, fostering genuine connections and trust.
The Impact of Networking and Community Engagement
Banjo attributes a significant portion of their success to the power of networking. Regularly engaging with potential contacts in places like gyms, clubs, and social gatherings has been instrumental in building a broad base of private lenders. These interactions often began with casual conversations, evolving into educational sessions about private money lending.
Addressing the educational gap, Banjo and Erica found that many of their prospective lenders (around 90-95%) were initially unaware of private lending’s benefits. By positioning themselves as educators, they effectively demystified the process and attracted a diverse pool of investors.
Educational Outreach and Consistent Communication
Their approach to private money lending is deeply rooted in education and transparent communication. Banjo and Erica focus on providing valuable insights through personal interactions, Jack’s teachings, and Banjo’s book, “Low-Risk High Returns.” This educational material, available on Amazon and through their company website, serves as a resource for anyone interested in understanding private lending.
Their method of communication is also tailored to suit the preferences of their audience. Banjo prefers phone calls, while Erica capitalizes on the efficiency of text and Facebook messaging, ensuring that they reach prospective lenders most effectively.
Faith and Accountability at the Core
Central to their company, Salt and Light Property Solutions, is the embodiment of their Christian faith. Inspired by Matthew 5:13-16, the name reflects their commitment to accountability and integrity. This foundation not only guides their business practices but also strengthens their relationships with lenders, fostering an environment of trust and reliability.
Conclusion: A Model for Success
Banjo and Erica Camardelle’s journey from struggling entrepreneurs to successful real estate investors showcases the transformative power of private money. Through strategic networking, educational outreach, and a strong foundation of faith and accountability, they have raised $3.3 million and managed over 50 deals. Their story serves as an inspiration and a blueprint for others looking to succeed in the competitive world of real estate investing. For those eager to learn more, visiting jconnor.com/moneyguide can provide a valuable starting point, with a free guide outlining seven reasons why private money can skyrocket your real estate investing business.
10 Discussion Questions from this Episode:
- How did Banjo and Erica Camardelle’s background and initial experience in creative property deals influence their approach to real estate investing?
- Discuss the challenges Banjo and Erica faced when they ran out of capital and had to pause their business activities. How did they overcome these challenges?
- What role did private money play in transforming Banjo and Erica’s real estate business, and how did it change their approach to property investing?
- How do Banjo and Erica structure their Private Lender Luncheons, and why do they prefer this method of networking?
- What are some key strategies that Banjo and Erica use to educate potential lenders about private lending without directly asking them for money?
- Why is networking in social environments like gyms and clubs important for Banjo and Erica’s private lending program, and how do they leverage these opportunities?
- How does the non-direct approach used by Banjo and Erica during their private lender luncheons foster interest and participation in their lending program?
- In what ways did Jay Conner and his team influence Banjo and Erica’s decision to focus on private money lending and achieve their business goals quickly?
- What is the significance of borrowing up to 75% of a property’s after-repaired value (ARV), and how does this practice benefit Banjo and Erica’s real estate projects?
- Reflect on the name “Salt and Light Property Solutions” and its biblical reference. How do Banjo and Erica integrate their faith-based values into their business practices?
Fun facts that were revealed in the episode:
- Banjo and Erica live on a 60-acre property in Southwest Mississippi and are involved in outdoor camping and combat sports.
- Despite the intimidating start, Banjo and Erica prefer hosting Private Lender Luncheons and have successfully raised $3.3 million through 12 such events.
- Banjo introduced a feedback-driven approach at luncheons by casually asking attendees about the food and presentation, which helped improve their networking strategy.
Timestamps:
00:01 The property-peddling power couple from Mississippi.
07:26 Investing in education for financial freedom.
12:20 Ran out of cash, learned private money.
13:34 Got speeding ticket; advised a friend on investments.
18:57 Murphy’s Law: Rehabbing costs more and delays.
21:30 Mindset shift: Private lending over traditional banks.
23:20 Realized the impact of helping others through investing.
27:50 Networking leads to sharing private lending strategy.
29:56 Private lenders are unaware of self-directed IRA opportunities.
33:03 Seek improvement through feedback at luncheons.
37:19 Learned private lending from Jay Connor’s event.
41:31 Quit your job, embrace challenges, and achieve better results.
42:29 Commitment to success; book for investors discussed.
46:29 Explains “salt and light” from the Bible.
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Property Growth: How Banjo and Erica Raised $3.3 Million in Private Money
Jay Conner [00:00:01]:
Welcome to another amazing episode of raising private money. I’m Jay Conner, your host, also known as the Private Money Authority. And it’s on this podcast that we talk about how to raise private money for your real estate deals without ever having to ask for money. That’s right. You are already approved. There are no applications. There are no credit scores, and you never have to ask to get money. That’s what we’re gonna talk about.
Jay Conner [00:00:32]:
Well, my guests today here on the show, are amazing, amazing individuals. I’ve known this dynamic duo couple for, I think now, at least 4 years. I’ll get them to correct me if I’m wrong. Well, anyway, they have raised $3,300,000 in private money, and they just keep using it over and over and over again on multiple deals. Well, this husband and wife team, they are known as the property peddling power couple, not a couple, behind the name of their company, which is called Salt and Light Property Solutions. Salt and Light Property Solutions. You already know that they are Christians with a name like that for their company. Well, they hail from the vibrant streets of New Orleans, Louisiana, and this real estate dream team traded all that city buzz and loud noises for the serenity of Southwest Mississippi, where they now reside and live on 60 acres in a log cabin with their 4 kids and a small army of pets.
Jay Conner [00:01:41]:
Now in their quest to conquer the real estate world, this husband and wife team have become the proud parents of over 50 deals, managing a whopping 40 doors, and 22 storage units. They are accredited investors. Published authors got their best-selling books, and they’re the masterminds behind a thriving local riot that they started and founded, right there where they live. Well, this power couple, they’re taking southern Mississippi and Louisiana by storm, and they’ve got their eyes set on expanding all along the Gulf Coast. Now, they’re not just busy crunching numbers. In addition to that, you’ll find them camping in the great outdoors, passionately serving their church, and unleashing their competitive spirit in combat sports. But the fun doesn’t stop there. Did you know the husband of this team knows how to speak like a Tuscan sand raider, while his wife loves skulls for some weird and kind of creepy reason?
Jay Conner [00:02:45]:
That is weird. Well, their company, Salt and Light, it’s where business meets a symphony of laughter and extraordinary adventures. Look. We’re gonna dive deep into this couple. We’re gonna learn how they’ve raised 1,000,000 and 1,000,000 dollars in private money, how they’ve gone about it without ever asking anybody for money. In just a moment, you’re gonna meet Eric, also known as Banjo, and his wonderful wife, Erica Carmadell, right after this.
Narrator [00:03:13]:
If you’re a real estate investor and are wondering how to raise and leverage private money to make more profit on every deal, then you’re in the right place. On raising private money, we’ll speak with new and seasoned investors to dissect their deals and extract the best tips and strategies to help you get the money because the money comes first. Now here’s your host, Jay Conner.
Jay Conner [00:03:41]:
Oh, my lands. It’s Banjo and Erika Carmadell lives right here in the flesh. My first question first of all, welcome to the show, guys.
Banjo Camardelle [00:03:53]:
Thank you so much, man. Good afternoon. Good to be here. Yeah.
Jay Conner [00:03:56]:
Yes. This is listen. If you’re listening to this show right now, yeah, I promise you, you do not want to turn the dial. Well, that’s back when radios had dialed. You do not want to change this channel or delete or go somewhere else until you’ve heard this whole show because Erica and Banchero are gonna dive deep, and give you step-by-step advice from their own experience as to how they’ve raised all this private money without ever asking anybody for money. So this is going to be a dynamic episode. So welcome to the show y’all. My first question is, Erica, why do you like skulls?
Erica Camardelle [00:04:35]:
Well, it was something that my uncle used to collect and after he passed away I just kinda took over it in his memory.
Jay Conner [00:04:42]:
What kind of skulls?
Erica Camardelle [00:04:44]:
I have, like, ceramic skulls from when we went on vacation that I have as a souvenir.
Jay Conner [00:04:51]:
Are you talking about skulls that look like human beings’ skulls?
Jay Conner [00:05:00]:
You know, Erica, I thought I knew you pretty well. Let’s not talk about that anymore. Let’s get into your all’s experience in raising private money. So, first of all, what attracted you all to real estate investing back when? What year did y’all start and what attracted you?
Banjo Camardelle [00:05:23]:
Well, 2,008 would be the reason we started. The reason for the time we started and the reason is that I got introduced to it by a friend of mine at the time. He was a friend and became a partner and he started giving me these facts about, wealth and what percentage of, millionaires in America or real estate and how it’s passive income I was intrigued by it so I took him for his word and you know, took his advice and that’s when I started. I turned my first house into a rental back in 2,008.
Jay Conner [00:06:01]:
So you became a bona fide real estate investor in 2,008. So how old were you 17 years old? I think in 2,008, I
Banjo Camardelle [00:06:12]:
was more of a boneheaded, real estate investor because I did it all wrong for many, many years.
Jay Conner [00:06:20]:
Well, what did you do wrong? What were your, what were your early mistakes?
Banjo Camardelle [00:06:24]:
Man, it was this one house really that I owned that whole time up in 2018, till I got serious about it. But I was very a procrastinating kind of guy. It was all about hobbies. It was a hobby, like a little side gig, a way to just kind of make extra money. That was the main mistake right there. It’s in my head, I thought about real estate as a way to make a little extra money.
Jay Conner [00:06:50]:
Well, there’s a rider downer. What year did you get serious?
Banjo Camardelle [00:06:55]:
2018 is when I got serious.
Jay Conner [00:06:57]:
Alright. What’s the definition of getting serious?
Banjo Camardelle [00:07:00]:
Investing in some teaching and training and creating a vision and a goal, not like I do now. Don’t get me wrong. 2018, I didn’t know anything about visions or goals, but at the time, I had an idea that I wanted to leave my 9 to 5 and become a real estate entrepreneur. One day I’m gonna own several units and create this passive income and work for myself.
Jay Conner [00:07:26]:
So you sort of started answering my next question. What have you got? ESPN? So my next question was gonna be, you know, so when you got serious, you know, you started getting educated, you know, you’re investing money on your real estate investing education. What was your initial vision when you got serious? I heard you say part of it was, you know, retire from the day job 9 to 5, to where you wouldn’t have shackles around you for that. What other parts of your vision did you have when you started?
Banjo Camardelle [00:08:05]:
I guess you could say, well, wealth, you know, being able to leave a legacy for my children, teaching my children how to run business, teaching them about real estate, not wanting for much, that kind of stuff. You know, being able to do what I want to do when I want to do it, with who I want to do it.
Jay Conner [00:08:29]:
And for how long do you want to do it? So, now Eric, now Erica, when did you, I mean, were you all on board with Banjo back in 2018?
Erica Camardelle [00:08:44]:
So I supported him in whatever he wanted to do, but I had nothing to do with it. I didn’t I didn’t think real estate investing was something for me, just because I
Jay Conner [00:08:55]:
You were you were a school teacher. Right?
Erica Camardelle [00:08:57]:
I was a high school math teacher, and so I supported him but it wasn’t until about 2020 when I came on board and we started getting serious and making this the business.
Jay Conner [00:09:10]:
Okay. I got you. It’s not gonna be like you and
Banjo Camardelle [00:09:12]:
2 together. Just go figure when we started being successful. So when she came on board.
Jay Conner [00:09:18]:
Well, I mean, I could have told you that. Right? It’s like well, when you started, what were some of the biggest challenges you faced in those early years? Now when I say early years, I’m talking about starting in 2018. That list might be pretty long, but anyway, what were some of the biggest challenges, and then how did you overcome those challenges?
Banjo Camardelle [00:09:41]:
So in 18, one of our biggest challenges, I would say was cash. We needed cash to do a lot of creative deals from 2018 to 2020.
Jay Conner [00:09:53]:
And what do you mean by creative? What do you mean by creative deals?
Banjo Camardelle [00:09:57]:
I mean, when we call people and they wanted cash, we weren’t doing that. We were
Jay Conner [00:10:04]:
You were offering to buy it on terms so that you’re existing, no owner, star financing, etcetera.
Banjo Camardelle [00:10:12]:
Yes, and the majority of those folks wanted a pretty decent down payment so my partner had some capital and we expended a ton of capital, but there were a lot of deals that we needed to pass up because we didn’t have well, one, we didn’t have enough capital to be just buying these houses cash all the time.
Banjo Camardelle [00:10:28]:
And we had or Jeff mostly had enough capital to buy. I think we ended up doing 5 deals in 5 months. We were we were getting after it, but, we ran out of money. At some point, we had to slow down and tap the brakes. I wouldn’t call it shiny object syndrome, but I would say maybe lack of systems probably was a hurdle back then. As both I and my partner found some holes, some multiplex properties that kinda took our attention away from the flipping business that we were partnered up in. And that came to a stop. So
Banjo Camardelle [00:11:04]:
A couple of different challenges in the
Erica Camardelle [00:11:05]:
Well, and during that time when we had those new apartments, they were all working on their own. You know, they were in there doing the repairs. And so if you’re tied up doing the repairs, you’re not making more calls, getting more deals. So time
Jay Conner [00:11:21]:
Obviously. So when you started in those early years, you were doing your rehabbing. Right?
Banjo Camardelle [00:11:26]:
For the most part. And if I could do it, I was gonna do it. Yep.
Jay Conner [00:11:29]:
Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know what I say? You probably heard me tell this story, but, anyway, a few years ago at one of our live events, an attendee, I was talking about rehab, and then one of the attendees just commented, said, you know, Jay, I just love rehab in my own houses because it’s like therapy to me. My immediate response was anybody that who rehabs their own houses needs therapy. Yeah. You probably came to realize that. Right, Manjot? Yes. Yep.
Jay Conner [00:12:03]:
I agree. So one of your biggest challenges was you ran out of cash. Right? And was that running out of cash to invest in more houses or was that running out of cash period?
Banjo Camardelle [00:12:16]:
Usually to run, to get more housing.
Jay Conner [00:12:20]:
So you ran out of cash because the majority of the for sale by owners as all of us know, in the real world requires all the cash. Now, you know, if, you know, if you’re really good and you can negotiate and you understand creative financing, you know, there’s a percentage of people, of course, that will sell. I mean, I bought a bunch of houses on subject 2, not recently in this market, but, the majority of mine have been all cash for private money. So how did you fix that challenge of getting money to have cash, to do deals? We learned how to raise private money. So that was the that was the pivoting point. Right? 100%.
Erica Camardelle [00:13:04]:
Yep. That was our missing piece of the puzzle. We knew how to do terms deals and we can only get so many. And then once we found the private money, that just put it all together for us.
Jay Conner [00:13:16]:
So let’s deep dive into you two’s emotions. Describe how you felt when you got your first private lender that told you they had X number of dollars. We’ll start with that. How did that make you feel?
Banjo Camardelle [00:13:34]:
I’ve got a speeding ticket. I remember the day as a family friend, and I remember a long time ago, he mentioned that he called me up and he was asking me if I knew any good places to invest his money, and I didn’t at the time. I just knew that from the little bit that I knew about investing was that and I don’t even know if this is good advice, but this is all I knew at the time. I said I don’t know. I heard that if you invest money with a financial adviser, make sure they’re doing commissions. That way, if you’re making money, he’s making money. But if you’re not making money, then he’s not making money anyway. That’s all advice I’ve got for him back then.
Banjo Camardelle [00:14:23]:
And then that guy entered my mind when I was, you know, writing down people that I can present this opportunity to. And so I called him up and I reminded him about that time and he was very, very interested in hearing about everything and I was very excited because I knew I could help him find what he was looking for and I knew he could help me find what I was looking for and it’s been a great relationship ever since then.
Jay Conner [00:14:47]:
Wonderful. And, so how did you all feel when you closed your first deal with Robertson?
Banjo Camardelle [00:14:54]:
It was awesome. When I got my first check, it was kind of nuts now. If I go buy a property and I have to, like, bring money to closing, that’s weird to me. I don’t like that feeling. We usually get a check at closing when we buy a property. Right?
Erica Camardelle [00:15:11]:
Yeah. I also remember when we first got our private money, we were like, oh, wow. Like, it was burning a hole in our pocket. We felt so much pressure to go find that first deal because it wasn’t our money to spend. It was that added motivation to go get those deals.
Banjo Camardelle [00:15:26]:
Yeah. Very big obligation to provide high rates of return as you’re telling your private lenders you’re gonna provide for them when, in fact, when you get that first private lender, and let’s say in our case, it’s a 200 well, it was 400,000 at first. That’s, you know, in our market, that’s a lot of money. Our after-repaired values on our houses range around 200, you know, for a first-time home buyer, 150 to 200. So it puts the pressure on you to do what you say you’re gonna do. When you tell somebody you’re gonna give high rates of return, you gotta go hurt and find them deals and get it going.
Jay Conner [00:16:00]:
Now you mentioned something a moment ago that I don’t want our listeners to miss. You said you typically pick up a big check when you buy a property.
Banjo Camardelle [00:16:15]:
That’s correct.
Jay Conner [00:16:16]:
And take none of your own money to the closing table. That’s correct.
Jay Conner [00:16:19]:
How in the world can you pick up a big check when you purchase?
Banjo Camardelle [00:16:24]:
Yeah. So we do not allow any of our private lenders to lend more than 75% of the after-repaired value of a house. And so for instance, let’s say this house is a $200,000 house. We can borrow up to 70, 175 percent which is $150,000 That leaves a $50,000 conservative large equity cushion to protect us, the private lenders, and our us, the investors, and our private lenders. Let’s say we get the property super cheap and the rehab is medium. We will borrow a little bit more than we need for that rehab and that house and it gives us a little extra cash. Not to mention you have the rehab expenses wrapped up in that check as well.
Jay Conner [00:17:17]:
So, just to be clear, for everybody to understand, you’ll borrow up to 75% of the repaired value, not 75% of the purchase price.
Banjo Camardelle [00:17:28]:
That’s correct. And, if your listeners are conservative like me and Erica are, they’re probably thinking the same thing me and Erica thought when we did our first deal. And that’s, I don’t need to borrow 75% of the after-repaired value of the house. I’m going to borrow exactly what I need and we made that mistake too on our first couple of deals. So why did
Jay Conner [00:17:54]:
Did that end up being a mistake? Well,
Banjo Camardelle [00:17:56]:
I don’t know if you ever met my friend. He’s become a fan, he’s become a friend. His name is Murphy.
Jay Conner [00:18:02]:
Yeah. I’ve met Mister Murphy, yeah, many times.
Erica Camardelle [00:18:05]:
He’s more like a relative than a friend.
Banjo Camardelle [00:18:08]:
He’s got a really bad habit of showing up in our rehab houses. I think He’s related to that guy named Mayhem. I see him on a bunch of other commercials, but, yeah, he, you know, when Murphy shows up, he could bring his cousins and his family members and everything and it’s good. It’s, I would say, It’s almost more conservative to make sure you borrow 75% of the repaired value. That way, you are ready and poised when Murphy shows up. It’s not if, it’s when. And then you’ll be ready to just handle those problems when they pop up. Yeah.
Erica Camardelle [00:18:42]:
We weren’t thinking about Murphy. We weren’t thinking about all of the, carrying cost that comes along with it, all the interest that we were paying to our lenders. So all of that extra money extra money that we borrowed, really helps out.
Jay Conner [00:18:57]:
Sure. And just to be clear for the sake of our audience, what Eric and Eric are talking about on Murphy is not a person it’s back to the phrase, Murphy, the law of Murphy. If anything can go wrong, it won’t go wrong. And, you know, in the rehabbing business, it always costs more than you thought it would. It always takes longer than you thought it would, which makes the case for not ever buying a single-family house that needs rehab without a home inspection for goodness’ sake. So, yeah, I’m, you know, I love it. You know, when I’m doing deals, when I’m doing a deal, in fact, I just closed on one this past Friday, and, I got a big check. Got a big check yesterday.
Jay Conner [00:19:46]:
The check is over $100,000. I love getting paid over $100,000 to buy a property, and I haven’t done anything with it. Of course, a big chunk of that $100,000 is going to be going towards the renovation. But here’s what I’ve learned. Here’s a great checkpoint, as to whether you should do a deal or not when you’re paying all cash, whether you’re using your cash or you’re using private money. And that is, and here’s a writer downer. If you can’t bring home a big check when you buy, you shouldn’t do the deal. I mean, right there is your checkpoint.
Jay Conner [00:20:25]:
If you can’t bring them a big check when you buy, now, of course, this only works when you’re buying properties at deep discounts. And when you buy properties at deep discounts, you buy properties at deep discounts when they need renovation. That’s why you’re getting the discount. So that’s a good check. But, my favorite phrase on my real estate attorney’s checks that I pick up, which my real estate attorney is, can you believe just right here next door, 12 feet down the sidewalk? I just saw her before getting here on the show. But my favorite phrase on her check stub is excess cash to close. And my lands don’t allow me some excess cash.
Jay Conner [00:21:04]:
So you know, this show, Raising Private Money is all about raising private money without ever asking anybody for money. So Erika, Banjo, how do you all go about getting $3,300,000 in private money that you’re able to use over and over and over again on, real estate deals, and then you never asked anybody for money? How in the world does that work?
Banjo Camardelle [00:21:30]:
We had to flip our mindset. We’re all conditioned, when we need capital, especially for houses, we have to go to the bank and beg them, please, and submit all this paperwork and your red, red tape all over the place and constantly in this state of please, please, please, Mr. Banker, can I please have some funds so I could buy this house? And when you’re working with private lenders, you have to flip your mindset. We never asked any private lender that has ever come on board to do business with us for money or we’ve never pitched a deal or anything like that. What we do is we have perfected and established and perfected our perfect private lending program, which our private lenders love as a product itself. And what we do is we just basically ask them, listen, do you know do you or anybody you know have any liquid capital or any retirement accounts that are not making high rates of return and the keywords are safe and secure? Not only just safe and secure but secure by an actual piece of real estate And if they say, yes, I do know somebody or something like that, then that’s when we go and explain a little bit about what we do and see if they’re interested in and hear more about it. And so what we’re doing, we’re not asking them for money or pitching any deals or anything.
Banjo Camardelle [00:22:57]:
We’re basically, helping them to understand that there are better ways to invest their money. A lot of these private lenders I’m dealing with, they’re they’re not only not making money, they’re losing money in the stock market, losing money with their retirement accounts. And so we come along and present our private lending program and it’s an excellent opportunity for them to make a whole lot more money than they’re already making.
Erica Camardelle [00:23:20]:
Yeah. And this was a real game-changer for me. I mentioned earlier that I was just not interested in real estate and I just kinda like got dragged into it because I was helping Eric. But what changed for me was when I realized how much of a difference I was making in other people’s lives by giving them this opportunity to invest with us. Once I realized that I was making a difference and that I wasn’t trying to sell them anything or convince them to do anything when I realized that it was the difference in their lives that I was making I felt like I couldn’t hold my program back from anyone because was such a great opportunity for them.
Jay Conner [00:24:00]:
Yes. Yes. But you never know that yet. I mean, that shift in mindset, instead of asking for a mortgage or applying for a mortgage, you know, there’s there’s no selling, begging, chasing, or whatever. It’s all about teaching, putting on your teacher hat. I explained the program just exactly as you said. Now so you share the program. What are your favorite ways to get the word out?
Banjo Camardelle [00:24:29]:
I mean, there’s no
Jay Conner [00:24:30]:
Other ways to get the word out, but what are your favorite ways to share with people what your private lending program is?
Erica Camardelle [00:24:39]:
Oh, my favorite way is to do, a private lender luncheon. We do a little presentation and, feed everyone some lunch and let them know about our program.
Banjo Camardelle [00:24:49]:
But I’ll add, that there’s a caveat to that. So private lender luncheons in the beginning were not our favorite way to do it because we had never done one yet. Right? And those things are scary if you’ve never done a professional any kind of luncheon. And so in the beginning, my favorite way to do it was phone calls. I’m I’m a get-on-the-phone type of guy. Erica is more of a text messaging person. So I would get on the phone and call people and talk to them about it and then Erica would do the Facebook message and I’ll leave them. Yep.
Jay Conner [00:25:20]:
Gotcha. So what is a private lender luncheon and why is that your favorite way?
Erica Camardelle [00:25:28]:
So luncheon is where we get together with people that we know, we invite team members, we just invite our people that we’ve met, networking, friends, family, and we get together about 25 people and we feed them lunch and then we let them know about our program.
Jay Conner [00:25:49]:
So you feed them lunch, and so you let them know about your program. So you’ve got a presentation. Right? Yes. The way you’re teaching. So are you, like, talking about any deals that you need funding for in this or are you just teaching how the program works?
Banjo Camardelle [00:26:05]:
No. It’s an overview. It’s we try to hit all of the most important points that a private lender is gonna be concerned about. Gotcha. How are they protected? Why would they wanna do business with us? Why do we wanna do business with them? Now as far as pitching a deal or kinda like, alright, guys. This is the deal. This is what the money’s gonna look like. That’s not what we’re talking about here.
Banjo Camardelle [00:26:29]:
We have a couple of slides with a couple of deals that recent deals that we’ve done, funded with private lending, just so they can get an idea of what we’re talking about. But as far as the pitching of a particular deal, no.
Jay Conner [00:26:41]:
Okay. So I heard you say a few minutes ago that you don’t ask for money. And so how, if you don’t ask for money and you do a private lender luncheon, how many private lender luncheons have you done? Worked 12 now. 12 private lender luncheons for goodness’ sake. Well, that triggers another question. Those 2 are private lender luncheons. I mean, like, did you already have all them people in your cell phone or contacts, or did you, like, run through your contacts, and then you had to, like, go meet new people or something?
Banjo Camardelle [00:27:17]:
Yeah. So that’s the beauty of this business and getting a mentor. Like, part of your mastermind helps tremendously. And what I mean by that is when I first started this business, people would talk you would hear Facebook is a social network thing. It’s like what does network mean? You hear about these network meetings. I never knew what networking meant. Now I do. And so once we’ve talked to all of our people what we do that we already know, which probably was about 300, 400 people.
Banjo Camardelle [00:27:50]:
Right? We talked to them. They either weren’t interested or they were. Well, now what? Right? So we’re out at the gym. Like like you said in our intro, we like combat sports. So we’re doing our jujitsu and our kickboxing stuff, and we know people at the gym. I’m in the Rotary Club and certain little networking groups that I go and visit, church, anywhere that you know people that you can network with. Network meaning, talk to them, see how you can help them, see how you can serve them or their business. And lo and behold, while you’re talking, sooner or later, somebody’s probably gonna ask you, well, what do you do? And that allows you to share with them that you teach people how to make a lot of money using a little-known strategy called private lending.
Banjo Camardelle [00:28:34]:
So
Jay Conner [00:28:34]:
That’s how you introduce yourself when you’re meeting somebody new. Let’s say you just met me. I say, well, Banjo, what do you do?
Banjo Camardelle [00:28:42]:
Hey, Jay. How are you doing? Yeah. I teach people how to make a whole lot of money using this little-known strategy called private lending.
Jay Conner [00:28:50]:
I love it. I love it. Now you said something a moment ago. So well, here, there’s another question first. You’ve done 12,500 luncheons. You’ve raised 3,300,000. You used to be full time working at the working on the railroad. Right? Or working at the railroad.
Jay Conner [00:29:06]:
I’m working on the railroad like this. But, so when you started raising private money, how soon were you able to retire from your day job and become a full-time real estate entrepreneur?
Banjo Camardelle [00:29:20]:
About 7 months.
Jay Conner [00:29:22]:
7 months. There’s another reason to learn all about private money. So you did these 12 private lender luncheons. I’m curious to know, maybe you know, you don’t know. How many of those people that have been to 12 private intermunitions have had ever heard about private money or private money?
Banjo Camardelle [00:29:44]:
Who? I don’t know that for sure, but if I had to guess, I’m going to say 90 to 95% probably have never heard of private letter luncheons and it might be higher than that.
Jay Conner [00:29:56]:
Yeah. The reason I’m curious is, that my wife, Carol Joy, and I, we’ve got 47 private lenders and not one of them has ever heard of private money or private lending. And, of course, we don’t have time in this show to talk about self-directed IRAs, but they had never heard of self-directed IRAs and how they can take a current retirement fund and move it over to a self-directed IRA company and then loan the retirement funds out for high rates of return. None of them had heard of that strategy. Not one of my 47 private lenders even knows what an accredited investor is, right? So, you know, in this world of private money, they, we just got a comment Martell, first time listening, but I like the topic. Welcome to the show Martell. But anyway, yeah, they never heard, never heard of, private lending, which means that’s why you need to have your teacher hat on. Now, Banjo, you said something a few minutes ago.
Jay Conner [00:31:00]:
I don’t want our listening audience to miss. And that is what he said, I never asked for money. So they’re at the private interluncheon. How in the world do you get people to tell you they want to invest how much they’ve got to invest and how much they want to start with without you asking?
Banjo Camardelle [00:31:23]:
Yeah. So before they even come to the private lender luncheon, the majority of those attendees have heard about our private lender luncheon. Some of them have even heard all the details of it, but, most of the people have at least heard of our private lender luncheon and are interested in learning more. So I know that those that majority are interested in it. At the very least, they’re interested. A handful, maybe a few, they’re coming for support. They, you know, or just because they’re friends of the family and they know a little bit about private lending, but they’re mostly coming for Erica’s white chocolate bricklet. And when we’re done with the private lender luncheon, I simply say thank you guys for coming.
Banjo Camardelle [00:32:10]:
I hope you enjoy yourself and at the very least learn a little bit that you didn’t know before you came here and at the very least enjoy the food. Hope you like the venue. Talk to you later. Erica hands out a little piece of paper and it’s basically information. Not an information but, I guess, interest. It gauges their interest, and it has 3 check marks. I mean, they’re interested. Yeah.
Banjo Camardelle [00:32:32]:
All in. Let’s go right now. Maybe I’m interested in the future, or I’m not I’m just not interested at all. So whether they fill that piece of paper out or not, that’s up to them. But the way I find out if they’re interested or not is I just call them up. I give them a call after I give them a day to think about it, let them sleep on it, and call them the next day. And the funny thing about it is I never ask anybody if they want to pledge anything toward our private lender program. I don’t ask them if they’re interested.
Banjo Camardelle [00:33:03]:
I don’t even mention the sheet that they filled out. I just ask them 3 questions usually. I’m wanting to know, if can we get better at what we’re doing during this private lender luncheon as far as the food is concerned, the venue, and the actual presentation as far as delivery and the information that they received. And the cool part about it is that I don’t have to ask them because they volunteer that information anyway. As soon as I start talking to them, they’re gonna talk to you about it about their interest, whether they’re not interested. And a lot of times I’ll tell you why they’re not interested and maybe they’re getting, you know, so that’s that’s how we do it.
Jay Conner [00:33:40]:
So you just follow up with them right after the luncheon, and ask them 3 questions to give you feedback on how was the presentation? How was the food? How can we improve? And then without you even asking if they’re interested, they’re going to tell you automatically, right? Well, if you think about it,
Banjo Camardelle [00:33:56]:
you got to, it’s a mindset switch again and it’s hard to figure because private lending is so awesome for us in our business. It’s hard to figure that you offering private lending, a private lending program to an individual is just as awesome as a blessing as a private lender is to your company. What it truly is And I mean, you take somebody who’s worked hard all of their life, they finally retired or nearing retirement. They’re worried about all this stuff going on in the market, but you come along and offer them a nice, predictable, steady, high rate of return and they know you. It’s a beautiful thing. It’s a beautiful marriage.
Jay Conner [00:34:46]:
It certainly is. Now you said you never asked anybody for money. You just explained how they tell you how much they’ve got. If they wanna start, they bring that up on their own in the follow-up. Now so let’s say you’ve got a private lender. They told you they want to start with, you know, $150,000 or whatever. And now you got a deal for them to fund. How do you get them to fund your deal without pitching? Because you said earlier, you said I never pitch a deal, never pitch a deal.
Jay Conner [00:35:21]:
So how do you get your deal funded? I mean, they told you how much they want to invest. But how do you get the deal funded without pitching the deal?
Banjo Camardelle [00:35:32]:
The good news phone call, Jay. It’s Good
Jay Conner [00:35:35]:
News. What in the world is the good news phone call?
Banjo Camardelle [00:35:38]:
Well, if one of my private lenders is excited enough to enter into our private lender program and they pledge $150,000, the last thing they’re expecting me to do is call them up and try to pitch them a deal. They already have revealed that they would love to do business with us, so I can follow up with some good news and say, hey, man. I got some great news. Found us a deal. This is the summary of the deal. I give them a couple of little details of the deal and, and move forward. And, you know, so that’s that’s it.
Jay Conner [00:36:12]:
Do you ask them if they want to do the deal?
Banjo Camardelle [00:36:14]:
Oh, no. I know they wanna do the deal. They already told me that when they placed the money.
Jay Conner [00:36:19]:
Okay. So you call them up. You tell them a little bit about the deal. So if you don’t ask them, what do you what do you do? What do you do? Do you just get you give them instructions on like the is the real estate attorney gonna email them wiring instructions or or or it’s like it’s like you’re not asking them. You’re just like, tell them what’s going to happen, right?
Banjo Camardelle [00:36:37]:
Yeah. Hey, good news, Jay. Got a deal for us, man. $150,000 you want to put to work. I found a deal that I can put right to work.
Jay Conner [00:36:46]:
And of course, you’re not gonna, you’re not gonna bring a deal for them to fund unless it matches the criteria of the provident program that you already taught them about. Right?
Banjo Camardelle [00:36:56]:
100%. 100%. Yep.
Jay Conner [00:36:58]:
So it sounds like it’s very important to separate conversations between teaching the program and then having a deal for them to do and fund the deal. Right?
Banjo Camardelle [00:37:09]:
Absolutely.
Banjo Camardelle [00:37:11]:
So what was yours and Erica’s process for learning about private money?
Banjo Camardelle [00:37:19]:
So, private money was introduced to me in 2018. I learned about it from this guy. His name is Jay Connor. I was at I was attending, I was attending in a live event and you spoke, I think it was a whole day about private lending and flipping and all that stuff. Now I was at an event that was teaching about creative finance and, buying properties very creatively, which by the way was like drinking water through a fire hose. The first time I ever heard anything about any of that stuff. But, something intrigued me about your business model and the way you run your business. Fast forward a couple of years, Erica joins in and I’m saying, hey, babe.
Banjo Camardelle [00:38:04]:
There’s this guy. I’ve seen him a couple of years ago. I’ve seen you again, I think in New Orleans. And re it just confirmed that the business model that you presented, I just, you know, I don’t know. I clicked on it. I love it. And so I said, let’s go let’s go CJ, you know. So that’s
Erica Camardelle [00:38:23]:
That’s what he said. He said, let’s go to the beach.
Jay Conner [00:38:29]:
Banjo brought you, right? Like the live events are, here, at Oceanfront Hotel. And so he says, Let’s go to the beach. Right? That’s right. Well, and shoot. I mean, you all came to that event and 7 months later, you were full-time retired from the railroad. I mean, what is different about you all? I mean, you know, some people come to a live event and nothing changes for them. I mean, same thing. I mean, same information, same information that I’m teaching from stage.
Jay Conner [00:39:08]:
Some people have a transformation like you do. Some people don’t. Why is that? What makes you all different from where you had this transformation in such a short period?
Banjo Camardelle [00:39:21]:
I mean, looking back at it, I can explain it probably better because I’ve learned so much since I entered into your world, this world of private money and flipping and joined your mastermind and all that good stuff. But if you think about the 13 principles of Think and Grow Rich, one of the principles is decision-making. Specialized knowledge is another one and the fact that we were gaining this specialized knowledge, I knew from what I’ve seen that this model would work. It’s confirmed, you know, a third confirmation that this is, and at this point, I’ve got a multiplex property. I’ve got some storage units. I’ve probably flipped about 10 or so houses creatively and so I got some, I got enough real estate experience to know that this is going to work. And then it was decision time. So Erica and I decided to join your mastermind.
Banjo Camardelle [00:40:22]:
Again, another principle of Think and Grow Rich. The book is called Think and Grow Rich. So, go read it if you haven’t read it already. And the accountability piece, the the amount of specialized knowledge and education you receive by networking with individuals who are doing the same business you’re doing is what catapulted us and accountability. So, you know, I was talking to Chaffee, one of your coaches and team members at your live event and I told him that my plan to leave the railroad was January of 2023. This was October 2020 when I told him this. And that was a pretty conservative plan I thought, but he would beat it up pretty well. He said, no, that’s a that’s a ridiculous plan.
Banjo Camardelle [00:41:10]:
It’s so weak. And he made me think about, he made he challenged me. I told him at that lunch, I said, man, I know I can do 10 times better if I ever left the railroad. I’d have 100% of my focus right on my business. I’d do 10 times better. He said, no, you know. I said, what do you mean no, I don’t? He said, well, quit then. I said, yeah, but if I quit? He said, but nothing.
Banjo Camardelle [00:41:31]:
If you truly believe that you’ll be doing 10 times better if you can quit your job then quit. And so what that did for me is it made me go home and wrestle with that. I had to wrestle with it because I did believe that I could do 10 times better if I left the railroad. So why? What am I doing? Why am I procrastinating? Why am I waiting so long? So fast forward, we did decide to jump all in, and went full-time with you and your mastermind, and it was awesome because it it challenged us. And then so then we were able to, hatch a plan, a real plan, a challenging yet attainable plan and we follow through with it, you know. So, you know, it’s nothing I don’t know if it’s too much different with us, but it’s the decisions that we’ve made that made a big difference in our trajectory and how fast we
Jay Conner [00:42:23]:
Got to where we were going. What I’m hearing you say is you made a bonafide commitment.
Banjo Camardelle [00:42:28]:
Absolutely. Yes.
Jay Conner [00:42:29]:
You made a bonafide commitment that you’re going to make it happen. Well, I mentioned in your introduction, but I want to bring in now, you all are a published author, published author. And, let’s talk about your book. Let’s talk about how people can get your book. You know, here on Raising Private Money, a percentage of the audience are real estate investors wanting to raise private money for their deals. But we also have here in the audience, that we have individuals who are looking for better rates of return with their investment capital. They might have money in a CD that right now, boy, rates are coming down fast. I mean, they are coming down fast at the bank.
Jay Conner [00:43:08]:
Here at First Citizens Bank, I met with them earlier today, and 7 months ago, they were offering 5, 5 a quarter percent, for a 7-month CD. That’s already down to 4 a quarter. And if you look at their long-term rates or whatever, they’re expecting rates to drop tremendously. But, how can people who are listening to this show want to have an opportunity to get higher rates of return? I mean, how many private lenders? I mean, I know you’ve got 3,300,000 that you keep using over and over and over again on different projects, but how many private lenders do you currently have?
Banjo Camardelle [00:43:46]:
We’re about 15 right now. All right.
Jay Conner [00:43:48]:
So 15 private lenders. So, tell people about your book. What’s the name of your book? I don’t know if you have a book handy that you can hold up for those who are watching on YouTube. Right?
Banjo Camardelle [00:43:59]:
Not right now. Right. Right here.
Jay Conner [00:44:00]:
What’s the name of what’s the name of your book and how can they get your book and what is the book about? Sure.
Banjo Camardelle [00:44:06]:
It’s called low risk high returns. You can find it on Amazon, but if you go to our website www.saltonitepropertiesolutions.com, You’ll see a couple of menu items up there and just go to the real estate investing tab and you’ll see a copy of our book there. You’ll be able to, click the link to go to Amazon. And also, if you just wanna chat chat it up with us, you can, click our little chat box right there and you’ll get me or Erica.
Jay Conner [00:44:32]:
Alright. So for those of you listening, and some of you watching, make note of this, www.saltandlight propertiesolutions.com. That’s saltandlightpropertiesolutions.com. Go there to the website. If you’re looking for higher rates of return, this book will so why would somebody wanna get this book? What’s the book going to reveal to the reader?
Banjo Camardelle [00:45:01]:
It gives you a view of 40,000-foot view of what private lending is, and how it works, and then it dives deep into our private lending program to give a good example of what a good private lending program would look like.
Jay Conner [00:45:14]:
Awesome. So if you’re listening to this show and you’re remotely interested in learning about how to get high rates of return safely and securely, doing business with 2 of the most reputable people I know on the planet. They have a servant’s heart. They wanna make a difference. They wanna give back and they take care of their private lenders. Have any of your private lenders ever lost money? Oh, no. Absolutely not.
Jay Conner [00:45:45]:
Have all of your private lenders received every interest check, every payment that they were promised in the promissory note?
Banjo Camardelle [00:45:54]:
Yes, sir.
Jay Conner [00:45:55]:
I knew the answer, but I wanted the audience to hear it. So, again, you’re listening to the show. Go to www. Saltandlightpropertiesolutions.com. Get a copy of the book, set up an appointment to talk with Banjo or Erica, learn how you can get involved and be a private lender with them, and earn a lot of money safely and securely. By the way, Banjo and Eric, before I let you go, how did you come up with the name Salt and Light Property Solutions?
Banjo Camardelle[00:46:29]:
Oh, that’s a good one. That’s a good question. So I actually, tell this to everyone that comes to our private letter luncheon every single time because not everybody recognizes the term salt and light. A lot of people say salt and pepper, salt light, and all kinds of different things, but it’s a biblical term. It comes from Matthew chapter 513 through 16. I can’t quote it all the way, word for word, but God is telling us that or Jesus is telling us that nobody’s gonna grab a light and put it under a basket or hide it. Right? In the city that’s set on a hill, everybody’s gonna be able to see it, and salt, if it becomes tasteless, it’s just kind of useless. People can just trample on it.
Banjo Camardelle [00:47:12]:
We’re called as Christians to be the salt and light of the world and let our good deeds be known before God in the world. So honestly, when I named our business Salt and Light Property Solutions, I passed it by my pastor first because I just wanted to I didn’t wanna do anything, that wasn’t, glorifying God by any means. I wanted to glorify God in it. But honestly, what it helps do is helps keeps, it helps keep us, accountable. It holds us accountable for our business deal. Deal.
Jay Conner [00:47:41]:
I love the name of your company and I love that you 2 are not putting your light underneath the bushel basket and you’re letting your light shine every single day. Erica, I’ll let you go first on any final comments. And then Banjo, I’ll let you do your final comments and we will call this show a wrap.
Erica Camardelle [00:48:02]:
I just wanna thank you for, letting us come on this podcast and letting everybody know about our program and hopefully, they learn something today.
Banjo [00:48:11]:
Yeah. And it’s good to see you, brother. Always appreciate the invite. It was fun. I like Like I was saying, like I tell my people at the private dinner luncheon, hope these listeners at least got a little bit of nuggets, something to help them out in their life. And by all means, if they ever need anything from us, free to reach out and thank you again, Jay.
Jay Conner [00:48:32]:
Thank you all. Thank you for sharing your story. You 2 are a model. I mean, you 2 are a perfect model for other real estate investors, whether you’re starting or you’re seasoned and you wanna grow your company, make a difference, and raise a lot of private money. Manju and Erica, have an amazing day, a better-than-amazing day on purpose. And thank you for joining me. And thank you to all of our viewers and listeners that have joined us on this amazing episode. Thank you for being here.
Jay Conner [00:49:03]:
I appreciate it. If you are on, if you’re listening to any of your podcast platforms, be sure to follow me and rate and review. That’ll certainly help us keep coming back with more amazing guests like Erica and Banjo. If you happen to be watching on YouTube, be sure to subscribe, and ring that bell so you don’t miss out on the upcoming episodes with more amazing guests. I’m Jay Conner, the Private Money Authority, wishing you all the best. And I look forward to seeing you right here on the next episode of Raising Private Money.
Narrator [00:49:42]:
Are you feeling inspired by the knowledge you gained in this episode? Then head over to www.JayConner.com/MoneyGuide. That’s www.JayConner.com/MoneyGuide, and download your free guide that shares seven reasons why private money will skyrocket your real estate investing business right now. Again, that’s www.JayConner.com/MoneyGuide to get your free guide. We’ll see you next time on Raising Private Money with Jay Conner.
