***Guest Appearance
Credits to:
https://www.youtube.com/@PillarsofPurposePodcast
“How to Fund Real Estate Deals Without Banks (Private Money Strategy Explained) | Jay Conner”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P_vOE3y3Qo&t=124s
If you’ve ever aspired to be a real estate investor but felt held back by a lack of capital, you aren’t alone. The notion that you need piles of cash or impeccable credit to get started in real estate is one of the biggest misconceptions. In a recent episode of the Raising Private Money podcast, Matthew Efird sat down with The Private Money Authority, Jay Conner, to share the transformative power of private money in launching and scaling your real estate business—no matter where you’re starting from.
A Turning Point Born from Crisis
Jay Conner began his investing journey in 2003, focusing on single-family homes in North Carolina. For years, he relied on traditional funding—bank lines of credit and mortgage loans. That comfortable routine was shattered in 2009 by the global financial crisis. In an instant, his bank closed his credit line, and Jay was left with two houses under contract—but no funding to close the deals.
Rather than admit defeat, he asked himself a pivotal question: “Who do you know that can help solve your problem?” This led him to learn about the concept of private money—individuals investing their own capital, often from self-directed IRAs, into real estate deals in exchange for a fixed, attractive return. Within 90 days, Jay raised over $2.1 million in private funds and has never missed out on a deal for lack of funding since.
The Private Money Mindset
What sets Jay Conner apart isn’t just technical expertise—it’s his mindset. Instead of “chasing” money, he positions himself as a teacher, educating friends, acquaintances, and community members on how they can earn high, safe returns backed by real estate. It’s not about selling or persuading; it’s about offering value and fostering trust. Many of his private lenders had never even heard of these opportunities until he introduced them.
He hosts “private lender luncheons,” employs educational scripts, and stresses getting money lined up before finding deals—contrary to the advice often peddled by so-called gurus, who claim “money finds good deals.” For Jay, wisdom dictates that you become a steward of both your own and others’ resources.
Protecting Your Lenders & Mitigating Risk
Skepticism is natural, especially for those who lived through the 2008-2009 crash. Matthew Efird raises the objection many have: Isn’t it risky to invest retirement money in real estate? Jay addresses this with solid risk-mitigation practices. He never borrows more than 75% of the after-repair value, giving lenders a 25% equity cushion. All loans are secured by the property, and lenders are listed on insurance and title policies—just like a bank. This approach gives private lenders strong security for their investment.
Building Your Dream Team & Systems
Real estate is not a solo endeavor. Jay underscores the necessity of a “dream team,” including a real estate attorney (for document prep and closings), a reliable realtor (for ARV estimates and listings), trusted general contractors, and even an acquisition specialist. Structured systems and software are critical for tracking leads, notes, and deal stages—a lesson he learned after losing “hundreds of thousands” running things on notepads and sticky notes.
Advice for Beginners: Mentorship and Practice
For those starting as a side hustle or worried about making costly mistakes, Jay’s foremost advice is to get a mentor or coach—someone who has already navigated the inevitable landmines. Education and practice are key; he advises role-playing seller conversations (even with out-of-state sellers on Zillow) before ever spending money on marketing.
Next Steps and Free Resources
To build a foundation in private money and real estate investing, Jay Conner offers free scripts, access to his live events, and even his bestselling book. Whether you want to scale to a full-fledged business or just add smart investments to your portfolio, his systems provide a blueprint for success.
Ready to start your journey? Leverage the education, resources, and mindset shared by Jay Conner, and you could open doors to opportunities you never thought possible—no matter your starting point.
10 Discussion Questions from this Episode
- What key differences did Jay Conner highlight between private money and hard money for real estate investing?
- How did Jay Conner’s experience with having his bank line of credit closed in 2009 change his business strategy?
- According to Jay Conner, why is it important to “own the real estate between your ears” before seeking real estate deals?
- What steps does Jay Conner recommend for someone looking to raise private money for their first real estate deal?
- How does Jay Conner protect private lenders and mitigate their risk in a real estate transaction?
- What are the essential members of Jay Conner’s “dream team” for real estate investing, and what roles do they play?
- What advice did Jay Conner give to those starting in real estate as a side hustle regarding mentorship and practice?
- How does Jay Conner structure his deals so that private lenders are paid consistently, even during renovation periods?
- What marketing strategies does Jay Conner use to find off-market property deals, and why does he avoid listed properties?
- What resources and opportunities did Jay Conner offer to listeners for further learning and community involvement in real estate investing?
Fun facts that were revealed in the episode:
- Jay Conner Hasn’t Missed a Deal Due to a lack of Funding Since 2009
After discovering private money in early 2009, Jay Conner revealed he had never missed out on a real estate investment deal because of funding issues, marking a transformative moment in his career. - Jay Raised Over $2 million in Private Money in 90 Days.
Incredibly, Jay Conner raised $2,150,000 in private money within just 90 days of attending his first real estate investing conference, as he recounted at. - The No-Pitch “Good News Phone Call”
Instead of pitching or chasing money, Jay Conner uses his signature “Good News Phone Call,” where he simply informs his lenders he’s ready to put their money to work, eliminating selling or persuading from the process.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introducing Jay and his expertise
05:19 Reflecting on a phone call
07:18 Discovering private money options
13:09 Explaining the investment process
14:59 Discussing a real estate investment deal
18:02 Understanding hard money vs. private money
22:50 Advice for starting side hustles
26:08 Building a real estate network
29:23 Managing seller leads with software
31:12 How private money deals work
34:40 Mastermind group introduction
36:50 Getting the book for free
Connect With Jay Conner:
Private Money Academy Conference:
Free Report:
https://www.jayconner.com/MoneyReport
Join the Private Money Academy:
https://www.JayConner.com/trial/
Have you read Jay’s new book, Where to Get the Money Now?
It is available FREE (all you pay is the shipping and handling) at https://www.JayConner.com/Book
What is Private Money? Real Estate Investing with Jay Conner
http://www.JayConner.com/MoneyPodcast
Jay Conner is a proven real estate investment leader. Without using his own money or credit, Jay maximizes creative methods to buy and sell properties with profits averaging $67,000 per deal.
#RealEstate #RealEstateInvesting #RealEstateInvestingForBeginners #Foreclosures #FlippingHouses #PrivateMoney #RaisingPrivateMoney #JayConner
YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/c/RealEstateInvestingWithJayConner
Apple Podcast:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/jay.conner.marketing
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/JayConner01
Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/JConner_PrivateMoneyAuthority
Real Estate Investing Made Easy: Jay Conner’s Guide to Private Money Success
Jay Conner [00:00:00]:
This one strategy has had more of an impact on our real estate investing business than any other strategy. And you know, Matthew, since that time, I’ve never missed out on a deal for not having the funding.
Narrator [00:00:18]:
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 onto raiserivate 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.
Matthew Efird [00:00:46]:
If you’ve ever thought I would love to get into real estate, real estate investment, flipping houses, and just don’t know where to start, or how to finance it. I don’t have the money to do that. I cannot wait for you to hear this conversation with my new friend, Jay Conner. Wow, what a wealth of information. He’s got a lot of free giveaways. He provides the end of the episode. I’m so excited for you to be here, my new friend, Jay. Welcome to Market Mavericks.
Matthew Efird [00:01:12]:
I’m Matthew Efert. Join me as I speak with leaders who are redefining industries in every corner of the market. From startups to established businesses. We’ll uncover the strategies, challenges, nd insights that drive success. Get ready to be inspired by the mavericks who are shaping the future of business. Welcome, everybody, to the Pillars of Purpose podcast powered by Lightingros. I’m your host, Matthew Efird, and I am so excited to have my new friend here with me, Jay Conner. He’s got incredible resources, a lot of information about private money.
Matthew Efird [00:01:46]:
And if you’re hearing that and you’re like, I don’t know what that is, well, I’m so glad you tuned in to the episode today. Jay. Thank you for joining us on the episode today. Thank you for being willing to share your wisdom. And I know, just as a little teaser, you’ve got some free giveaways to give at the end of the episode. So thank you for being willing to do that. Those who may not know you, Jay, come on, introduce yourself, and tell us a little bit about your business experience.
Jay Conner [00:02:08]:
Sure, Matthew. First of all, Matthew, thank you so much for having me come on as your guest on the show here to talk about what I’m so passionate about and so excited about, d and that is private money for real estate deals. The reason I’m so excited about it is that this one strategy has had more of an impact on our real estate investing business than any other strategy.
Matthew Efird [00:02:37]:
Wow.
Jay Conner [00:02:37]:
I started investing in real estate, single-family homes, all the way back in 2003. 2003, for goodness sake. Here in eastern North Carolina, we’ve bought and sold and flipped and rehabbed over 500 houses since that time.
Matthew Efird [00:02:54]:
Wow. Congratulations.
Jay Conner [00:02:55]:
One at a time. And how all this came about, Matthew, was from 2003 until January of 2009, the only thing I knew to do to get funding for my real estate deals was to use my line of credit at the local bank or go to mortgage companies. But all that changed in January of 2009.
Matthew Efird [00:03:19]:
Sure did.
Jay Conner [00:03:20]:
I had two houses under contract, and I called up my banker here in Morehead City, N.C., nd I learned over the phone that my line of credit had been closed with no notice to me.
Matthew Efird [00:03:36]:
Wow.
Jay Conner [00:03:36]:
And I said to my banker, I said, Stevee. That was his name. I said, Steve, what in the world are you telling me? My line of credit’s closed? We’ve done a ton of deals in six years. I got a great credit score, never been late on my payments. And my banker, Steve, said, ” Jay, don’t you know there’s a global financial crisis going on right now? I said, ” No, Steve, I didn’t know that. But you just gave me a financial crisis. I don’t have a way to fund these. These two deals.
Jay Conner [00:04:06]:
So I knew I had to find a better and quicker way to get funding for my real estate deals. And my definition of coincidence is God’s way of staying anonymous.
Matthew Efird [00:04:18]:
Okay, I love that.
Jay Conner [00:04:20]:
And I learned about private money in less than two weeks of being cut off from the banks. And you know, Matthew, since that time, I’ve never missed out on a deal for not having the funding. Wow.
Matthew Efird [00:04:34]:
That. That is. That is amazing. What, what a cool way that God showed up and provided. What does that look like? Right?
Jay Conner [00:04:43]:
You.
Matthew Efird [00:04:43]:
You. Somebody listen to this. And they say, ” Look, Jay, Matthew, I’m a small business owner, right? I’m already busy. And I’m not. I hear about real estate investing. I’m not really in a position to do that. I don’t have the capital to do that. Talk to that person.
Matthew Efird [00:04:59]:
They’re listening to this. You’ve got years of experience in doing this. Will you share some wisdom with them?
Jay Conner [00:05:07]:
Well, let me first share. Let me first share how I even learned about private money. The power is in asking the right questions.
Matthew Efird [00:05:18]:
Okay?
Jay Conner [00:05:19]:
And so when I hung up the phone, believe it or not, Matthew, we actually still have handsets and landmines here in North Carolina. But when I hung up the phone with my banker, I sat here at this very desk. And I asked myself a very important question. And you know, this question can help solve any problem that anybody’s got going on right now in their life. I don’t care if it’s health, career, or financial relationships; it doesn’t matter. And so when I hung up the phone with my banker, I sat here, nd by the way, these people running around Matthew saying, every problem’s an opportunity. I want to throw up. I have an opportunity.
Jay Conner [00:06:11]:
I had a problem, and now the problem has become an opportunity.
Matthew Efird [00:06:15]:
Sure.
Jay Conner [00:06:16]:
Because I wouldn’t be here on your show unless this problem had come up. So here’s the question I asked myself. I said to myself, Who? It’s not how, it’s who. I said, wh” Whoo, you know that can help solve your problem? That’s all I ask myself. And you know, interestingly enough, I immediately thought of Jeff Blankenship, a dear friend. We met each other at church. Not in the same town, but the same affiliated church.
Jay Conner [00:06:50]:
And he was at the time investing in single-family houses in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Matthew Efird [00:06:56]:
Okay.
Jay Conner [00:06:57]:
And I called up Jeff, nd I told him what had happened. And he said, Welcome to the club. And I said, Well, I’m not sure I want to be a member of that club, but what club are you talking about? He said, “Well, that’s the club of the bank closing your line of credit with no notice to you. He says, Myank closed my line of credit last week.
Matthew Efird [00:07:17]:
Wow.
Jay Conner [00:07:18]:
And I said, Well, Jeff, how are you going to fund your deals? He says, Well, have you ever heard of private money? I said no. He said, ” Have you ever heard of self-directed IRAs and how people can take current retirement funds, move them over to a self-directed IRA company, and then they can loan that money out to us real estate investors,s and the interest that we pay them on that loan is either tax-deferred or tax-free. ” I said, I don’t have a clue what in the world you are talking about. I say, what’s private money? He said, ” Welllll, he said, I’m not really sure, but there’s this gentleman down in Jacksonville, Florida, by the name of Ron LeGrand, and he says he can teach us about private money. I said, ” Okay. I said, ” Well, what is it? He says, ” Well, I don’t know. But Ron says we can get a lot of it really, really fast. I said, ” Okay.
Jay Conner [00:08:16]:
So Jeff and I went to that conference. That was my very first real estate investing conference. I had been in this business for six years without going to a conference. I was relying on my Experience and being in the mobile home business, reading books, etc. So I went to that conference, and, oh, boy, Matthew, did I learn about private money. And so I came back home here to Morehead City, and in less than 90 days, I was able to raise $2,150,000 in private money, private lending.
Matthew Efird [00:08:52]:
Wow.
Jay Conner [00:08:53]:
And since that time, I’ve never missed out on a deal for not having the funding. And what’s interesting about it, Matthew, is I didn’t sell, I didn’t persuade, I didn’t chase, I didn’t ask anybody for money. What I did is I took on the mindset, and I tell people all the time, the real estate between your ears is what you’ve got to own first.
Matthew Efird [00:09:17]:
Okay?
Jay Conner [00:09:17]:
You’ve got to own that real estate between your ears. You’ve got to have the right mindset. And so I took on the mindset, Matthew, of being a teacher, of being a person who could share with other people how they could earn high rates of return safely and securely backed by real estate. So I just shared with people that I go to church with, you know, in my civic groups. I put on a private lender luncheon and invited about 20 people, and raised $969,000 just right there at that private lender, that one event. And so a big. A big secret, a very valuable share here. And, Matthew, I don’t know if you’ve ever been to any real estate investing conferences or heard the guru on stage talk about real estate investing, but let me tell you something that drives me crazy.
Jay Conner [00:10:16]:
I don’t know if you’ve ever heard somebody stand on stage and say, oOh just get the deal under contract. The money will show up. Or. Or they’ll say, Oh, money finds good deals. Let me tell you something. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.
Matthew Efird [00:10:34]:
I love that. Jay. What. What I appreciate so much about this is that there are people who are listening to this who have heard that incorrect information. They thought, Oh, well, yeah, but I love the fact that you’re, number one, sharing the correct information with us. But two, you’re drawing out the conclusion to say, okay, let’s. Let’s be wise stewards of the funds that we have, right? And the skill set and the abilities, the opportunities that God’s put in front of us. Let’s be good stewards of that.
Matthew Efird [00:11:02]:
So please continue.
Jay Conner [00:11:04]:
Thank you. And so it just makes sense to me to get the money lined up first, and with no deal attached to it.
Matthew Efird [00:11:12]:
Sure.
Jay Conner [00:11:13]:
There’s no pitching of deals here. You get the money lined up first, and then. So how do you get that lined up? How do you get the money lined up? Well, you’re a teacher. You’re sharing the opportunity. You see, there’s no pitching here. There’s no negotiation of interest rates. I mean, I’ve been paying my private lenders 8% APR, annual percentage rate. 8% ever since 2009.
Jay Conner [00:11:40]:
And that’s with all the ups and downs in the market.
Matthew Efird [00:11:43]:
Right.
Jay Conner [00:11:44]:
And I pay them all the same thing. Wow. 8%. And they love it. I mean, right now, the, you know, a certificate of deposit at the local bank, maybe you can get a 3% savings account. 0.02%.
Matthew Efird [00:12:03]:
Yeah.
Jay Conner [00:12:04]:
You know, and you compare 8% to that, that’s fantastic. They also love it, Matthew, because their investment is not volatile like investing in the stock market.
Matthew Efird [00:12:15]:
Sure.
Jay Conner [00:12:16]:
If you invest in the stock market, you have already lost money because you had to pay fees and commissions. And you know, as of us recording this show today, the stock market’s come down 10% in the last three weeks. Two weeks, I should say.
Matthew Efird [00:12:31]:
Yeah.
Jay Conner [00:12:32]:
So you know that. So the private lender knows exactly what their rate of income is going to be. Another important point is that Carol Joy, my wife, and I have had 47 private lenders.
Matthew Efird [00:12:46]:
Wow.
Jay Conner [00:12:47]:
Funding our deals. And you know what’s interesting, Matthew? Not one of them ever heard of private money or private lending or self-directed IRAs and using, you know, current retirement funds. Until I did. What? Until I put on my teacher hat.
Matthew Efird [00:13:05]:
Yeah.
Jay Conner [00:13:06]:
Which says private money, teacher.
Matthew Efird [00:13:08]:
Love it.
Jay Conner [00:13:09]:
None of them, none of them ever knew, you know, knew about that. So we lead with education, sharing how people can earn these high rates of return. They simply give us a verbal dollar amount. A verbal pledge. Well, I’ve got this much I want to invest, or, you know, I’ve got this much in retirement funds. I want to move that over to the self-directed IRA company that you talked about. I’ll introduce them to our self-directed IRA representative; they’ll get their funds moved over, and then, and then here’s the big secret sauce. So if you’re listening to this show, I’m glad you’re still here because I’m going to give you the script right now.
Matthew Efird [00:13:49]:
Okay.
Jay Conner [00:13:50]:
The exact words. It’s called the good news phone call.
Matthew Efird [00:13:56]:
Okay.
Jay Conner [00:13:56]:
And I never pitch a deal. I haven’t pitched a deal since 2009. I simply deliver on my promise. So, Matthew, let’s pretend that you and I have been friends for a while. And you know, and, and I’ve. And I’ve put on my teacher hat, and I shared with you the opportunity as to how you can earn high rates of return safely and securely. And let’s also assume that you told me you had $150,000 in a previous employer’s 401 (k)k plan. It’s still sitting over there.
Jay Conner [00:14:33]:
It’s really sort of not doing anything. You’re not happy with it. And let’s also assume I’ve introduced you to the Self-Directed IRA Company, and you’ve moved that $150,000 over to the Self-Directed IRA Company. And now you’re waiting for me to put your money to work. Because that’s what I told you. I told you I would put your money to work just as soon as possible. So I call you up with the good news phone call. And here it is.
Jay Conner [00:14:59]:
I call you up, you answer the phone, we have a little chit chat, and then I say, Matthew, I’ve got great news for you. I can now put your money to work. I’ve got a house under contract in Newport with an after-repair value of $200,000. The funding, the funding required for this deal is 150,000, which matches up to what you have in your retirement account. Closing is going to be next Tuesday. So you’ll need to wire your funds from your self-directed IRA account to my real estate attorney’s trust account by next, by next Monday. And I’m going to have my attorney email you the wiring instructions. That’s the end of the conversation.
Jay Conner [00:15:45]:
I didn’t ask you. I mean, the stupidest thing I could say is Do you want to fund the deal? Of course, you want to.
Matthew Efird [00:15:51]:
Of course you do. Yeah.
Jay Conner [00:15:52]:
There are three big reasons that you want to fund the deal. Number one, you trusted me to move your $150,000 over to the self-directed IRA. Number two, you know I’m not going to bring a deal for you to fund that doesn’t match the criteria. And the underwriting that, that I already taught you. I already told you I’m not going to borrow more than 75% of the after-repair value. Well, the 150,000 is 75% of the 200,000 after-repair value. I didn’t say 75% of the purchase price. Yeah, I said 75% of the after-repaired value.
Jay Conner [00:16:31]:
That’s why, as real estate investors, you always bring home a big check when you buy. Who wants to get paid to buy houses, right? And then thirdly, you’re ecstatic to fund my deal because you’re not making any money with that $150,000 in that account; it’s just sitting there until I put it to work. And so again, no chasing, begging, persuading, or selling. You’re teaching, you’re offering a great way for people to get high rates of return safely and securely, and then you’re delivering on your promise.
Matthew Efird [00:17:07]:
So Jay, it’s amazing, and I appreciate the way that you’re articulating it, number one. Number two, when I look at real estate investing, and this is, I hear this a lot. So I hear this from people in the audience. I hear this from friends when they see real estate investing. They lived through 2008, 2009, and they saw either themselves or friends, or maybe parents, lose everything,g and they think, ” This is my retirement account, and I’m going to take my retirement account, and I’m going to put it in. This isn’t that risky. Can you help us talk through that? Objection.
Jay Conner [00:17:43]:
Sure.
Matthew Efird [00:17:43]:
What does that look like from an investor’s side? Not so much finding the hard money. But, but when you go out to hard money, what is- can you give us a little bit more detail there?
Jay Conner [00:17:53]:
Sure. Well, and when you say hard money, I want to make sure everybody understands there’s a difference between hard money and private money.
Matthew Efird [00:18:01]:
That’s, I’m sorry, private money.
Jay Conner [00:18:02]:
Yeah. Well, the industry has mixed it all, and hard money lenders, and some of my best friends are hard money lenders; they call their hard money private money. But let me give the distinction. Hard money is typically a brokerage. It has gone out and raised private money for their hard money lending fund, and they pay the interest to the private lenders, the private investors, but then they charge a higher interest rate to make their margin or whatever to the real estate investor and charge points, etc. So, a private lender is an individual, a human being just like us. That’s a one-on-one transaction with no middle person involved. Okay, so it’s so, so, so that’s the distinction.
Jay Conner [00:18:51]:
So I just want to make that, make sure that’s right. So, as a risk, as a private lender, there’s risk. There’s risk in everything you do. But how do we mitigate that list and protect our private lenders?
Matthew Efird [00:19:06]:
Sure.
Jay Conner [00:19:06]:
Number one, as I just mentioned, don’t borrow more than 75% of the after-repair value. That’s going to give the lender a 25% equity cushion so that, you know, if the property doesn’t sell quickly, if it doesn’t get liquidated, well, that’s a 25% equity cushion to where the lender’s not loaning more than that. So it’s a conservative loan-to-value. How else do we protect them? We do not borrow unsecured funds. So the private lender is going to be the bank. The private lender is the bank. So the private lender is going to get the same protection as a bank. They’re going to be named on the insurance policy as the mortgagee.
Jay Conner [00:19:56]:
So if there’s ever a claim against that insurance policy, that check is made payable not only to the borrower, your entity, but it’s also made payable to your private lender. That private lender’s got to sign off on that check. We also named the private lender on the title insurance policy as an additional insured in case there are any, you know, title issues down the road. So again, we’re going to give the same protection to our private lenders as the local bank would get.
Matthew Efird [00:20:26]:
Wow, that’s fascinating. So someone’s listening to this, and they would classify themselves as an entrepreneur or that they’ve dabbled in real estate. Maybe in 2020 or 2021, they bought it, and they flipped a building, and they made some money. But now it’s so competitive, it’s so difficult. They’re having issues. Can you speak to that person, as this is a, as a legitimate, as a great opportunity to be either part of your portfolio or like for yourself? This is, this is what I do. Can you, can you give us some insight there?
Jay Conner [00:21:03]:
Yes. And what I say to people is, unless you have consistently motivated seller leads, people that are wanting to sell their property, unless you have that consistently coming into your pipeline and being fed to you, then you do have a hobby, and you don’t have a business.
Matthew Efird [00:21:25]:
Sure.
Jay Conner [00:21:25]:
Matthew, I have not bought a property that was listed in the multiple listing service since before COVID. It’s amazing for March 2020. I haven’t found a deal in the multiple listing service since that time. So all the properties that we buy are what we call off market, off-market properties. So we direct mail to pre-probates. Interestingly enough, within two years of someone passing away, that property is sold within two years.
Matthew Efird [00:22:03]:
Wow.
Jay Conner [00:22:04]:
So we do direct milk probates. We have done a lot over the past years; we’ve done a lot of Google pay-per-lead. We recently moved over to pay-per-click, where we are 100% in control of people who are going to Google and searching for someone such as myself in this area to buy their house quickly, as is, without any realtors or commissions involved, and et cetera type of thing. And so, the consistent marketing- if someone’s looking to get into this- the consistent, persistent and consistent marketing is key to being successful in this business.
Matthew Efird [00:22:50]:
And so what advice would you give to somebody who? Who’s doing it initially as a side hustle, as a hobby? How do you get your first deals under your belt? What does that kind of look like? I know it’s been a long time for you, but when you help coach people, when you help mentor people, what does that process look like for somebody who hears that and they say, ” Jay, I got it. I know people. I feel like I can go get private money, but I don’t know how to get the deals going. And I’m so scared to do the first one because I don’t want to get taken advantage of, or I don’t want to lose everything.
Jay Conner [00:23:24]:
Yes. Well, the first advice I would get
Matthew Efird [00:23:27]:
is
Jay Conner [00:23:30]:
Leverage and do get a mentor. Get a mentor. Get a coach. Work with somebody who’s already been through the minefield. Right. Don’t go out there on your own trying to do this and to navigate it. So first of all, get the right education and get the right partnership. I mean, that’s what I do with.
Jay Conner [00:23:53]:
With my members, my mastermind members, my platinum plus members. I mean, we are business partners. Right. And we, you know, we get joined at the hip for at least a year of working together, to where, you know, they can learn from my mistakes. So, you know, whether it’s me or whether it’s somebody else.
Matthew Efird [00:24:13]:
Sure.
Jay Conner [00:24:14]:
Get a qualified person who’s already done this for years and knows what they’re doing, so you can learn from their mistakes. So you don’t make those mistakes.
Matthew Efird [00:24:25]:
Sure.
Jay Conner [00:24:26]:
So you can get your deals, you know, get help structuring them. What’s the most that you should offer on this particular property or deal, and why? Well, the math makes the decisions. Our emotions do not make the decision.
Matthew Efird [00:24:40]:
Okay, yeah. No result. I like that.
Jay Conner [00:24:43]:
The math makes the decision. So that. So, so that’s number one: get partnered up with someone that you trust that’s already, you know, been in this business. And then number two, practice. Practice. What do I mean by that? Practice talking to sellers. Whether it’s you or somebody on your team. I don’t want you spending any money on Google Ads or pay-per-click or any of that expensive stuff until you know how to do the seller call.
Jay Conner [00:25:18]:
And so you have to learn the scripting. I mean, what is the script? What are the questions to ask? And so I don’t want somebody spending money on marketing or even what we call driving for dollars or having an ant farm that sends you leads of, you know, properties that look vacant or whatever.
Matthew Efird [00:25:37]:
Sure.
Jay Conner [00:25:38]:
Until you have filled out and completed at least 50 property lead sheets, scripting, and having conversations with real people. And you can practice that by calling people on Zillow who are not even in your area.
Matthew Efird [00:25:54]:
Sure. Yeah, that’s a great point. Yeah.
Jay Conner [00:25:56]:
So I want you to have that seller call dialed in before you’re actually talking to sellers right in your own area. And get that. And get that practice under your belt.
Matthew Efird [00:26:08]:
Okay. So, somebody does that, they look at your mastermind, which I definitely will make sure we get that information to have in the show notes to be able to share with the audience. We’ll come back to that. But when you look at this as a. As a business, when we’re trying to get from the first deal into a business model, when you’re looking at your portfolio of support within your team, is it? I’m building up a list of real estate agents and contractors. What does that Rolodex look like? If somebody’s saying, like, maybe I could get into real estate, and you already have a lot of these pieces in place, what would those be?
Jay Conner [00:26:50]:
So here are the main players. So I call him my. I call it my dream team, my team members.
Matthew Efird [00:26:57]:
Okay.
Jay Conner [00:26:57]:
So number one is your real estate attorney.
Matthew Efird [00:27:00]:
Okay.
Jay Conner [00:27:01]:
You can’t be doing this without a real estate attorney. A real estate attorney is going to draw up the documents for private lender loans because your private lender is not. Doesn’t even know what a closing document is. Sure. Right. So the real estate attorney now here in North Carolina, real estate attorneys, not title companies, but real estate attorneys, actually do the closings for real estate. Most states use title companies.
Matthew Efird [00:27:29]:
Okay.
Jay Conner [00:27:30]:
But you still need that relationship with a real estate attorney for documents, you know, title searches, and et cetera. In addition to the real estate attorney, you definitely want to have a relationship with a realtor. So I’ve had the same realtor right here in Carteret County, North Carolina, for 22 years.
Matthew Efird [00:27:51]:
It’s amazing.
Jay Conner [00:27:52]:
His name is Chris Latham. 22 years, and Chris does all the research on all of the properties that we’re considering making an offer on. All the properties that we list here in this county, we list with Chris.
Matthew Efird [00:28:08]:
Okay.
Jay Conner [00:28:08]:
So we’ve had a great working relationship now, as I say, for 22 years. So you’ve got to have a relationship with a realtor. I mean, Kris gives us all of the after-repair values on properties before we make an offer.
Matthew Efird [00:28:22]:
Sure.
Jay Conner [00:28:23]:
You know, if you’re going to renovate a property, you need to know what that property is worth after it’s repaired value? If you’re not going to renovate it, what’s the as-is value? Right. So, real estate attorney, realtor. And then, in addition to that, if you’re going to do any renovations, what is your relationship with, you know, the general contractor?
Matthew Efird [00:28:43]:
Okay.
Jay Conner [00:28:44]:
So I’ve got two different general contractors, and I have my own crew as well.
Matthew Efird [00:28:50]:
Okay.
Jay Conner [00:28:50]:
I do not recommend starting by getting your own crew. Sure. Don’t do that. You want to establish a relationship with a general contractor. And in addition to that, I’ve had the same interior designer for over 20 years as well. Her name is Beth Garner. You don’t have to have an interior designer for renovations. If you’ve got a good general contractor, they can give you good advice as well.
Jay Conner [00:29:16]:
My other team member is Kim. She’s my acquisitionist.
Matthew Efird [00:29:20]:
Okay.
Jay Conner [00:29:20]:
He’s been with me for over 20 years.
Matthew Efird [00:29:22]:
Okay.
Jay Conner [00:29:23]:
She talks with all of the off-market sellers, gets their initial information, etc. And if you want to scale your business, you’re definitely going to want some software. So all of our prospects, all of our prospective sellers, are in our software with all the notes. The pipeline, where they are in the pipeline, just came in. Like when somebody responds to a Google Ad, then they’re automatically put in the software,e and Kim and I do all of our communication back and forth with the different stages that the seller movesthroughm in the software.
Matthew Efird [00:30:02]:
Nice. That’s awesome. And in a good system that is scalable. Right. We cannot scale without systems,s or we will not do it effectively from any standpoint. For sure.
Jay Conner [00:30:14]:
Yeah. I mean, you know, I have no idea how many hundreds of thousands of dollars I lost by running this company off of a yellow pad and Post-it notes.
Matthew Efird [00:30:27]:
Yeah, yeah, I got you.
Jay Conner [00:30:29]:
Yeah, yeah. And so years, years and years and years ago, we got some amazing software that keeps all the notes, keeps all the track, keeps all the pipeline straight as to where we are with that prospect.
Matthew Efird [00:30:43]:
So Jay, is, is your, is your business model your personal business model? Are you on the renovation flip side, or are you on the build and keep side? What has been your decision there? If you want.
Jay Conner [00:30:57]:
So I’ve done all the above. We, I’ve. So I’ve bought and I’ve sold a lot of houses on lease, purchase,s sale, or rent-to-own.
Matthew Efird [00:31:04]:
Okay.
Jay Conner [00:31:05]:
But primarily since COVID, it’s been flipped because the profits have just been so great.
Matthew Efird [00:31:12]:
Okay, so you’re not being a landlord yourself; you’re just going out, getting the deal, doing the work, and flipping there when the deal closes. Is that where your private money person gets their money back? Correct. Okay, so then they get their money back plus 8,% and then they say, ” Jay, go find me another deal. Right. Because who doesn’t want that? So are they. Do you typically find they’re rolling that 8% in and building that fund, or are they pulling out funds to put in some other investment type?
Jay Conner [00:31:44]:
It depends on the private lender. I’ve got some elderly private lenders that we pay interest to monthly because that is supplemental income.
Matthew Efird [00:31:54]:
Sure.
Jay Conner [00:31:56]:
I’ve got other private lenders who don’t need the supplemental income, so they’ll just let the interest accrue.
Matthew Efird [00:32:03]:
Okay.
Jay Conner [00:32:04]:
And then when we sell the house, we’ll pay them off along with whatever unpaid accrued interest that we owe them.
Matthew Efird [00:32:11]:
Okay. And so, when you’re looking to budget, if you’re having monthly interest payments back to a private money lender, how are you budgeting that in across the job? How many months does a typical renovation take? So how many, how many payments are you making out before you take in profit?
Jay Conner [00:32:33]:
On average, it’s about nine.
Matthew Efird [00:32:35]:
Okay.
Jay Conner [00:32:35]:
About nine months, sometimes 12, depending on how long that house sat there.
Matthew Efird [00:32:41]:
Sure.
Jay Conner [00:32:42]:
Before we started the renovation. Average renovation is going to take, on average,e about three months because most of them average between 40,060 and some thousand dollars. And then getting it staged, getting the photographer, etc. Getting it on the market. But still, even though the market has slowed down in the past year, most of our properties are still going under contract and being sold within 90 days.
Matthew Efird [00:33:13]:
Wow. Okay.
Jay Conner [00:33:14]:
From the time they’re on the market.
Matthew Efird [00:33:15]:
Yeah.
Jay Conner [00:33:16]:
So from start to finish, it’s going to be nine to 12 months on a cash-out.
Matthew Efird [00:33:23]:
And so, if you don’t want me going back to, like, you, business operations-wise, looking at somebody that’s just getting started, how do you, how do you finance the interest payments for the first 12 months before selling your first house, if your first private money lender, you’re looking for somebody that doesn’t need monthly payments or what. What would you advise there?
Jay Conner [00:33:46]:
Yeah, well, since I’m buying most of the properties at 30 to 40 to maybe 50% of the after-repaired value. So, a $200,000 after-repair value, I may buy that house for 80, 90, or 100,000, and it needs maybe 35,000 in renovation. Well, let’s run the math.
Matthew Efird [00:34:10]:
Sure.
Jay Conner [00:34:10]:
If I can borrow 75% of the after-repaired value, I can borrow 150,000 on a 200,000 after-repaired value. But if I only paid 100,000 for it, I’m bringing home a $50,000 check.
Matthew Efird [00:34:24]:
Sure.
Jay Conner [00:34:24]:
That’s called excess cash to close.
Matthew Efird [00:34:26]:
Yeah.
Jay Conner [00:34:27]:
So I’ll take that $50,000 check. And if the private lender needs monthly payments. Well, they are cash flow in their own monthly payments.
Matthew Efird [00:34:37]:
Sure. That makes sense. Yeah.
Jay Conner [00:34:39]:
Along with the renovation.
Matthew Efird [00:34:40]:
Yeah. Cool. That’s amazing. So Jay, as we come up to the end of our time, thank you very much for sharing with our audience. This is a wealth of information. A couple of things. Number one, you talked about a very popular mastermind group. Can you give us just a real quick pitch on that for those who have heard your presentation, heard your conversation, and, like, man, I want to know more about Jay and how to get connected to Jay.
Jay Conner [00:35:04]:
Sure, sure. So we have different tiers of coaching. Platinum plus membership is a year-long coaching program. I not only teach and coach on private money, but also on all the different pillars. How to find deals, how to structure the deals, how to get them funded, how to sell houses quickly, etc. How to automate your business. And our mastermind group is our top-tier membership. So, anyone interested in learning about our coaching can simply book a one-on-one call.
Jay Conner [00:35:37]:
We’ll tell you all about it. Go to www.JayConner.com, and I’m an ER, not an OR so www.JayConner.com/Schedule, so www.JayConner.com/Schedule, and we’ll visit with you one-on-one. And I got three gifts in addition to the free consultation call.
Matthew Efird [00:35:59]:
We love gifts. We love gifts here.
Jay Conner [00:36:02]:
So first of all, I do three live events a year called the private money conference, and you can check all that out@jconor.com forward slash event, jconner.com forward slash event, and for your listeners, Matthew, it’s a $3,000 event, but they get to come for a small $97 registration fee.
Matthew Efird [00:36:26]:
Wow.
Jay Conner [00:36:27]:
And they can bring a guest in addition to the event. Then I’d be glad to give one of my private money scripts. How to even start a conversation with a potential private lender. That’s called the Curiosity Opener script. You can download that PDF for free at jconnner.com forward slash scripts.
Matthew Efird [00:36:49]:
Okay.
Jay Conner [00:36:50]:
And that’s plural. J Conner.com forward slash scripts and then my national best-selling book called ” Where to Get the Money Now where to get the money now. How? To get money for your real estate deals without relying on traditional or hard money lenders. I’ll autograph the book for you, and I’ll express mail it to you. And you can pick up the book@j Conner.com forward slash book. So don’t give Amazon 20 bucks. The book is free. Just cover shipping and handling.
Jay Conner [00:37:22]:
www.JayConner.com/Book. And I’ll rush that right out to you. And by the way, my podcast is now in its eighth year.
Matthew Efird [00:37:30]:
Congratulations. That’s fantastic. What is your podcast name?
Jay Conner [00:37:34]:
The name of my podcast is Raising Private Money. Imagine that.
Matthew Efird [00:37:40]:
Well-suited.
Jay Conner [00:37:41]:
Raising Private Money with Jay Conner. You just type that in, and that’ll take you right. So I’m interviewing twice a week. We release the podcast on Monday mornings and Thursday mornings. I interview people who have raised private money, and I pick their brains as to how they go about raising private money.
Matthew Efird [00:38:00]:
I love it. Jay. Amazing. Thank you, brother. Very generous with your time. Very generous with the resources. I make sure all those are in the show notes. Thank you for joining us today and sharing your wealth of information.
Matthew Efird [00:38:13]:
Thank you, everybody, for joining us today on Market Mavericks. We’ll see you soon.
Narrator [00:38:17]:
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 jconner.com moneyguide to get your free guide. We’ll see you next time on Raising Private Money with Jay Conner.