Page 198 - Trump University Commercial Real Estate 101

TRUMP UNIVERSITY COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE 101

Where to Find Private Money

Here ’ s the good news: The majority of private money typically comes
from friends and family members. Here ’ s the bad news: If you are not
careful, money from friends and family can complicate your life.
It ’ s true that these people may know and trust you like no one else
can. Unfortunately, sometimes they also carry a lot of memory bag-
gage that drags you down.
For example, today when I meet someone new, I ’ m known as Dave
Lindahl the investor, speaker, and author. But when I happen to meet
an old high school buddy at the store, he remembers Dave, the kid
who played in a rock band. Family members can be even worse, fi xat-
ing on ancient history, such as “ David, the kid who always threw my
newspaper in my fl ower bed. ”
If you ’ re blessed with unconditionally positive relatives and close
friends, by all means tell them about your real estate investing oppor-
tunities. But even then, only tell them once. Do not become a pest, or
you will earn comments along the lines of “ Uh oh, here comes Dave,
wanting us to invest in another one of his deals. ”
I personally found it easier to get money from my local real estate
investment group. These people understood the real estate part of
me better. They were going where I wanted to go. Even better, some
of them had already been there and could mentor me during the
process.
I discovered that there were many people at these meetings who
wanted to get into deals, but somehow never could generate a deal on
their own. They had money but they didn ’ t have deals.
I would go up in front of the group, tell them about my deal, and
ask them to meet me in the back if they were interested in being my
partner. This worked very well.
In addition to other investors, you should look at your circle of
acquaintances in a new light — your doctor, dentist, attorney, buddies
at the gym, and so on.

178

10/14/08 11:21:46 AM
c08.indd 178
c08.indd 178 10/14/08 11:21:46 AM