The other day found us fantasizing a little bit. Yes, we indulged in just a bit of fantasy about money. And more specifically, a money tree. If money grew on trees think about how many projects we could finance. Think how awesome you could make every property look if you had a money tree.  Unfortunately, as we all know, money doesn’t grow on trees.  So we finance.

Financing is a sometimes frustrating but almost always necessary part of the fix and flip process. It doesn’t have to be painful, though, if you follow these easy steps:

Step #1: Learn about the hard money market. Most loans for personal real estate purchases are found through a bank, but traditional banks don’t always want to lend money for a fix and flip. Sometimes you can get a loan from a bank but it’s more likely that you’ll need to get a hard money loan. Before you get a hard money loan, get educated on how they work. There are pros and cons to using hard money lenders and no one should go into it blind. Hard money lenders generally do what is known as an asset based loan, which means the property is their collateral, not YOU or your credit rating. This is a good resource to get you started.

Step #2: Find your property. Spend a lot of time here and choose the perfect property to invest in.  Your hard money lender will want to see the property too so do your homework.  Know your property inside and out. Know how much it will cost to fix it. Know how long you’ll need to fix it up.  Make sure this is the perfect property for you and your investment.

Step #3: Gather the paperwork. Like any financial endeavor this one comes with paperwork. Lots of it. Hard money lenders don’t always require that you have good credit, but they will require a good picture of your finances and a detailed plan about how you will exit the property and get them paid off. Be thorough and find everything they ask for.

Step #4: Get the loan and flip your property. Once you’ve got your loan you’ll need to get to work immediately. Most hard money loans have very short terms (six months to a year) so you will want to get your property on the market as fast as possible.

Remember, hard money lenders aren’t your only option. They are a very common way to go, but you can also do friends, coworkers, relatives, family, or even other real estate investors. Get creative and you will find a way to make your deal and start making money.

For more information on how you can escape the rat race for good and create lasting, generational wealth with real estate, download my FREE ebook, “How to Find Underpriced Properties: Secrets for Creating Wealth with Real Estate in ANY Economy.”  Visit http://bit.ly/SWebookLN.