Private Lender Transactions and Your Credibility Kit: One Key Element

The bio resume is probably the single most important element of all. They're all important, but certainly this one is the key. This is where you are really going to hit home. The bio is not just, "I went to school here, I attended this school, I got these grades."

I call it bio or resume. It really is more of a bio. It is somewhat of a resume, but it clearly is not a resume that you would send out on a job application. It's not the point to list all your background and experience.

A bio resume, as I look at it, is a very important piece where you develop your experience and your skills, and why you're an expert at real estate investing and why they should come along with you. It is where you kind of set your vision. This is where I am, this is where I'm going, and do you want to come along with me Mr. Investor? I can pay you a very high return.

Capture Investors Attention

You need to generate some excitement here more or less. You need to get people interested. You need give some ability to show an expertise in the market place. If you've done some deals, if you've been in real estate investment or you've just been in the real estate environment, if you've been a real estate agent, you need to bring out your specialized skills in this area.

You need to do it in a way that is fairly exciting. You need to say, "I am an experienced real estate entrepreneur. I have done 14 deals and I have made X dollars on each deal." Again these are just examples, but do you see the power of that? You need to lay it out, why you are an expert in the field.

Maybe you're a real estate attorney and you understand the ins and outs of the real estate world and can do foreclosures or pre-foreclosures or have some unique skills set that the average person does not have. That gives you an edge over your competition.

Create a Vision

You must lay out in some fashion a vision, a reason why they should invest with you. You cannot just say, "I'm a real estate investor, I want to make a lot of money, and I want you to invest with me." There's no power, there's no pop in that. It really needs to be quite different.

It needs to be, "I'm a successful real estate entrepreneur. I've done deals, I've done this, I've done that. This is where I've been and this is where I'm going. I'm planning to buy five or ten properties this year."

You could talk about the real estate market currently. In fact, it's probably smart to talk about the real estate market because clearly that may be an objection to a private lender. You can acknowledge that the real estate market has been trashed. It's down 20%, 30%, 40% in different areas. That's fine, acknowledge that, but also say it is your belief, it is mine for sure, that the real estate market is probably at or near the bottom. It may be an historic buying opportunity.

Use Current Mortgage Market as Leverage

We all know that there is no mortgage market right now certainly for real estate investors, and with an opportunity for real estate investors to come back in and take advantage of the extremely low prices, obviously you're not going to go out and get mortgage money now. The only way to can do it is going to be through private investors, and that has to be brought out in that process. You can do that.

Highlight Unique Skills

Also, if you have any unique skills, if you're a real estate agent, if you're a title clerk, all that stuff probably should at least be mentioned here. If you've got professional experience, if you've been in business for a long time, if you're an entrepreneur, all these things should be brought out, albeit briefly and concisely, but it should be brought out in your bio or your resume.