Justin Morgan
Justin Morgan has been a guest on Collecting Keys, the real estate investing podcast hosted by Mike DeHaan, Dan Austin and Dylan Koch.
How to Raise Private Money The Right Way With Justin Morgan
Justin Morgan, a Utah investor who started flipping new-construction contracts in 2005, walks through losing 11 of 12 properties in short sales after 2008, rebuilding through short-sale brokerage and fix-and-flip, and moving into commercial deals like a $13M self-storage project. He explains how he raises private money using social media as a "business card," what triggered an SEC investigation of his lending, and why private money beats hard money for most small operators.
Key takeaways
- In 2005 Morgan made $21,000 assigning his position in a new-construction condo contract — "flipping paper" before it was called wholesaling — and that speculative model collapsed with the 2008 credit freeze.
- He lost 11 of 12 properties to short sales and one to a deed in lieu, got a real estate license to broker his own short sales, then processed hundreds of short sales for others from 2013–2017, turning the crisis into his rebuild.
- Raising private money without a mentor led to an SEC investigation after he fired an employee whose father was a lender; nothing came of it because the loans were with pre-existing friends-and-family relationships.
- Private money typically charges no points, so on a $250K–$500K deal it can save $5,000–$10,000 versus hard money or institutional funding, plus more flexible six-to-twelve-month terms.