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5 Ways to Finance Your Real Estate Business

5 Ways to Fund Your Real Estate Biz

  • March 11, 2025
  • 6 min read
  • Read Icon 21 reads
Author  Lorien Strydom
Editor  Sam Onelia

When you’re new to real estate investing, one of the challenges is to secure the required capital.

For a new investor, understanding how to finance a real estate business is just as important as finding a suitable property. Many new investors in today’s market struggle with financing because they are not aware of the available options.

Real estate financing refers to the funds needed for an ongoing deal. Investors secure capital from a specific lender or source to purchase a property. Like traditional financing, real estate finance has specific terms and requirements that must be clearly understood. 

Fortunately, no matter your current financial situation, several options can help you find the best real estate financing.

1. Private Lenders

Private lenders are often a popular real estate funding option among real estate investors.

These investments are financed not by a bank, but by a group of private individuals. Since these loans do not require complicated approval processes, they often have lower eligibility requirements, making them easier to obtain.

Furthermore, private lenders are generally more willing to invest in riskier projects. However, borrowers have the option to repay the loan before signing an intermittent contract.

As these loans don’t need to undergo complicated approvals, they often come with lower eligibility requirements which means they may also be easier to obtain.

In addition, private lenders are often more willing to invest in riskier projects.

However, investors can repay the loan before having to sign an intermittent contract.

When it comes to commercial real estate finance, private lenders for business startup loans often have higher interest rates and may also require larger down payments or personal security.

Private loans usually have shorter repayment terms than those offered by traditional loans – on average, only one or two years.

2. SBA Loans

Small Business Association (SBA) loans offer a repayment guarantee to banks that wish to lend money to new entrepreneurs. The guarantee from the SBA makes banks more willing to take risks.

While the affordability of the loan will depend on the investor, an SBA loan for real estate typically has higher borrowing limits of up to $2,000,000.

The longer repayment terms and protection against balloon payments are attractive features for borrowers and can help stabilize their cash flows.

Note: SBA loans cannot be used to invest in real estate, but can be used to start a real estate business such as a brokerage fund or a property management fund.

Unfortunately, the security of SBA real estate loans comes at a price.

In addition to being subject to high fees, investors must be creditworthy and able to show significant value on their tax returns to qualify.

The application process for an SBA loan for real estate investment is also lengthy and requires the borrower to provide personal assets as collateral.

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3. Crowdfunding

Real estate investing used to be just for the wealthy. However, after the JOBS Act of 2012, real estate crowdfunding made it easier for more investors to diversify their portfolios.

Instead of having to personally search for properties to renovate, investors can browse real estate crowdfunding platforms to find a suitable project to invest in.

Investors can then choose to finance a property stake at a low cost – which can even be less than $1,000. They can then pay the rent or collect some of the profits after the project is completed.

With this in mind, crowdfunding projects do come with an increased risk.

Compared to a traditional fix-and-flip model, investors don’t have a lot of control when it comes to the outcome of a project.

Also, keep in mind the return on these types of investments may take longer, depending on their structure. Should the project fail, it is the investor who will take the loss – not the builders.

4. Microloans

Microloans typically target new businesses or start-ups that require funding to expand. As indicated by the name, these loans are smaller than those generally provided through traditional bank financing.

Lower balances mean that microloan programs are less stringent in terms of eligibility requirements such as a credit score, which can be comforting for those interested in borrowing more than their funds.

Note:  The interest rates on microloans are usually higher than those offered in standard loan programs.

However, microloans may not be suitable for everyone.

Microloans can often go up to $50,000, while the average loan is around $13,000, so it’s important to evaluate your overhead appropriately.

5. ROBS

If you don’t want to apply for a loan, you can choose to go with rollover for business startup (ROBS) providers.

With this type of funding, business owners can withdraw available funds from their retirement accounts to avoid triggering a payout or incur a tax penalty.

Note: As with SBA loans, you cannot invest in real estate with ROBS.

Since it’s their own money, there is no debt repayment, allowing them to invest it all in growing the business. In addition, should the business fail, it won’t adversely affect its assets or creditworthiness.

As an investor, before committing to ROBS, make sure you consider the risks.

Keep in mind that you can only withdraw the money that is available in your existing accounts, so you may have less available funds than with a loan.

Accordingly, if an investor chooses to invest all of their pension funds in the business and the business does not succeed, they may be left without a proper retirement.

Ready to start your real estate business? Compare personalized loan options and secure competitive real estate financing rates through Financer.com!

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Lorien is the Country Manager for Financer US and has a strong background in finance and digital marketing. She is a fintech enthusiast and a lover of all things digital.

Editor Sam Onelia
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