Private Money Lending Mistakes Real Estate Investors Must Avoid in 2026 | Tina Boyd

Tina Boyd (00:00)
I loaned on a deal in the state of Indiana and second lien position. And I had done all the things that I know to do to, you know, dot the I’s and cross the T’s. And this lady— everything I— I heard, I did the reference checks and everything. Everything was spot on. And we were— I was told that it’s ready to— it was ready to be staged. And something in my spirit says, “Something is not right.”

Freddie Steen (02:00)
Hey everyone, welcome to the Real Estate Pros Podcast, Investor Fuel. I’m your host, Freddie, and today I’m joined by someone I’ve been looking forward to chatting with— Tina Boyd, who’s been making serious moves in the real estate space around lending and coaching. Able to leverage a career for 20 years in HR into helping women get into the real estate business and understanding lending from a full 360-degree perspective. I think our listeners are going to take something away from how you’re approaching this aspect and asset class in real estate. So let’s dive in. First off, for people who may not be familiar with your world, give us the short version. What’s your main focus these days? And tell us the national market that you are operating in now.

Tina Boyd (02:55)
The focus is, first of all, thanks for having me. The focus is private money lending and in very basic terms. I and others I know are lending money from their own personal, whether it’s their self-directed IRA, money that they have in a business account, but I am lending my personal money to fund real estate deals or projects that women are looking to complete. That could be fix and flips, buy and, you know, they’re gonna rent them out, co-living spaces, sober living, and that hits a national basis. I don’t lend— I’m based in Ohio, I’ve only done one loan in Ohio, but all— all of my loans and a lot of ladies that I know lend across the United States.

Freddie Steen (03:38)
Love it. So what— what caught my attention about you was the way you’ve been able to leverage a storied career in HR for two decades, use those operational things that you learned and leverage that into a coaching business with GRIT & Polish that has allowed you now to build an app. That’s not easy, especially in this climate. What’s been the key to keeping that machine running smoothly?

Tina Boyd (04:06)
What’s— for me, it would be resilience. Just to give you some history, I worked for a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble, and the role was— they restructured and the role wound up going away. And I’m trying to figure out what my next step was. And I didn’t hear, “Go look for another W-2,” and I didn’t, and so I wound up taking my coaching business full-time, which is what I wound up doing— expanding my, you know, expanding my brand, exp— expanding a lot of the topics that I talk about. Even though we’re talking about private money lending, there’s a whole subset of topics that go with that. But I expanded my brand and then actually saw the need— when we’re talking about Brixel, so when we’re talking about the app— is that nothing like that exists. We did the research and whatnot, nothing like this exists today in order to track what it is you do. Once you book that loan, this will walk you through it. And so, that— it’s— I think that it— I don’t want to say ingenuity, maybe that’s not the word I want to use, but I always like to think outside of the box, even when I was in HR, coming up with different ways to solve problems. And so this was how this— that’s how it was for me with this. I am not by any means a tech person, so this was not something that would have been at the forefront for me to do, but from a faith-based perspective, felt like this was something I was led to do and to reach out to the right people to work on this project with me. All those people came along with me. So I am working with the right people for all the right reasons and we are all in this together and want to see it succeed.

Freddie Steen (05:38)
If you could, for our real estate pros audience, kind of dig in on some of the trends you’re seeing in the many aspects of private lending right now.

Tina Boyd (06:34)
It is a d— d— different animal and it all depends on what’s happening with the industry. There’s some parts of the country where, you know, things are, you know, a little scaled back and other— there’s, you know, where things are staying steady. What I’m finding in private money lending, probably right now, people are probably being more selective about the loans that they lend. When I first got into this, I think people were just excited to, you know, be part of, “I’m gonna loan money on a— you know, on a project,” but being more meticulous and detailed and strategic in what it is that you are lending the money on. Understanding— well, one of the things I see a lot of women are focused on now is what the exit strategy is, because the exit strategy is how I get paid back. And I require an exit strategy and then, you know, a couple more behind that. What are we, you know, if this doesn’t work, what are— you know, what are the options? What kind of lender you want to lend to, because I always want to work with someone who’s not only strategic, but also someone who thinks outside of the box. You know, what is— what is it I have to do to pivot if this doesn’t, you know, if I’m not able to sell this property, what are my other options? You know, what are my— what are some negotiation strategies? I think a lot of women are put— pulling from their W-2s based on their backgrounds and whatnot, of pulling in a lot of those skills into what we do from a private money lending standpoint and being very, you know, like I said, strategic about how we go about, you know, providing loans. Because a lot of times, people are not— you’re not doing your due diligence, you’re not doing reference checks and whatnot, you can wind up getting yourself into some situations that wind up— you wind up in a foreclosure, and you can still wind up in there even if you’ve already done all of those things. So it’s important to be— I’m seeing people being— women being more prepared in what they are doing right now from a private money lending standpoint.

Freddie Steen (08:22)
Is that trend of seeing women more prepared what led you to launch your app that actually tracks this process every step of the way?

Tina Boyd (08:31)
Yes. And what we were finding is that focus groups, we did surveys and whatnot, had open forums just to kind of get feedback on, how— how— how is this working? How are you doing this? I know what I was doing— I’m an Excel guru, but it just wasn’t meeting my standards, putting everything in a spreadsheet. And so when you start talking to people to have an understanding of what they were doing, being able to figure out what all do they need to see… you know, because a lot of times you— you know, in this app, you’re able to see everything in a dashboard. A lot of times we don’t have that line of sight when we have loans and we’re going through manila folders and— and whatnot. But that is what has guided me to do the app, because you saw the need there, because it— it just did not exist. People were not tracking everything in a one-stop shop for everything. And like I said earlier, the first iteration of this is focused on private money lenders, and now we’re looking at pulling in the borrower side so both sides speak to each other, because there’s totally different things. I— and I— borrowers I have spoken to, a lot of them aren’t even tracking. “I’m doing a project, I’m— I’m managing the rehab,” but, you know, “I don’t know when my loan is due. It is it, you know, is everything on the back end or is it due monthly? You know, or if I’m an extension, how much is the extension fee?” Having an understanding at the— as— as each step of the way of what I’m doing from a financial standpoint, that when I get close to the end, have an understanding what your return on investment is, whether you’re the borrower or the PML.

Freddie Steen (10:02)
Now Tina, every operator I know has a moment where things got real. I mean, maybe a deal that went sideways or a time they had to pivot fast. Do you mind sharing one of those moments for you?

Tina Boyd (10:14)
I have— I have one for you. I loaned on a deal in the state of Indiana and second lien position. And I had done all the things that I know to do to, you know, dot the I’s and cross the T’s. And this lady— everything I— I heard, I did the reference checks and everything. Everything was spot on. And we were— I was told that it’s ready to— it was ready to be staged. And something in my spirit says, “Something is not right.” And so I told her I was coming over to see the house, because never got— there weren’t pictures. And so when we got there, there was four feet of water in the basement and they had not been there for— yeah, they had not been there for like, I don’t know, six months or so. Because we’re standing on the porch, and I took my brother with me, who’s a GC, and I had re— reached out to a realtor there who had provided me a CMA so I knew what was going on with the market for anyone wondering what— what that is— comparative market analysis. And he brought a GC with him, and when we got there, she had had that house almost a year. Now keep in mind, she had been paying— she paid her monthly payments and they always came like a week or two early, so you’re thinking, “All is good.” And so we get there and they didn’t know the code to get into the lockbox and whatnot. Nothing had been really done into that property other than like doors taken off of hinges, a wall knocked down, and— and we’re having this conversation with her. And I’m not gonna do— go do long story short, but what we— w— what wound up happening is that we found out that she— I knew she was a new borrower, and I was okay with that, but she had borrowed on several other properties to the tune of one point eight million dollars and defaulted on all of those. Mine wound up being a default. I wound up— I always believe in working for a— a win-win, and I reached out to the person that was in first lien position, shared pictures, videos, everything that I had. You know, we had talked to an attorney and whatnot, and we thought we were all on the same page. And then it became a situation where, “If I’m in first lien, I pretty much make all the sh— make the, you know, I’m making the calls.” And I don’t work like that. I create— I want to work with someone to create a win-win, especially when I’m not that far away. We could have worked together, redid this, and both make— you know, had to hold it, but made money. But make a long story short, I wound up hiring an attorney and pretty much was told, “You know, depending on what’s going on with first lien, your second lien is not even gonna matter for seventy-five thousand.” And I believe the first lien was in for a little over two hundred fifty thousand dollars, and wound up it going into foreclosure. ‘Cause I had asked her, I said, “Let’s do a deed in lieu.” She didn’t wanna do the— the— the— the person in first lien didn’t wanna do that, and so I wrote it out with my attorney what as best I could. She wound up making the decision to file for foreclosure. It did not sell— I knew it wasn’t going to sell because of the condition it was in. And— and then I got a call the night before asking if I was still interested in the property, but by this time, I had moved on, because that is why I wound up moving to a fix and flip— to replace the $75,000 that had been invested in this— you know, in this property. But the longest stor— short of that, one of the things I take away and I coach women on is: when you go into a deal, I don’t care if you’re in first lien position, make sure you get on a Zoom call with them or locally wherever it’s at, that you connect with the people who are all on the loan so that you have an opportunity to ask the right questions. “You know, if this went south, how— how, you know, how do you normally react?” You know, sharing, you know, how I would react so that you have an idea who you’re in bed with from a business standpoint, because that is something I did not do on that deal— never had had, never have lost money, and this was a first. And so navigating those waters to understand what had, you know, what had happened here and then make— to— to speed it along… the first lien had allowed this person who became, I guess, technically homeless, move into the house which was not habitable— no— no toilets, no running water, no showers. It just became a mess and invested additional funds into the property as she said to make it livable— but I’m like— or sellable, I guess I should say, and I’m like, “You can’t do that when I don’t own the property, I’m not putting any more money in it as the— you know, as the— as the PML.” So that was a big lesson for me to have an understanding and then also making sure that you are putting your eyes or you’re connecting with someone to put eyes on a property in which you’re invested. Because— and I— and I always believe in starting with a video that’s showing me like the street corner, walking into the house, so that I know that you’re showing me the house that I’m lending on. Because there are people who have been taken by seeing videos and it’s not the house that your money’s, you know, you— you’re thinking it’s coming along, but it’s a house that you’re not even associated with. So that is my biggie. But I always say, “When you make— have lemons, make lemonade.” And so what I did was I went out and got my first fix and flip. And it’s a— it’s a gorgeous property. It’s actually on the market now. And that is what I am looking at to replace the funds that were invested in that property versus digging in saying, “I don’t want to do private money lending anymore.” I know a lot of people feel that way, but you know, sometimes we have bad situations that happen on jobs, it doesn’t mean I don’t go get another job. So I’m always looking to see— you know, looking to see what the bright side looks like.

Freddie Steen (17:10)
Tina, being able to pivot, that’s the kind of stuff people don’t talk about enough. And honestly, it’s what separates the folks who just dabble from the ones who stay in the game long term. Let me ask you this: what are you most focused on solving or scaling?

Tina Boyd (17:26)
The biggest thing for me is imparting the knowledge. And I always tell people, “I— I don’t know everything. I know a lot, but I make sure I have the right resources available.” But imparting the knowledge to those who need it, who want to get in private money lending, because there’s so— what— what breaks my heart is when I see people jump in with no safety net. And a lot of times, not— things that normally should be red flags, not being red flags. So I had someone who said— he came to me and he said he was a builder. I said, “Well, that would have been a red flag. Why do you need $60,000 from me as a builder?” Because I’m a builder, I’m thinking you would have lines of credit at a bank or whatnot, or various banks or whatnot. And she didn’t ask all the right questions and— but you got caught up in the return. This is what I want to focus on: don’t— pause and take a break and listen to the conversation, and then you can trust but verify. Because you may hear one thing and then once you do the research, it may wind up being something totally different. And that’s what I think is so important, because there’s so many people who are parting with large amounts of money or they’re getting in deals and not understanding that there’s usury laws. You know, most states have them. There are a few states that don’t have usury laws— over anyone listening— the maximum amount that you can charge interest in a state. This person came back and they told her they were gonna pay her 30%. 30% was well above, even though they’re saying they’re paying you this, it was well above what the usury laws were for that state. Knowledge is power, and being in the right rooms and networking with the right people is power. And that— that is the next— that— that is what I’m grinding to grow and have an understanding… a lot of people like, “Well, I don’t want to invest in— in—” not investing in yourself, but you want to work at this. It’s just like when we go to school. You know, if I— I can’t be a lawyer and then go to law school, you know, so having an understanding that, “I need to invest in myself to understanding what, you know, what this means.” It sounds like easy money and— and sometimes you can think of it that way, but there’s so much effort that goes beyond it that a lot of people lose sight of and wind up losing money. So my thing is imparting that knowledge so you don’t wind up losing money that you don’t have to.

Freddie Steen (19:41)
Wow. That’s big. I— I mean, Tina, especially when you’ve already got this background in corporate real— corporate HR that you’ve leveraged into real estate private lending, and now a dynamic app that’s in place. I mean, the next move can either compound things or create chaos depending on how you play it. Now, I know a lot of people listening are either early in their journey or looking to level up, and I think they’d benefit from hearing this. When it comes to building relationships and growing your network, what’s made the biggest difference for you, Tina?

Tina Boyd (20:20)
What I would say is: just do it. I— I tell people that a lot of times people are, “I’m scared, I’m an introvert.” Put yourself in rooms that you didn’t expect to be in. I— I know from a corporate standpoint, there are a lot of times I’ve shown up in rooms and there was either d— no women or anyone who looked like me. And but you had earned the right to be in that room, making sure that the things that you either you need to learn or the things that you need to share, that you are forthcoming in those efforts. It— it’s just important that— and a lot of times you may network and it doesn’t necessarily— I don’t network just to get a payback. That’s one of the things I want people to understand, too— just not networking to get a payback. But a lot of times I can learn just by listening to those who are, you know, in the room, and then understand every room is not the same. There’s certain things I do in one room, there’s certain things that I do, you know, if I’m working as a— a sponsor for a REIA, there’s something else that I’m doing here, the people that I’m networking with. Versus if I’m in a women’s group related to real estate, what is it we’re, you know, what is it we’re sharing here? What is it that I need to take away? I always say, “Don’t come and be a bump on the log, just sitting.” Making sure that you are reaching out, explaining what you do— a lot of people haven’t heard it. A lot of times when I’ve talked about private money lending in rooms that don’t— are not real estate related, they think it’s a scam. I’ve had that comeback where they think it’s a— it’s, you know, “This can’t be real.” And then explaining to them, you know, why it, you know, why it is real. But this is where it comes in where I talk about knowledge is power, getting in the right rooms to have an understanding of how people have been in real estate, been making money for years, do— doing this as a— as a— as one option from a real estate standpoint. But being able to ask the right questions and— and listening, I think that’s what’s so important. That’s what I spent my time doing from a networking standpoint. I don’t always just show up to get something, ’cause I think you— that to me, for me, going in with the wrong motive… but going in, “What can I learn? What— what piece of this— of me that I can leave here that it might be better than when I, you know, than when I showed up?” So that is what’s important to me from a— a networking standpoint.

Freddie Steen (22:30)
Yeah, you— you can’t fake that. I mean, relationships are everything in this space. All right, before we wrap, if someone wanted to reach out, connect with you, maybe collaborate or learn more about what you’re doing, what’s the best way for them to reach you?

Tina Boyd (22:47)
Okay, my email address is [email protected], and this is all one word: grit— g-r-i-t— and— a-n-d— polish— p-o-l-i-s-h— coaching— c-o-a-c-h-i-n-g dot com. I will respond to you there. You can feel free to visit my website, gritandpolishcoaching.com. Brixel also has its own website as well— mybrixel.com. There’s also getbrixel.com, depending on what stage you are in the app. So anyway, those are some ways that you can get in touch with me. I do manage my own email so that you know that I don’t have someone that— a bot or something. It’s important to me to create those connections and answer those questions. And especially if someone wants to collaborate, I would love to be able to do that.

Freddie Steen (23:34)
Perfect. Well listen, I appreciate your time, your story, and your perspective. We need more people in this space who are doing it the right way. Thanks again for being here, Tina.

Tina Boyd (23:46)
Thank you for having me.

Freddie Steen (23:49)
And for those of you tuning in, if you got value from this, make sure you’re subscribed. We’ve got more conversations coming with operators just like Tina Boyd, who are out there building real businesses. We’ll see you on the next episode.