Jeff Adams:
Yeah, you're not looking for a partner; you're looking for somebody to just put the money up.

Alan Cowgill:
That's right. That's exactly right. So I learned early on of who I shouldn't be doing business with I guess. And it has served me well and, you know, I'm going to say something here that's probably going to shock a few folks, but every now and then you gotta fire a private lender. And I know that's kind of hard to believe from folks that don't have them and don't maybe know their way on how to get them, but that's what you and I are sharing tonight and we should be opening up a few eyes tonight of how easy this is and how – and it can change your life and – but every now and then if you get a private lender that is not easy to do business with or wants to come in and start telling you how to do your business it's time to part ways.
Jeff Adams:
Yeah.

Alan Cowgill:
And you said it here a little bit ago, you've got 10 private lenders and there's two that you tend to go back to a lot. You're probably – if you stand back and look at you're going to the people who make it easy on you.

Jeff Adams:
Yep, yep. And I'll tell you what I've had an experience; I've actually fired a private lender before. This guy would call me up every week ask if the property was sold. He was not like the ordinary. He wanted to get the property sold and get his money out. For some reason. And basically, you know, he started telling me we need to lower the price and you've put too much into the rehab and after about two of those deals I just said I'm done.

Alan Cowgill:
Yep, yep. That's exactly right. That's exactly right. So yeah it – it's the only way to go. I mean gee whiz, it has made my life unbelievably easy.

Jeff Adams:
So let me ask you this. So how have private investors enriched you and your business? I know you've talked about the difference between a hard moneylenders and a private lender in terms of points and fees and all that but how has it made your life easier?

Alan Cowgill:
Well, I now have people out there buying and selling houses for me and I don't have to go to closings any more and I'll tell you what I never could envision that happening, but when you set your company up where its on autopilot like this it – that's what happens. I – I take my properties into a land trust and I've got a trustee that goes to closings to buy and sell, and I've got a number of private lenders out there and we just – we've got a list of them and we keep track of who's in play on a property and who got their money back and wants to be in play and so the next time we get a property coming up the next person on the list gets a call and it is – made my life wonderful, because – I mean just to share some of the personal things about it.

I took my family to Europe this last summer and it had been a dream of mine to take my kids – two of my three kids to Europe. My younger two. And I got it done. And I promised to do that every since they were 12 years old and when my daughter, she was 17 and we got to go to London and Paris and it was just a dream.

Jeff Adams:
I'll tell you what, just to –

Alan Cowgill:
And my point is – I can do those kind of things, and if I want to stay in bed in the morning I can, I don't have to jump up and hit a time clock and having private lenders out there is so – makes it so simple because it’s a phone call. Just like I said a little bit ago, I’m not taking in any more money right now because I don't need it.

Jeff Adams:
Yeah that's a great feeling, isn't it?

Alan Cowgill:
I've got all the money I need to go buy property and its just a phone call away and if I want to close on a – if I get an offer accepted today in five days I can own the property.

Jeff Adams:
I can tell you this, Alan, I actually purchased my own primary residence about nine months ago and every three days the bank was calling me, we need this, we need that, we need this, we need that. I mean they wanted to know how much my mom weighed when she was born. It was ridiculous.

You know? Absolutely ridiculous. And back to your thing about Europe; if you think about it, just $100,000 – just one deal, hard money versus private lender, you're going to save about $7,000. You're not going to pay five points, which is $5,000. A point is a percentage.

Alan Cowgill:
Yep.