Stop Waiting to Invest: How Smart Real Estate Investors Use Financing to Win in Any Market

Sandy Marshall (00:00)

I would say waiting. People wait and they sit on the sidelines and they think, oh, you know, I’m going to wait for rates to come down lower. I’m going to wait for this. I’m going to wait for that. And I have so many people sitting on the sidelines saying, know, Sandy, I really should have taken the, you know, gotten in when you told me to get in and done this project and done this. People just wait and.

You don’t make any money by waiting, you know?

Dylan Silver (00:30)

Hey folks, welcome back to the show. Today we’re joined by Sandy Marshall, a seasoned mortgage specialist with over 25 years of experience across residential, commercial and private money lending. Sandy is known for taking a boutique style approach to lending, helping clients navigate everything from first time home purchases to complex investment deals. With a focus on clarity, creativity and precision, Sandy specializes in structuring financing solutions that actually work in today’s evolving market. Sandy, welcome to the show.

Sandy Marshall (02:31)

Thanks, great to be here Dylan. I love what you guys are doing for the community.

Dylan Silver (02:36)

Great to have you on here. I’ll start off at the top by asking you, you you’ve been in lending for 25 years. What’s changed the most in how deals get done?

Sandy Marshall (02:49)

Oh, great question. mean, I feel like I’ve seen it all, you know, when I first started, it was a very just cut and dry business. And then they started doing the, you know, the no doc loans where basically you just had to have a heartbeat and a pulp and I could get you a loan with, you know, no money down, you know, and then 2008, 2009, you know, evolved and

everything totally changed. ⁓ Now it’s like they scrutinize every single document and every single penny that goes into your bank account. So, you know, the lending market is really, you know, just changed. ⁓ If they could find a happy medium, it would really be great. So maybe someday we’ll get there, but.

Dylan Silver (03:20)

Yeah.

Florida where you’re active in Seemed to be hit particularly hard during the global housing crisis or global financial crisis And I remember even seeing it in like movies like the big short I want to say they had a scene I believe it was Florida where you’re talking about these no-doc loans and it was just if you had a pulse you were getting approved Going through that period of time. I’m sure you saw people most of them have to

Sandy Marshall (03:39)

They are.

Yes.

Absolutely.

Do all work.

Dylan Silver (04:02)

new careers and what was that period of time like for you?

Sandy Marshall (04:06)

That’s actually when I got into the private money lending because it was very challenging to get a bankable loan at that point. So private money lending became just something that was much easier. And there were people that are like, you know, we’re not making money any other way. So let’s just start doing private money lending. So that’s when I started doing that. You know, it was a transition, but

You just have to make it, unfortunately.

Dylan Silver (04:37)

you have to be able to pivot.

And I think a lot of times that can be very uncomfortable for people, especially if you’re going from, you know, helping people find their homestead to then now you’re working with investors and they’re looking for maybe distressed properties. And so it’s a totally different skill set. Was that a little bit jarring at that point in time?

Sandy Marshall (04:59)

No, not at all, because I was doing a lot of ⁓ commercial finance before 2009. So yeah, it wasn’t that big of a pivot. It was just the challenges with lending that were the biggest pivot. But I was already an investor. was working with a lot of investors doing commercial loans too.

Dylan Silver (06:06)

Now in the commercial space specifically, from what I understand, a lot of these deals ⁓ are relational based more so than in other segments because there’s more on the line and people need to really understand who they’re dealing with. What is the foundation for underwriting and getting a commercial loan approved?

Sandy Marshall (06:30)

That’s a great question, Dylan. ⁓ I would say it’s probably more case by case. It just kind of depends on, first of all, how much experience the buyer has. then, I mean, there’s so many different factors that come in.

how many properties they own, their credit scores, how much money they have to put down, their experience with renovations, stuff like that. So it’s really more of a case-by-case scenario. Sorry, I’m not directly answering your It really is true. Yeah.

Dylan Silver (07:06)

No, mean, that confirms what, yeah,

how I felt about it. And I think a lot of people, especially coming from the single family space are unsure how to make that jump into commercial because it seems like it can be sometimes behind a lock and a key. You I think that’s where working with someone like yourself comes into play, because you can help them navigate that process and structure the deal so that it makes sense. What’s that process like?

Sandy Marshall (07:12)

Yeah.

Dylan Silver (07:35)

helping someone go from potentially one asset class into the commercial space and walking them through that.

Sandy Marshall (07:43)

So I can give you a great story. It’s one of my favorite clients. He started with just a single family home and then he found a 14 unit apartment building in the District of Columbia.

And he’s like, I have no idea how to make this happen. And I was like, I got this. So anyway, I did a cash out refinance for him on his primary residence. And we came up with the money for the down payment. And back then you could buy stuff in DC for a lot less. This was 15 years ago. So it’s quite more expensive now. ⁓ But he came up with a deposit. He was a contractor. So he could manage the renovations and stuff like that, because the building needed quite a bit of work.

But I got him a great commercial loan. ⁓ It was a great cash flowing building. And from there, I would refinance that building after a year or two to get him into his next bigger project. So it’s easier than you would think. ⁓ seems you just have to have someone like me who can navigate you from, you know.

Dylan Silver (08:46)

Gotta know the right person.

Sandy Marshall (08:54)

just owning a single family home that you have a little bit of equity in, or even no equity, you know? mean, I get offers from American Express and a bunch of my credit cards every single day for, you know, hey, you want an unsecured loan? So, you know, there’s so many great resources that people don’t even think about that they can come up, you know, with cash for their investments for, ⁓ you know, but I can certainly help them navigate through that.

Dylan Silver (09:20)

What’s the biggest mistake you see investors or buyers making when it comes to approaching financing in general, whether that’s, you know, a single family investor or something larger like these commercial deals?

Sandy Marshall (09:39)

I would say waiting. People wait and they sit on the sidelines and they think, oh, you know, I’m going to wait for rates to come down lower. I’m going to wait for this. I’m going to wait for that. And I have so many people sitting on the sidelines saying, know, Sandy, I really should have taken the, you know, gotten in when you told me to get in and done this project and done this.

People just wait and.

You don’t make any money by waiting, you know?

Dylan Silver (10:44)

Now,

it’s one of these things where, especially in the commercial space, it can be scarier, because there’s more on the line. And I think especially in the Sun Belt, you see a lot of people who got into the business, and then it’s been challenging over the last couple of years, especially in multifamily specifically. So that does lead people to feel like, hey, should I get in now? Should I wait? Should I wait this thing out? But you don’t really know what two years in the future is going to hold.

Sandy Marshall (11:00)

us.

Dylan Silver (11:12)

That’s one of the challenges of multifamily specifically. Do you have any segments of the commercial space that you’re particularly bullish on right now, whether that is multifamily, industrial, office space, or some other segment of commercial?

Sandy Marshall (11:27)

you

Oh my gosh, you are full of great questions today. So I think it depends on the market. are, like what I’m seeing in Florida is a little bit different than in DC, but what I’m seeing is a lot of office space being converted to housing. So I’m seeing a lot of retail being converted into

Dylan Silver (11:54)

Yeah.

Sandy Marshall (12:00)

like churches, ⁓ private clubs, which seem to be a really big, you know, new thing. ⁓ But it just kind of depends on the market, to be honest. I’m not, I don’t know every single market, you know, I know the DMV very well, which is DC Maryland and Virginia. And then I know Florida very well, but you know, I think it varies. There’s also a lot of Airbnbs in Florida. That’s very popular.

Dylan Silver (12:22)

What are the?

A lot of Airbnb’s and I think

that that makes it both challenging but also attractive because there is a proven market there for that. But now you have greater competition. When I think about some of the segments of commercial that I look at and say that’s interesting, I think that there is a movement now to create these flex spaces and to have a community that may be positioned towards a luxury

Sandy Marshall (12:36)

Yeah.

Dylan Silver (12:54)

client, but also that brings people together so that it doesn’t keep people isolated from each other. An example of this that I see often in Texas is if a pickleball facility is being built somewhere, you know, one of these nice outdoor or indoor outdoor with food, I’m like, that’s a harbinger of multifamilies coming. If they’re putting a pickleball cord in, that means they’re, you know, aware of what else is going on around here. And that has worked so often. I’ve seen that and then you’ll see

Sandy Marshall (13:17)

Hahaha

us.

Dylan Silver (13:24)

multifamily housing come in and you’ll see restaurants open up nearby. And it’s definitely interesting because this is all brand new to a lot of people.

Sandy Marshall (13:33)

I think whoever is scouting those locations is very clever in real estate. They just are on their game. know, OK, here’s the perfect place for this. We’re going to build a community around it. And they will. So yeah, it’s a great point.

Dylan Silver (13:49)

Yeah, you see the same thing down there. It’s

like what came first, the chicken or the egg? What came first, the multifamily housing or the pickleball complex that’s nearby with great food? And then everyone wants to go there. But pivoting here, Sandy, you know, when when folks are currently looking for their ⁓ first investment, there’s so many ways and you mentioned, you know, refinancing that that people can potentially put themselves in a position to make that first investment.

Sandy Marshall (13:57)

We’ll back.

Love.

Dylan Silver (14:18)

It’s challenging for folks though, because they’re not sure what to invest in. They’re not sure how much time that they want to be able to put in necessarily. It does feel like there’s some risk. Should we partner with other people? Should we do this on our own? What’s your feedback on how folks can make that first investment?

Sandy Marshall (14:39)

first investment is really just having kind of someone who can guide you along. And everybody has a different scenario, you know, there’s a lot of people that have 401ks that are earning, you know, sometimes one or 2%, sometimes three or 4%.

But if you could borrow against that or take a loan from it and put that money into your first project and make 10, 15, 25 %

it, it’s kind of a no-brainer. If you don’t have a 401k, there’s many other resources. Obviously, usually your home is your biggest investment. And homes have typically appreciated a pretty decent amount with the exception of the 2008 to 2012 period.

But I think values have recovered and the home is still a great investment. There’s a lot of people that have super low interest rates that hopefully we’ll see again, maybe not. But if not, there’s other ways to do it. You’ve got home equity line of credits. Like I said, I get an offer from MX and Chase every single day, like, hey, here’s a $50,000 line of credit.

There’s just so many different resources that people have, but it really just depends on their personal circumstances and what they can access.

Dylan Silver (16:45)

Yeah,

I think, I mean, you mentioned even using credit cards, right, for these types of things. I’ve heard of people doing credit stacking and, you know, getting zero percent interest for a set period of time and then using those cards in order to assist with real estate. You mentioned E-Locks as well. And now with AI and the ability to educate yourself faster than ever and content like this.

more people are going to be beginning to realize, hey, maybe I should do a cash out refinance. Hey, maybe I should take out a HELOC or a HELO on my home. Hey, what about this credit stacking thing? And it’s not there yet. It’s not in the public vernacular, so to speak. But I do think that we may start to see in the next couple of years or so more and more people talk about the equity in your home and these creative financing tools.

Sandy Marshall (17:36)

Absolutely, absolutely. And some people look at exactly what you just said and they look at it like, oh, why do I want to take on debt or pay maybe a 10 % interest on this loan that American Express is going to give to me? But you have to think about the opportunity cost. What can you do with that money?

And you have to kind of just look beyond just the numbers that are being put in front of you. And that’s where people like you and I come into play. can help people look at the bigger picture and hopefully just kind of get past those obstacles, which are very considerable. I I talk to people every day that are, I hosted a real estate seminar two weeks ago with one of my real estate lending partners.

my real estate partners. And there was a group of people in the room that I felt like were really serious. And many of them owned homes and they had great equity. So I’m like, okay, here’s your next step. And they’re like, wow, that’s a lot to think about. people, it’s a big obstacle to overcome. ⁓ I guess you just have to have that.

entrepreneurial spirit where you know you just kind of are ready to jump into a property and sometimes you win sometimes you know

Dylan Silver (18:59)

Yeah, you got to risk it. You got

to risk it. I was talking to actually on this show, a skydiving instructor turned real estate investor. And I asked him, what’s the similarity between skydiving and real estate? He’s like, well, there’s not really that many. However, real estate can sometimes feel like jumping out of a plane. And that’s the feeling that you’ll get is like, I can’t believe I’m going to do this. But you’ll you’ll have that whether you’re

Sandy Marshall (19:19)

Great.

Yeah.

Dylan Silver (19:28)

you know, using the equity in your home, whether you’re doing your first wholesale deal, whether you’re going to get your real estate license, whether you’re a seasoned, you know, lender or broker, and you’re trying something new, you’re constantly having to deal with this emotional tension on some level, whether it’s from yourself or from your clients. And at the same time, continue looking for deals, continue trying to be active. ⁓ What do you think about, you know, for folks who are

Sandy Marshall (19:51)

Yes.

Dylan Silver (19:55)

newer now and looking at getting into the lending space. I do think we actually need more people in lending, more skilled people as loan originators and so forth. What would be your advice for folks who are looking at getting into the space now?

Sandy Marshall (20:11)

getting into the lending space. It’s a great time. I, you know, up until three weeks ago, I felt like interest rates had nowhere to go but down. Now they’re, you know, quite a bit higher after we attacked Iran, but.

Dylan Silver (20:13)

Yeah.

Sandy Marshall (20:25)

But they’ll still come down. So it’s a good time to get into lending, no question. ⁓ It’s interesting. There’s been a big transition from being in banking to being a broker, which is what I do. ⁓ And brokers have had their ups and downs too. But now is a great time to get into being a broker. feel like. ⁓

Dylan Silver (20:49)

Yeah, I think ⁓ from my vantage point

specifically, a good lender, a good broker is worth their weight in gold because I can’t do anything. I can’t sell any home. can’t I really can only have a very condensed conversation with someone unless they have some type of financing set up. And that’s where the deals start and end is hey, what’s your financing like, right? I think we need more skilled people like yourself in the space. And I would be excited to see more people come in.

realizing the opportunity that they have, is, I’m starting this deal. This is where the deal starts. We are actually coming up on time here though, Sandy, any new projects that you’re working on and then as well, what’s the best way for folks to reach out to you or your team?

Sandy Marshall (21:35)

So I’m always accessible. ⁓ Best way to get me is, you know, happy to call my cell phone which is 443-745-1225 or you can email me at Sandy, S-A-N-D-Y, at IFS, as in Infinity Financial Services Loans.net. (sandy@ifsloans.net)⁓

You know, Dylan, I’ve been kind of sitting on the sidelines waiting for prices to come down a bit, but I feel like it’s time. So I’m going to focus on making some big acquisitions this year. ⁓ Haven’t quite found them yet, but I’m really digging hard and you have to follow your gut. And when a project feels right for you, you move forward with it.

Dylan Silver (22:23)

Sandy, thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you for your time.

Sandy Marshall (22:27)

Thank you.