Crystal Baker, the owner of CGN Homebuyers, joins Jay Conner today to tell everyone how she was able to leave her full-time job, navigate and become successful in the world of real estate investing all because of Private Money.
Crystal started investing in real estate all the way back in 1996. For years she was an occupational therapist and was over a number of clinics.
Before learning how to invest in real estate using Private Money, she was working 80-plus hours a day, as a single mom, with two kids, and barely holding it all together.
Now, Crystal is an insanely successful real estate investor. She has raised millions and millions of private money.
As the owner of CGN Homebuyers, Crystal shares her business model as “created” by the needs of her customers.
She teaches individuals how to invest their funds safely, securely, and at very high rates of return, typically tax-free;
Crystal also assists people in selling their homes that cannot sell traditionally and very often sells to individuals that cannot acquire a traditional mortgage, paying their credit repair and coaching them through to home ownership.
Timestamps:
0:01 – Get Ready To Be Plugged Into The Money
0:02 – Today’s guest: Crystal Baker
1:32 – How Does Crystal’s business Look Like before She Entered The World Of Private Money.
2:56 – How Do You Buy In Terms?
3:24 – When You Realize You Need To Do Something Different.
7:18 – What Is Private Money?
10:19 – How To Close Real Estate Deal In 7 days
12:22 – Hard Money vs. Private Money
15:51 – Jay’s Free Private Money Guide: https://www.JayConner.com/MoneyGuide
17:12 – Where Can You Find Private Money?
19:24 – Because Private Money Is What You Needed In Your Business.
20:55 – It’s All About Service And Not Selling
25:09 – Private Money Is A Gift
29:39 – Crystal’s Lowest Point In Her Real Estate Investing Business
33:53 – Crystal’s Brightest Point In Her Real Estate Investing Career
34:53 – I Will Hire A Coach – Crystal Baker
36:15 – Best Time To Raise Private Money
37:20 – Crystal’s Parting Comments: Lead with Love, Lead A With Servant’s Heart.
38:52 – Connect with Crystal Baker: https://www.CGNHomeBuyers.com
Private Money Academy Conference:
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Free Report:
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It is available FREE (all you pay is the shipping and handling) at
https://www.JayConner.com/Book
What is Private Money? Real Estate Investing with Jay Conner
https://www.JayConner.com/MoneyPodcast
Jay Conner is a proven real estate investment leader. He maximizes creative methods to buy and sell properties with profits averaging $67,000 per deal without using his own money or credit.
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Real Estate Brings The Green! with Crystal Baker & Jay Conner
Jay Conner
00:00:02
My guess today is not only a very dear friend that my wife, Carol Joy, and I have known for many years, but she is an ex insanely successful real estate investor. She has raised millions and millions of private money. In fact, she’s got a big problem today. She’s got more private money than she even knows what to do with. And she started investing in real estate all the way back in 1996, for years and years, she was an occupational therapist and she was over a number of clinics. She was working 80-plus hours a day, a single mom, with two kids holding it all together while still yet doing real estate investing. And I mean, just an example of her phenomenal success is just last year within a ninety-day period, she bought 25 houses with none of her money. And so once you’re about to hear, and you definitely wanna stay to the end of this show, you’re gonna learn how she was able to navigate a full-time job, do a bunch of real estate investing and then retire from the day job go full-time into real estate investing. And a lot of it does because of being in this world of private money. And with that, I’m so excited to introduce my guest crystal baker, crystal, welcome to the show.
Crystal Baker
00:01:26
Hey Jay, thank you for having me.
Jay Conner
00:01:29
I’m so excited to have you here today, crystal, and you know, on today’s show, we’re gonna be, just be really diving in about private money and, and from your perspective, what private money is meant to you, how you’ve used it in your business and, and all that kind of stuff. So if you’re ready, I say, let’s jump in and let’s go.
Crystal Baker
00:01:51
Let’s do it.
Jay Conner
00:01:52
So, first of all, what did your business look like prior to coming into this world of private money?
Crystal Baker
00:02:01
It was very traditional, very dependent on the banks. So I would go out, and get a traditional mortgage because I was doing it as a side hustle and was working full time. I would actually move into the house, rehab it and then sell it, but it would all the leg work was in getting through the process of getting a loan from the bank, all the things tied to that. And then obviously being able to get my offers accepted because clearly, it takes a little longer when you’re working with the bank. It’s not like working with private money at all. So very different.
Jay Conner
00:02:36
Yeah. And prior to private money, in addition to working with traditional banks, you also did what was called some terms deals, right?
Crystal Baker
00:02:45
I did a minimal amount before coming into private money. Yes. I had a, I had a couple under my belt when we started this adventure.
Jay Conner
00:02:54
Right. And so what’s your definition of a terms deal, buy on terms.
Crystal Baker
00:03:01
It’s when I don’t need to bring money to the table, the financing is either existing financing that may be in place for the seller and, or offered by the seller as in owner financing. Of course, lease options fall into that as well. But I don’t typically use those as part of my terms, but they would fall under that umbrella.
Jay Conner
00:03:22
Yeah. So in your journey, what was it, or at what point did you decide in the words that, you know, like enough is enough and that what you were doing just wasn’t working and wasn’t getting you to where you wanted to get?
Crystal Baker
00:03:41
I, I guess I, because, you know, you know, my story is that there was actually a transition period where I realized that I needed to do something different. So I couldn’t live the lifestyle I was living anymore. It was just exhausting. I wasn’t, I wasn’t raising my kids. The daycare was raising them. And so I started on this adventure of trying to figure out a different way to do things and navigate the real estate investing space, post-2008. But in addition to that, I guess it was probably, it wasn’t that long into it, probably only about three to six months into that adventure. Did I realize that without the private money, without, you know, having alternate means of funding deals, there were deals I was missing out on, so it didn’t take long to figure it out? It just took me a little longer to get myself to where I needed to be to go ahead and pursue that. But once I, once I realized and then got connected, I actually attended the event and, and started down that journey of private money. But it was very evident that it wasn’t gonna work with the traditional means that I was using.
Jay Conner
00:04:45
Yeah. So how did you get started? And even using private money,
Crystal Baker
00:04:49
I went to a training and you actually were speaking at the training. So I tried to run you down in the hallway before getting on the elevator. I tend to be a fast Walker, just like I’m a fast talker, and tend, to move along quickly. So, I literally knocked him over, knocked down, but knocked into him. And we rode the elevator together. He spoke at the event there shortly after, it was very kind of delightful. And the elevator had no idea who was gonna be the next speaker but was slightly embarrassed or more, more than slightly. And, and, but I, what I heard you say meant so much, it made so much sense to me. I thought, how in the world can I continue forward if I don’t pursue this? So it was at that point that I really realized, okay, this is it. This is, this is, this is where I need to go. So I actually heard it from you.
Jay Conner
00:05:40
Yeah. So this was some years ago, but what was it that you heard about private money that just really gave you that aha moment of, yeah, I got, I gotta get in this world of private money. What was it that struck a chord with you that, that turned on the light bulb?
Crystal Baker
00:06:02
I, I think there were a couple of things. The primary was when you asked the question, you know, are you missing out on deals? And the answer is, well, yeah, not everybody. And we know this a very small percentage of people, and I’m a great converter, I think, compared to the general public, but still, there’s not, you know, it’s not as if the majority are gonna accept a terms option. They’re gonna look at that and go, well, that’s not really what I want. They want cash. Well, when there’s a cash offer that’s needed and you don’t have the cash to do it. And, or the only option you have is to go get a traditional mortgage, which may as well be not having the money you’re, you’re gonna miss out on things. And that was my first driver is, yeah, I’m missing out on things.
Crystal Baker
00:06:45
There’s, this is a very different way to look at it. And then secondarily, just getting out of the minutiae of dealing with banks and, really recognizing that there was an alternate way to do this. And then finally knowing that I could help people that were in my network that are in my community, blew my mind, the idea of being able to help someone that they, they can get their money working for them just was like P that was such an aha moment. So I’d say really between those, those three things, that was what really did it for me.
Jay Conner
00:07:18
So when, when we’re talking private money, what do we really mean by that? What is private money?
Crystal Baker
00:07:26
Private money is literally an individual like yourself or myself that is able to loan from either their investment capital or, or liquid funds. So it’s not somebody that’s in, it’s never an institution. It’s not generally someone who has been, has any experience, or has even heard of this. It’s typically someone who’s just, an individual person that has capital that isn’t making them a high rate of return safely and securely.
Jay Conner
00:07:51
So what do you like about private money? You said you were just really done with, you know, traditional banks and institutions. Why do you like private money better than traditional banks?
Crystal Baker
00:08:08
God, gosh, that’s a list, but one, it moves quickly, right? Two, there’s not a qualifying process. So I’m not sitting around with this person sending back and forth, you know, hundreds of documents and trying to come up with all this information. And it’s literally the key information that they need and we’re ready to go. It’s, it’s just the fact that I can, I am not giving the money to a bank, to an institution who’s already large and already, I hate to be like a negative, but taking advantage of people when I can give it to somebody who really could use it, somebody that my gosh, it can change their life, their retirement years. It may mean that they could send their kiddo to college without the burden of loans. I mean, so there’s just so many aspects to it that are really phenomenal, but just in, and the rates return and the, and the program is set by me, banks, don’t set my program, my lenders don’t set my program. It’s my program. I share that with them and it gives them all the things that they need, but I’m setting it up. So that’s really important to me.
Jay Conner
00:09:15
So I think I’m hearing you say that private money really puts you in the driver’s seat of your business, and gives you so much more control. You mentioned a moment ago that things move so much quicker. What do you mean by that? Things move so much quicker.
Crystal Baker
00:09:37
I mean, rather than trying to get a traditional mortgage wherein, it literally is back and forth. And I mean, sometimes can take, it can take months depending on what they’re missing or what they need. I literally, once my title work is done, I just have to tell the lender. And it depends if, if it’s in a self-directed IRA or if it’s a liquid capital, but essentially they just need, to see the notes. So the problem story notes de to trust, why are the funds? And we’re good to go. So depending on how long your title work takes, you’re ready to move within a couple of days, 24 to 48 hours. That’s it.
Jay Conner
01:10:17
So realistically, how fast can you close a real estate deal using private money versus 45 days or a month or two months?
Crystal Baker
01:10:29
Seven days. Realistically, that gives time for everybody to get their pieces, and parts done. Obviously, the attorney’s office, the title company, and then get the notes out and the wires did. That’s it.
Jay Conner
01:10:42
So you can close in seven days. Why is that important to you or any of the parties involved to be able to close in seven days?
Crystal Baker
01:10:54
Yeah. So typically when someone is in a position where they’re having to sell and we deal, you know, you and I, and other investors we work with, we deal a lot with people that are in crisis. So typically it’s not like they have this big plan of, and they, you know, oh, well, if it sells, it sells don’t care. I mean, they’re not thinking that way. These are people that usually have a need. And if we can get that taken care of for them quickly, that’s just all the faster they can move on and get on with their lives. They can have the money in their pocket, they can be moving on. And, and the stress of whatever this involved is now over, or at least this part of it. So that’s really incredibly important. And then, and then in addition, clearly it makes that easier, an easier decision for them in terms of accepting a deal, because if I can come in and I can get it done in seven days, then they can make a decision that makes more sense for them. Generally, they’re gonna choose that, right. They’re not gonna say, well, sure. I’ll wait for the loan that might take 45 days or so. And then how many times do those fall-through, unfortunately, more times than I can count. So it’s really, it’s very important for both of us. It takes a lot of the stress out.
Jay Conner
01:12:02
So are you saying being able to close quicker, first of all, do you get more offers accepted by being able to offer to close quickly?
Crystal Baker
01:12:12
By far? Absolutely. I have no doubt that that’s a huge driver because they’re, they’re turning down other offers.
Jay Conner
01:12:19
Right. Right. So lemme go back and unpack. Cause you have just said a, you’ve just given a lot of nuggets so far. I heard you say that private money is doing business with individuals. Yep. And not banks or institutions that include hard money lenders. So what’s the difference between private money and hard money, you know, as real estate investors, we hear those terms just thrown around so much like interchangeably, private money, hard money, private money, hard money. So what’s the difference? What are the cons? What are the pros?
Crystal Baker
01:12:59
Sure. I mean, there’s, there’s a multitude of differences. I, I think, you know, the first piece, as you just said, it’s dealing with an individual vision institution, right. From the very get-go. And we do, I hear this a lot where people will say, oh well, it’s, you know, it is private money. Well, and then they start telling me facts about it. And one of the things that they tell me is that the people are charging them points. Well, that’s not private money in our world of private money. Now it might be somebody that has built their own private lending program and they do that. But traditionally speaking the way that we look at private money would not fit under the umbrella of private money. So, my lenders don’t charge me any points. The interest rate is the interest rate. The institutions set the interest rate.
Crystal Baker
01:13:44
My private lenders do not set the interest rate. I set the interest rate. I tell them what I’m gonna pay when it comes to how the, how the aspects are, are handled. You know, understanding that the same. There are a lot of similarities. If you will, in how we treat our private lenders. So for instance, the bank takes out a mortgage, and a, and a, they have a lean on the property. We do the same thing for our private lenders. So there’s a similarity there. It’s just that we use that as a means to secure their funds and give them that equity cushion. And then honestly, I’m sure that I could go on a laundry list. You should have asked me, I would’ve written my whole list down, but from dealing in this space so long, the terms that are set are the terms that we set, not the terms that, an institution sets.
Crystal Baker
01:14:47
So for instance, how long are we gonna borrow the funds? Do we have the opportunity to re-collateralize the funds? What does it take to do that with our private lender? It literally takes, Hey well, and, and no appraisals required by my private lender. So it takes me saying, Hey, this is the CMA or R after repaired value from my realtor. And this is your equity cushion. This is how much I need to borrow. You know, are we good with that? And we can just do a quick modification and off go off the funds somewhere else. I mean, there are so many facets where it’s just people dealing with people. And whenever you’re in that situation, things are easy. There’s so much more complicated when you have all the layers that come with an institution. There are so many different hands in that pot, that the right never knows what the left is doing. It’s amazing. The different questions they come back with and the other person has already asked for that, or 12 times had it that just doesn’t happen in private money. It’s a person, it’s an interaction between us. And it’s a method by which to create win-win-win situations.
Jay Conner
01:15:50
You know, Crystal, the conversation and the information you’re sharing is so foreign to so many real estate investors. So let’s give a gift away right now. Perfect. I’m excited. I just finished writing the brand new, private money guide that Crystal’s talking about, where you set the rules, you decide on what the interest rate’s going to be. And this private money guide that you can download absolutely for free is called seven reasons why private money will skyrocket your real estate business and help you build incredible wealth. So if you wanna take control of your real estate, and investing business, have all the cash that you need for all the cash offers. Then you can download this private money guide to get you on the fast track. Even whether you’re brand new, a wholesaler, you wanna stay in some deals or you’re a seasoned real estate investor.
Jay Conner
01:16:43
You can download this absolutely for free at www.JayConner.com/MoneyGuide. That’s www.JayConner.com/MoneyGuide. Download that right after the show and get on your fast track to private money. So crystal here’s one thing that I know is a popular question. And the reason that this world of private money is just so foreign to, well, most people walking around, you said a moment ago that it’s completely unlike borrowing money from the banks. When you were borrowing money from the banks or hard money lenders, they made the rules in this world. You said you make the rules, you set the rate, and you set the length of the note. Well, how in the world does that work with an individual that would agree to do that? In other words, where do you go to find individuals that would do this kind of deal, allow you to set the term, you set the rate, and all that, where do you find these people, and who would agree to do that?
Crystal Baker
01:18:04
So you and I use the term warm market. And what we mean by that is these are individuals that know and trust us. And that’s really where you start. So you don’t have to, for all intent and purposes, you don’t have to go anywhere. You’re talking to people that you talk to on a day-to-day basis, friends, family members, those people in the community that you’re close with, people that you network with, that you have a relationship with. So anyone that you have a relationship with is a potential private lender. If they have funds that they’re not happy with the rate of return and, and or aren’t getting the kind of security that they need, they have an opportunity to invest with you. So it’s you, you’re not, you’re not going anywhere. I think people have this perception that you have to go find people that people are sitting right in your community.
Crystal Baker
01:18:52
They’re sitting at your table with you if you will. And so it’s offering that opportunity and like, you and I have spoken about many, many times this is a gift. As you said, most people don’t know that this exists. So to be able to share this takes nothing because it’s just like sharing that you had the best meal ever. You’re not gonna go hide it. So when we have an opportunity like this, to share with people, we’re gonna share with the people that are close to us, because we want them to be able to benefit from what it is that we know.
Jay Conner
01:19:24
Absolutely. I got a question for you, crystal, that I’ve never asked you. Here’s the question I wanna know. What did it feel like? How did you feel when you were able to break through and finally realize that private money was the thing that you were missing in your business?
Crystal Baker
01:19:50
You know, it’s, it’s freeing, right? So I think, you know, the gift that any of us have is the, is freedom, freedom to choose, to do whatever. And, and I feel like the greatest gift is time. And so being able to implement something like this that can change your life is it’s amazing. It just, it just opens up a whole new world of possibilities. There are so many things that you think of that you can do that just didn’t occur to you before, because before it was a push, fight through this, try to get that, try to shift this that way. And I’m a creative brain. So I love that to a certain degree, but when it comes to points where, you know, you can’t help people, it hurts, and it also affects you and your business and being able to support my family. As we all know, I have two little people that I take care of by myself. So just really a beautiful experience of just that freedom that you just didn’t can’t experience otherwise, because you don’t have that many choices, this opens up all the possibilities.
Jay Conner
02:20:53
So when you first started raising private money, did you initially, and maybe you did, and maybe you didn’t. Did you initially feel like you were chasing people trying to sell people on an idea or did you start right out the gate of, you know, I’m just gonna teach ’em what this is all about?
Crystal Baker
02:21:18
So I wish I had been involved enough to say that it was easy and I just felt that way. And I just, and I didn’t second guess it that, but that would be untrue. And to me, it’s really important that other people understand that it wasn’t that easy for me because if you’ve ever experienced this or you’re looking to do this, you may have that same feeling. So I, I, I want to be transparent and say, I struggled in the beginning because I really did feel like, and I’ll tell you why it was because I had a need, I had a need, I needed private money. And so I was thinking about myself and what would, what did I need to make happen in order to take this next step in my life and in my business and, and move forward. And it was recognizing that I had a gift to give to someone else and that there was a service that I stopped feeling like I was chasing or begging. And I would say that I didn’t really ever do that, but the perception was there for me. So being able to release that and say, oh my goodness, I’m just sharing. I’m just sharing the most amazing information and an opportunity that others just won’t have. That was when I crossed the bridge. And, and it wasn’t about, you know, feeling like I was trying to sell someone or, you know, there are no sales, it’s all about service. It’s all about serving someone else.
Jay Conner
02:22:43
How long did it take you to go from that feeling of, I’m trying to talk somebody into something, maybe you feel desperate or felt desperate, cuz you had a deal and you needed private money or, or not? But how long did it take to go from the feeling of I’m desperate and you know, it’s, I need your money to, Hey, I’ve got a program, I’ve got an opportunity to where you can make really high rates of returns safely and securely. And if you’re interested, great, if you’re not in understood, that’s fine too.
Crystal Baker
02:23:18
I, you know, had the great pleasure of being able to work side by side with you in learning this process. So that was truly a gift to me in that we had a session where we talked about some of those things that were, you know, a struggle right with overcoming the mindsets of it and really getting to a better space. So it took me about three months. So I, I spent about three months sort of cycling in that space, struggling internally. It was starting to reflect externally, not to take action and things like that and really taking ownership and, and flipping the script and recognizing I can just bring my servant’s heart to this. I don’t have to need anything because this is such an opportunity. What, what is, what’s the downside? I’m not asking someone, to go sign up for, you know, some pyramid scheme that I know they’re gonna get taken advantage of.
Crystal Baker
02:24:10
I know that I’m putting people in the best position possible. And I share that in that one of my early private lenders was my parents. So who’s going to drag their parents into something terrible. They’re not, they’re gonna, they’re gonna put them in the best position possible. And that changed my life and my perception. And to be able to help people that you know, are struggling that are that close to you. You can’t help, but want to share this with as many people as possible. So I guess it was that early window. And then once I, once I recognized that I wasn’t thinking about it right then it was entirely different.
Jay Conner
02:24:50
You mentioned a moment ago that you view in talking with new potential private lenders, that you really have a gift for them. And explain that a little bit more, go, go a little bit deeper. How is it that private money, or offering an opportunity for someone to be your private lender? How is it that that is a gift for them?
Crystal Baker
02:25:18
So I’m gonna go ahead and use an example because I think that best illustrates what I’m trying to share. And that is when I learned about this, I went and I, you know, I started talking to the people that I knew and I shared it with my family and my, my dad went through at, at a place that was near his retirement, went through the crisis that was in 2008. And so he had basically everything tied up in his 401k and he had, he had lost a ton and he had worked so, so very hard. My dad was a journeyman’s machinist and he literally taught me the gift of your work, you work for every dollar. That’s what you do. And when Moore’s required you to do the more, and he went through all of that, and now he’s at a place where he is facing retirement and decided he had to work longer in order to do that.
Crystal Baker
02:26:13
And then ultimately finally made the decision to retire, but they weren’t in the position where they had expected to be. So we talked about it and he said, well, well, kiddo, what do you think? What do you think I can do? Cause I’d like to do this. And just before doing it, my mom had gotten sick and she was struggling. And, and I have a younger sibling who they’ve always had lived with them because she’s had health issues and they couldn’t go up and down the stairs anymore. And they had a two-story house. So they needed to move into one story home at that point, you know, okay. We worked through all the logistics and got it done. Now my dad has a house payment. In addition to where he was, well, he was able to take funds, and invest, and he pays ahead his mortgage based on the payments that I pay him.
Crystal Baker
02:27:05
So one, he maintains the pride that, I mean, my dad’s a prideful, man. He grew up in an era where, you know, you certainly don’t ask anyone for anything. He invests. He makes money with me. He takes that money. He pays ahead on his house payment. So he’s paid it down. It’ll be paid in less than half the time it’s expected. They’ve also been able to do renovations on the house to make it safer for them to install a walk-in shower, change the cabinet Heights, and things like that. So to me, there isn’t a price tag. There isn’t even, I mean, the gift doesn’t even feel like the right word. They can go out to dinner every week now because they want to, I want, I want that for them. What a blessing. They don’t have to spend every last dime and pinch every penny and worry that they won’t make it to the next paycheck.
Crystal Baker
02:27:55
They have a life that, you know, gosh, I, I, I know that’s what they had dreamed of, but wasn’t looking like it was possible and now they have that. And so that happens for so many families that we work with. Not just my parents, not just people that, you know, not just my family, but my friends or people that I’ve met through friends or through networking, it’s changed their lives. The way that the things were, you know, the complexion of things looked, looked completely different. So to me, yes, that’s a gift. I know that they wouldn’t be able to do that. Otherwise, I know they wouldn’t have the right security. I know they wouldn’t make the kind of returns that we give them. I know that they wouldn’t have the comfort level of working with someone that they know and trust, and they get to sit back and, and they get money. They get, they collect checks and it changes their lives. It changes what they can choose to do. And to me, that is just a blessing and a gift.
Jay Conner
02:28:46
Yeah. The story you just shared reminds me of how Carol joy and I have received over the years, multiple handwritten, thank you notes in the mail from our private lenders, thanking us for changing their retirement years. For the same reason you just said, in fact, one particular couple I can think of shared that or they didn’t tell us. They told friends of theirs and their friends told us that if it hadn’t been for the private money program and being able to invest, you know, in real estate with us, they would not have been able to travel to go see their grandchildren. They wouldn’t have been able to, like you just said, go out to eat whenever they wanted to unless they had been given the opportunity to, you know, get involved in this thing that we call private money. Chris, I got another question for you.
Jay Conner
02:29:41
I’ve never asked you. I’m curious to know. And that is, you know, you mentioned that those first three months that you had learned about private money that you struggled somewhat of, you sort of felt like you were trying to talk somebody into something because you actually needed private money, I assume for a deal. So a much even bigger and deeper question than this go back even to your first days of 1996, go back to, you know, when you really decided to get really, really serious about real estate investing in single-family houses, I’m interested in knowing what was the lowest point in your business since you started investing. And did you really ever consider just giving up and just sticking with the day job?
Crystal Baker
03:30:35
Yeah, the lowest point was when it was prior to, to this part, it was prior to private money. It, was after I became a single mom and, oh, whew. You asked a tough one cuz this one’s, this is a little tough. I haven’t really talked a lot about this, but when, even though I made a lot, I made really good money as a therapist, but you know, a lot goes out when you have kids and you’re trying to keep them involved in things and have to pay for before and after care and daycare and all those kinds of things. And unfortunately, you know, my ex-husband, wasn’t very responsible with money. And so, and when he left, he, he had left his job. And so it was on me to try to figure out what to do. And so I had, you know, a house to pay for my kids, all the other expenses that were ongoing, trying to figure out how to manage some of the things that he created in debt.
Crystal Baker
03:31:39
And, and so I started looking at real estate again and I was really having a hard time navigating where I fit with all of it, trying to figure out how to do this term stuff, which really wasn’t my history. And, and wondering if it was ever gonna, was it gonna get to a place where I just never did have freedom? I was gonna have to just keep working like this in order to maintain any sort of civility, like a roof over our head and food in our mouth. I mean, and, and that’s not extras. I had, I had turned off, we had no cable, we didn’t have internet, everything was off. And, and I just thought, and, and, and this sort of links into another story, but you know, I was working so hard to make this work. And I was on my porch trying to take calls and negotiate with people.
Crystal Baker
03:32:32
And my kids were crying and hanging on me. They followed me from upstairs all the way outside. And I thought you know, is this even worth it? I mean, we can make it, we’ll get by, but is this even worth it? And it literally, broke my heart. Cause I thought, you know, making it meant that I was gonna, my kids were gonna be raised by daycare. There was no doubt about it. I wasn’t gonna have a quality of life with them. I was on the computer pretty much, 24 7. There was always someone on the phone that needed something. You don’t, you don’t manage clinics and people don’t have needs and look for you. And that was the moment where I was like, I’ve gotta figure out a different way to make this work that has some ease to it. That’s gonna make this move forward. Cuz it was, I was definitely questioning the possibility. I mean, anybody that’s tried to negotiate and work only in terms knows that it’s tough from deal to deal, to really work with people and get them to understand and to get them to convert. So that was tough.
Jay Conner
03:33:32
Yeah. Thank you for sharing that because a lot of real estate investors haven’t even, you know, gone through the journey yet, maybe wondering how that goes. Some that are on the journey may be experiencing that. But on the other side of that coin, when I ask you this question, something’s gonna come to mind just like that. And I want you to answer just the first thing that comes to mind, what was, and has been the brightest point in your real estate investing career,
Crystal Baker
03:34:03
Walking away from my career and being able to be a hundred percent, whatever I need to be, be there for my kids, travel, see things we wouldn’t have ever seen spend time together. We would never have spent. I homeschool my kids. I get to hang out on a day-to-day basis. I can choose to work from home. I can go to my office. I can work from anywhere, in the world if I want. And I do. We, we go all over. We do so many things. So just the fact that we have this beautiful life and all these experiences, I mean, even, even the community we get to live in that’s because of what happened is because I, I knew how to do it and I could coordinate that. And I had the funds and I was, it was available that we were able to, to live where we live and my kids begged me every day not to move. So
Jay Conner
03:34:52
That’s awesome. Well, if you were starting all over again from scratch, what would you do differently in your business?
Crystal Baker
03:35:01
If I were studying from scratch, I had the great benefit of having heard this information. I would find the money I would, I would get out, I would get private money. I would learn how to do it. I would hire a coach and do it because without it, oh my goodness left for our own devices. It’s frightening. But I would, that’s what I would do. I would hire somebody who could help teach me the business and I would start with private money. I would start there. I, I, I wouldn’t lie to you and say, I would give up terms. I love what’s available to me, but I would learn about private money first. And I would implement that. And just having that strategy alone would make all the difference, in how much easier this business is. There’s so much less struggle because they’re, well, because there isn’t a struggle, you just literally are helping other people and you’re helping you to get your things done and you’re helping the seller to get it purchased in the way that they wanna sell. And I mean, so it’s easy so that I would start there.
Jay Conner
03:36:07
Well, crystal, I got two questions left for you and I’ll let you go. So I’ll tell you what both questions are. Then, next to the last question is, well, when is the best time to be raising private money? And when’s the worst time to be raising private money. And the last question is, is final advice that you wanna share.
Crystal Baker
03:36:26
So the best time to be raising private money is when you don’t need private money. So mean, I mean that’s and
Jay Conner
03:36:34
Why is that? Why is that?
Crystal Baker
03:36:37
Because here’s the thing is when you’re getting ready to, you’ve got a, something under contract you’re working through a purchase. The last thing you wanna be doing is trying to find private money to fund that deal. You wanna have private money in the queue so that you can go out, find a deal that fits, get it invested and keep it moving. You don’t want the opposite to be true because there’s not any guarantee at that point, if you’ve just started that you’ll have it in the amount of time that you need. And, or of course, to meet the criteria that you’ve set up, the, the terms that you’ve said you can meet. So the last thing you wanna be is trying to find it when, when you’ve already got something under contract and you’re trying to get it to a close,
Jay Conner
03:37:16
Makes a lot of sense. Well, I’m gonna let you leave the final words of advice.
Crystal Baker
03:37:22
So I would say one, trust your gut. We don’t ever give it enough credit to hire a coach. That’s one of the, probably if I had to say like the major basis for my success was getting the right coach in place and people probably don’t even know that are listening to this. But Jay, I actually hired Jay to coach and mentor me in the beginning. And that was a huge difference maker. And I hired other coaches and mentors. So I’d say get the right coach and mentor, cuz that makes the difference. And then finally I would say, you know, lead with love, lead with a servant’s heart. Always make sure that when you are doing anything, but that first, don’t worry. The less you worry about yourself, the more you worried about others, then the less you do have to worry about yourself. Things will come together. There’s this beautiful synergy to that, do that and, and investigate this world of private money because it’s so amazing how different it can make your business look, but really lead with love, lead with your heart because that’s what, that’s what this world needs anyway. But it is the difference between you being successful in this space or struggling.
Jay Conner
03:38:43
Well, crystal, thank you so much for not only leading with your heart but sharing your heart on today’s show. I really appreciate it. And no doubt people want to connect with you and continue the conversation. And you’re still a very, very active investor. And some of ’em may have a piece of real estate. They wanna sell out in your neck of the woods. Where are you located physically and geographically and where do you invest?
Crystal Baker
03:39:10
Sure. So I am in Virginia. I live on what they call Hampton roads or south Hampton roads. We’re near Virginia Beach. I invest in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Smithfield, Suffolk, Franklin, Iowa, white county, Windsor Carrollton, all around there. And a couple of the counties that are in North Carolina. So I’m in, I predominantly invest in the gates county area in North Carolina.
Jay Conner
03:39:39
Awesome. And I would also say that you may be interested in some more private money yourself and more private lenders. So if you are interested in doing business with crystal baker and being a private lender for her, you can certainly see the kind of heart she’s got. She’s already got millions and millions in private money. And if you’re looking for a high rate of return safely and securely crystal baker, I can’t think of a better person to do business with than her. So crystal, how can people get in contact with you?
Crystal Baker
04:40:18
Absolutely. So you can find my website at www.CGNHomeBuyers.com. It’s up on the screen. So see for crystal G for my son, Gavin, and for my daughter Neya you can also find me on social media. So Facebook, Instagram, and oh gosh, I can’t even think of what the other social media faces are in that terrible, but I’m it’s CG and home buyers in those spaces. So take a look there, connect with me, reach out, and send me a message on messenger. I would be happy to start a conversation with you and find out how we could, could work together in any way that I can help you.
Jay Conner
04:40:57
That’s awesome, crystal. Thank you so much.
Crystal Baker
04:41:00
My pleasure. Thanks for having me always.
Jay Conner
04:41:02
You bet you well there you have it. My friend, thank you for joining in for another show, the raising private money show I’m Jay Connor, the private money authority, your host, and I just really appreciate you tuning in. I also really appreciate your liking and I need your help. I need your help if you know someone and you probably do that could really benefit from the information that crystal just shared on this show. Be sure and share this show was someone that, you know, it would make a difference if you happen to be watching on YouTube, be sure and click that bell, that notification so that you don’t miss out on any more of the amazing shows that we have coming up. I really appreciate your five-star reviews and, and all that kind of good stuff. So I’m Jay Conner looking forward to seeing you right here on the next show and here’s to taking your business to the next level.
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