How I Actually Funded My First Deals

Here’s what I’d do differently today.

Author

Brittany Bell
July 21, 2025

Hey bestieee,

I always want to be transparent about how I got started in real estate…

**Plot Twist It’s NOT that Exciting** lol

I invested my own money.

(I know your probably thinking WTF where is the real tea if I have little to no $)

Yep. I know. Seems crazy. I took the risk with my own $$ first.

My first fix & flip? Funded with cash I made from trading.
My first single family homes in our portfolio? Money made from wholesaling.
My first multifamily that was a 17-unit? I invested $286K of my own money.

And let me tell you → you don’t HAVE to do it this way 😭😭

I simply didn’t know what I was doing nor how to maximize a ‘return’ on my $$

Here’s what I learned fast:

Using only my own money was gonna cap how far I could grow.

I went to a Grant Cardone event back in 2022 and realized:

The big players scale by using other people’s money.

→ They raise capital.

→ They partner.

→ They structure creative deals.

Why would you not do the exact same thing?

Grant Cardone 10x

So if I could go back?

→ I would have started raising money way sooner.
→ I’d pitch investors.
→ I’d keep my own cash safe for opportunities and emergencies.

Here’s how YOU can do it differently:

✅ Private Investors.
→ Pitch people who want good returns but don’t want to do the work themselves.

✅ Hard Money Lenders.
→ Find a property deeply discounted through a motivated seller and use a HML to fund it with little of your own money.

✅ Creative Financing.
→ Use the seller as the bank. Negotiate terms so you get into the property with little to no cash upfront.

I originally scaled our single family portfolio by using creative financing and looking for off-market deals where I could structure better terms + deeply discounted prices.

💡 Brittany’s Takeaway:

1. You don’t have to have millions to get into the game.

2. You just have to know how to structure the deal and who to talk to.

But let’s take it a step further.

My challenge for you this week:

→ Write down 3 people you know who might want to invest in real estate.
→ Think about how you’d pitch them if you found the perfect deal.

Want to learn how to pitch your first investor?
Reply and tell me your biggest fear about raising money.

Oh and if you read this far.. Join the Conversation for free if you haven’t already..

Let’s get you making moves without draining your bank account.

— Brittany Bell
Your investor bestie who learned to scale smarter 💸

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