Real Estate Secrets for Financial Independence with Jay Conner

Real Estate Secrets for Financial Independence with Jay Conner

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Welcome back to The Daily Mastermind, George Wright III here with your daily dose of inspiration, motivation, and education.

And we're gonna talk a little bit about money today.

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Meet Jay Conner: The Private Money Authority

So we are excited to have a special guest on the podcast. His name's Jay Conner. Jay, how are you?

I am fantastic, George, and let me tell you, I’m so excited to be here. I’ll tell you why—because we’re gonna be talking about private money. And I’m so excited about it because it’s had more of an impact on my real estate investing business than any other strategy I’ve employed since 2003.

I love this because I have so many… you know, we have a lot of CEOs, owners, entrepreneurs as part of our listening audience, and they’re so busy building their business and growing—but they don’t spend enough time on their investing and strategies.

So just for people that don’t know you—look, you really are the private money authority. You’ve raised tons of money, you do hundreds of deals… but at the end of the day, folks, I want you to realize Jay's a national speaker, real estate coach, and the author of Where to Get the Money Now.

And we’re gonna be talking about all of that today, but also kind of getting to know him and what he's got going on. I was pretty impressed, which is why we've got this going.

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Jay’s Journey into Private Money

Sure. Thank you, George. Well, my wife Carol Joy and I, we live here in eastern North Carolina—in a really, really small town called Morehead City near Atlantic Beach. My total population target market, where I buy single-family houses, is only about 40,000 people.

Now, we’ve been so blessed. Over the past 12 months, our average profit per deal is $86,000. I don’t share that to brag—I share that to make a point. I’d much rather be a big fish in a small pond than compete with all the other real estate investors in a crowded space.

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The 2009 Financial Crisis and a New Path

Well, here’s what happened, George. From 2003 until January of 2009, all I knew to do to get funding for my real estate deals was go to the local bank or mortgage company. I’d get on my hands and knees and say, “Please fund my deal.” The banker would dig into all my personal assets, credit scores, appraisals—I had to play by all their rules.

That worked okay for the first six years, until everything changed in January 2009.

I was sitting right here at my desk. I called up Steve, my banker—he’d funded a ton of deals for me—and told him about two properties I had under contract. These were big opportunities, over $100,000 in profit.

That’s when he told me over the phone that the bank had closed my line of credit.

I said, “Steve, what in the world are you telling me? You closed my line of credit?”

He said, “Jay, don’t you know there’s a global financial crisis going on right now?”

I said, “No, but you just gave me a financial crisis.”

He said, “Sorry, we’re not loaning money out.”

Well, I hung up the phone and sat here at my desk, stunned. And then I asked myself a really powerful question that changed everything.

What was that question?

I said, “Jay, who do you know that can help fix your problem of losing all your funds for your real estate deals?”

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Discovering Private Money

I immediately thought of a friend—Jeff Blankenship, who lived in Greensboro, North Carolina. I called him up, told him what happened.

Jeff said, “Well Jay, welcome to the club.”

I said, “What club is that?”

He said, “The club of losing your line of credit. My bank cut me off last week.”

I said, “Well Jeff, how are you going to fund your real estate deals?”

He said, “Well, have you ever heard of private money?”

I said, “No.”

He said, “Have you ever heard of self-directed IRAs and how people can use their retirement funds to loan us money, and we pay them interest—either tax-deferred or tax-free?”

I said, “Jeff, I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”

He said, “Well, I really don’t know either, but there’s this gentleman down in Jacksonville, Florida named Ron LeGrand, and he can teach us how to get private money.”

‍So what happened next?

That’s when I went to my very first real estate investing conference in February of 2009. I learned what private money was—and more importantly, how to get it.

When I came back home, I put the right mindset on. You know, people ask me all the time, “How do you get started in real estate?” I tell them, “You’ve got to own the real estate between your ears.”

So I decided I wasn’t going to ask anyone for money. I wasn’t going to chase or beg. What I was going to do was put together my opportunity, put on my teacher hat, and go teach people what private money is and how it works.

And what happened when you did that?

In less than 90 days, I raised a little over $2 million in new funding.

To this day, I have 47 private lenders who are funding our real estate deals—and not one of them had heard of private money or how to use retirement funds as lenders until I taught them.

And the key to all of this? I never asked for money. I taught people about the opportunity. And I’ve never had to beg or sell a single deal.

I love that. So much of what you just said resonates because most investors rely too heavily on the external: banks, institutions, or lenders. But your story is about taking back control. And not only did it create certainty during uncertain times—but it’s allowed you to weather every type of market cycle since.

And the way you approach it—teaching, not asking—is brilliant. I want to dig into that further. For someone listening who’s thinking, “Where do I even start?”—what would you say is the next step?

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Raising Private Money: Strategies and Success

First off, I’d say one of the most valuable things I can share is how this strategy really serves people. I’m not just borrowing money—I’m providing individuals with an opportunity. And I think the best way to illustrate that is to walk through the exact script I use with my private lenders.

Let’s do it. I love that. Let’s walk through the actual phone call. Set the stage.

All right, George. Let’s do a little role play. You just need to nod and go along—we’ll keep it simple.

Let’s assume that you and I have been friends for a while. Maybe we go to church together. We’ve already got the trust and likability in place.

Let’s also assume I’ve already shared my private lending program with you. You know I pay 8% interest, no points. You know I never borrow more than 75% of the after-repair value—ARV—not purchase price. And you’ve got $150,000 sitting in a 401(k) from a previous employer.

You decided to roll that money over into a self-directed IRA, with the custodian I introduced you to. Now that it’s sitting there, you’re just waiting for me to bring you an opportunity.

A couple of weeks go by, and I give you a call.

I’m with you. Go ahead.

So here’s what I say on the phone—verbatim. This is my “Good News Phone Call.”

“George, I’ve got great news for you. I can now put your money to work. I’ve got a house under contract in Newport with an after-repair value of $200,000. The funding required for the deal is $150,000—which matches up perfectly with what you have available. Closing is next Friday, so you’ll need to have your funds wired from your retirement account to my real estate attorney’s trust account by next Thursday. My attorney will email you the wiring instructions.”

That’s it. That’s the entire conversation.

That’s so smooth. You’re not asking, you’re presenting. You’ve already pre-framed everything. There’s no reason for them to object. It’s just a matter of when and where.

Exactly. And there are three big reasons why the lender—like you in this example—is thrilled to do the deal:

1. You already trusted me enough to move your funds into a self-directed IRA.
2. You know I’m not bringing you anything unless it meets the exact program terms I already taught you.
3. And you’re not making a dime until your money goes to work. I’m ethically obligated to help you get your return.

I love that. So what’s the biggest challenge people face when trying to implement this? Where do they find these lenders in the first place?

Great question. I teach people that there are three main categories of private lenders:

1. Your warm market—your personal connections: friends, family, people in your phone, golf buddies, church group, social media.
2. Your expanded warm market—people you meet through networking. For example, I’ve raised millions through my local BNI chapter—Business Network International. I volunteered to be the education coordinator, which gave me five minutes to speak every week, instead of just 30 seconds.
3. Existing private lenders—these are people already doing private lending. You can find them by digging through public records, but a better way is through self-directed IRA custodians.

These IRA custodians host virtual and in-person networking events filled with people who want to be passive lenders. Most of them want to invest but don’t want to deal with tenants, toilets, or turnover. They’re looking for real estate investors they can trust.

So smart. And for those listening, this isn’t hard money lending. These are private individuals. No brokers. No middlemen. You’re doing one-on-one business with people looking for a better return.

Exactly. When you’re working with individuals, you control the terms. There’s no credit checks, no loan limits, and you’re not regulated by the SEC because it’s asset-backed lending, not unsecured debt. You’re always in control.

Love that. All right, we’re getting to the end of our time, but I want to ask—what made you pivot from just doing deals to teaching, writing a book, and coaching other investors? What inspired that shift?

Great question, George. Back in January 2011, my real estate business was humming along. I had a full team, everything was automated, and frankly—I was bored.

I called my mentor, Ron LeGrand, and said, “Ron, I don’t know what’s next. My business is on autopilot.”

He asked, “Well, what are you really good at?”

I said, “Raising private money. Lots of it. Fast.”

He said, “Then teach people how to do that.”

That’s when I started hosting events and coaching. And let me tell you—nothing compares to watching people’s lives transform. I think of students like Eric and Erica Cardell who retired early, or Crystal Baker who quit her six-figure job. It’s meaningful. It’s purpose.

‍That’s powerful, man. I completely relate. After decades of working with business leaders and building companies, I’ve found that one of the most fulfilling things is giving back—helping others skip the mistakes and get results faster. So thank you for doing that.

Well said, George. It’s all about impact. Once you’ve created freedom for yourself, it’s only natural to want to help others do the same—especially when you can save them from years of trial and error. That’s why I wrote my book, Where to Get the Money Now, and started hosting my Private Money Conferences. I wanted to create a way for people to learn the system I use every day in my own investing business.

I love it. And I want our audience to take action too. So let’s do this—where can they go to get that book and learn more about your programs?

It’s easy. Just go to www.jayconner.com/book. I’ll ship you a free physical copy of the book—autographed and everything. You just cover the shipping. I’ll also include two complimentary tickets to my upcoming Private Money Conference, which is a $3,000 value.

This book isn’t a teaser or sales pitch—it’s the actual blueprint I use to raise millions in private money, deal after deal, since 2009.

That’s such a solid offer. For everyone listening, I highly encourage you to take Jay up on that. If you’re trying to create freedom—if you’re serious about building long-term wealth—you can’t just rely on savings or the stock market. Private money is a game-changer, especially in uncertain times.

Absolutely. And to your point, George, timing is important. People always ask, “Is now the right time to raise money or invest?” And my answer is simple—there is never a bad time to have access to capital. When you control the money, you control the deals. When the market is hot, you can act fast. When the market is down, you can take advantage of opportunities while others are sitting on the sidelines.

Having capital available makes you powerful, no matter what’s happening in the economy.

Couldn’t agree more. You’ve got to take control of your economy. Stop waiting for lenders to approve you. Stop waiting for the perfect market condition. Start building the life you want now. And like I always say—

It’s never too late to start creating the life you were meant to live.

Jay, thank you so much for being here. It’s been a real pleasure. And for all our listeners—hit that subscribe button, share this episode with a friend, and definitely check out Jay’s book and training. I’ll drop the link in the show notes. Let’s build our confidence, control our capital, and create the life we want.

Thanks again, George. It’s been a blast.

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About Guest:

Jay Conner, a real estate investor, struggled with bank restrictions and lost funding during a market downturn. Seeking alternatives, he explored creative strategies and eventually developed his own funding system. This led to $250,000 from his first prospect and over $2 million shortly after, launching his "Where To Get The Money Now" system that transformed his investing success.

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Guest Resources:

Official Website: https://www.jayconner.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jay_conner_private_money/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jay.conner.marketing/

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About George Wright III:

George Wright is a Proven, Successful Entrepreneur- and he knows how to inspire entrepreneurs, companies, and individuals to achieve Massive Results. With more than 20 years of Executive Management experience and 25 years of Direct Marketing and Sales experience, George is responsible for starting and building several successful multimillion-dollar companies. He started at a very young age to network and build his experience and knowledge of what it takes to become a driven and well-known entrepreneur. George built a multi-million-dollar seminar business, promoting some of the biggest stars and brands in the world. He has accelerated the success and cash flow in each of his ventures through his network of resources and results driven strategies. George is now dedicated to teaching and sharing his Prosperity Principles and Strategies to every Driven and Passionate Entrepreneur he meets. His mission is to Empower Entrepreneurs Globally to create Massive Change and LIVE their Ultimate Destiny.

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