Creative Financing in Real Estate: Solving Deals Outside the Traditional Box
Suzanne Sharkey returns to explain creative finance, hard money, private money, seller needs, ethics, and why some real estate deals require a different path.
8/12/20264 min read
Not every real estate situation fits inside the traditional box.
That is the heart of this episode of Real Estate Connections, where Mary Foerster welcomes back Suzanne Sharkey, a fourth-generation real estate investor, developer, and founder of Creative Elite.
Suzanne was previously on the show in Episode 24 to talk about renovating distressed houses with quality and integrity. In this follow-up conversation, she returns to talk about creative finance, the “quiet side” of real estate that many buyers, sellers, and even real estate professionals do not fully understand.
Creative finance can involve hard money, private money, off-market deals, distressed properties, foreclosure pressure, existing debt, and unusual circumstances that do not work well with traditional lending.
But Suzanne’s perspective is clear: creative finance is not about shortcuts. It is about problem-solving.
What Is Creative Finance?
Suzanne describes creative finance as stepping outside the traditional real estate box.
Traditional lending exists for a reason. It provides structure, standards, and protections. But sometimes the traditional path does not work for a particular buyer, seller, property, timeline, or financial situation.
A property may be distressed.
A seller may be under pressure.
A family may need help.
There may be debt, liens, repairs, probate, foreclosure risk, or a timeline that does not fit a standard sale.
Creative finance looks at the situation and asks whether there is another way forward.
That does not mean anything goes. In fact, Suzanne is very clear that this is exactly where ethics, transparency, and trusted professionals matter most.
The Seller’s Needs Come First
One of Suzanne’s most important points is that a creative real estate transaction should begin with the needs of the seller.
Not the buyer.
Not the investor.
Not the person trying to make the deal work for themselves.
The seller.
Suzanne says that if you cannot identify and meet the seller’s needs, you do not have a transaction.
That is an important distinction because many creative finance situations involve stress. A seller may be facing foreclosure, a difficult property condition, probate, grief, an unwanted home, or a financial deadline.
In those moments, ethical problem-solving matters.
Hard Money vs Private Money
Mary and Suzanne also talk about the difference between hard money and private money.
Suzanne explains hard money as a more institutional type of lending. These lenders may move faster than a traditional mortgage company and may lend on distressed properties that need repairs. They often consider the borrower, the deal, the property, and whether the money can be repaid with interest.
Hard money can be useful for investors, but it is usually more expensive than traditional lending.
Private money is different. Suzanne describes it as more person-to-person. For example, someone with funds available through an IRA or another source may lend directly into a deal. The investor may save money compared with a hard money lender, while the private lender earns a return on their money.
Both require careful planning, documentation, and professional guidance.
Real Estate Is Not One-Size-Fits-All
A major theme of the episode is that real estate is not one-size-fits-all.
Traditional real estate works well for many people. A seller lists a home. A buyer gets a mortgage. The transaction closes.
But not every property or seller fits that model.
Suzanne shares examples from her own experience, including a property headed toward auction after a seller had stopped making payments following the death of her husband. In that situation, the property was not simply a house. It was tied to grief, debt, timing, foreclosure pressure, and the need for a different solution.
That is where creative finance can become part of the conversation.
Ethics Matter in Creative Finance
Because creative finance can involve fewer standard pathways, it requires a strong ethical foundation.
Suzanne talks about caring about her name, her friendships, her work, and the people involved in a deal. She wants all parties to be watched out for and for the transaction to be successful.
That matters because creative finance can be misunderstood. It can sound glamorous, fast, or exciting. But if people do not understand the risks, documentation, responsibilities, and long-term consequences, things can go wrong.
This is why Suzanne emphasizes solid practitioners, trusted professionals, and transparency.
Talk to People
One of Suzanne’s simplest and strongest pieces of advice is this:
Talk to people.
If someone is trying to solve a real estate problem, the answer may not appear immediately. But conversations can open doors. A trusted professional may know another professional. A lender may know an option. A real estate investor may understand a path that a traditional buyer does not. A conservative financial person may help test whether an idea is sound.
Suzanne says real estate is a team sport.
That does not mean trusting everyone. Mary rightly points out that people need to be careful in investment groups and around people who may be strong salespeople but not necessarily the right advisors.
The key is building a network of trusted, ethical, competent people.
Solving the Ugliest Problems
Suzanne is drawn to the most complicated properties. She describes being interested in the “ugliest of ugly” because those are often the homes with the greatest heartache, trouble, and problems to solve.
That is a powerful way to understand her work.
For Suzanne, distressed real estate is not only about the property. It is about the story behind the property, the person who needs help, the community that could benefit from a restored home, and the creativity required to find a way forward.
A Word of Caution
Creative finance can be useful, but it is not something to approach casually.
This episode is for education and discussion only. Anyone considering private lending, hard money, buying with existing debt in place, foreclosure-related transactions, or creative real estate deals should work with qualified legal, tax, financial, lending, and real estate professionals.
The right team matters.
Final Thought
Creative finance is not about escaping the rules.
It is about recognizing that traditional real estate does not solve every problem.
When done with integrity, transparency, and professional guidance, creative finance can create solutions where the standard path does not work.
Suzanne Sharkey’s message is practical, passionate, and human:
Start with the seller’s needs.
Talk to people.
Build a trusted team.
Be ethical.
Keep moving forward one step at a time.
Guest and Resource Links
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suzanneksharkey
Company: Creative Elite