Real estate investing is often promoted as a path to wealth and financial freedom—and for good reason. But here’s a hard truth that doesn’t always make it into the highlight reel: you need access to money to make it work. Whether you’re flipping houses, building a rental portfolio, or even wholesaling deals, real estate is a capital-intensive business. And without money—or access to it—your ability to grow or even get started will be limited.

Now, let’s be clear: we’re talking about access to money, not necessarily your own money. That’s an important distinction. You don’t have to be sitting on a mountain of cash to break into real estate. But you do need a plan for how you’re going to fund your deals.

Here are a few common ways real estate investors get access to capital:

• Private lenders – Individuals who are willing to lend their money for a return, often at better rates and terms than traditional banks.

• Friends and family – People who believe in you and your business can be an initial funding source.

• Seller financing – Some sellers are willing to hold a note and let you pay them over time.

• Home equity line of credit (HELOC) – If you own a home with equity, you can tap into it to fund deals.

• Business or personal lines of credit – A flexible option if you’ve built up good credit or have established business income.

• Credit cards or cash advances – Riskier options, but sometimes used to cover short-term capital needs.

No matter what strategy you pursue—whether it’s wholesaling, buy-and-hold, or fix-and-flip—you’ll need some level of funding. Even the leanest strategies require money for marketing, earnest money deposits, inspections, or carrying costs.

The bottom line? You can’t build a real estate business without money—it’s the fuel that keeps everything running. If you don’t have your own funds to put in, that just means you’ll need to work a little harder and get creative about where the money will come from. Build relationships, improve your credit, learn how to present deals to potential lenders—do whatever it takes to get access to capital.

Because once you solve the money problem, the doors to opportunity swing wide open.