The Science of Flipping
F*ck Big Banks: How This Man is Flipping the Lending System | Tim Herriage
Fri, 4 Apr 2025
In this episode, I sit down with my good friend and industry powerhouse Tim Herriage, the founder of Ternus. We dive deep into how he went from helping bring Wall Street money into real estate to now flipping the script and decentralizing the entire lending model. Tim shares how Ternus is making real estate investing easier and faster with 100% financing, 24-hour draw payments, and a no-nonsense, people-first approach. We talk about why he built Ternus for real investors—by real investors—and how anyone, not just institutions, can now own a piece of the lending game through their new crowdfunding model. If you're tired of big banks and slow lenders, this episode is for you. -- About Tim Herriage: Tim Herriage is a seasoned real estate entrepreneur and investor with over two decades of experience in the industry. As the Founder and CEO of Ternus, he leads a company dedicated to providing fast and reliable capital to real estate investors, emphasizing a partnership approach to help clients build wealth and create lasting legacies. Resources & Links: Learn more & apply: https://ternus.comInvest & become a shareholder: https://invest.ternus.com Instagram: @timherriage LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timherriage YouTube: youtube.com/c/timherriage Facebook: facebook.com/herriage -- Thank you to our partners for supporting today's episode! Empowered Investor LIVE! - Take control of your financial future with top real estate experts, builders, lenders, and investors. Join Us at Empowered Investor Live – April 4-6, 2025, in Irvine, CA! Spots are limited – grab your ticket now! 👉 Get Tickets Joe Homebuyer – Want to scale your real estate business fast? Get expert training, weekly coaching, and a proven system to close more deals. High achievers even qualify for luxury rewards! Learn more at joehomebuyer.com. 📊 Quality Skip – More accurate data means more deals! Get premium skip tracing for just 6 cents per match and connect with the right sellers every time. Use code "SOF" for 10% off at qualityskip.com! Mando Whole Body Deodorant – Stay fresh and confident with Mando's doctor-developed, aluminum-free deodorant. Clinically proven to block odor for up to 72 hours, it's safe for use anywhere on your body. Use code 'COLBY' for $5 off a Starter Pack! -- About Justin: After investing in real estate for over 17 years and almost 3000 deals done, Justin has created a business that generates 7 figures in active income through wholesaling and fix and flipping as well as accumulating millions of dollars of rental properties including 5 apartment buildings, 50+ single family homes, and 1 storage facility Justins longevity in real estate is due to his ability to look around the corners, adapt to changing markets, perfecting Raising private capital, and focusing on lead generation which allows him to not just wholesale and fix & flip, but also accumulate wealth through long term holds. His success in real estate led him to start The Entrepreneur DNA podcast and The Science Of Flipping podcast and education company, and REI LIVE where he’s actively doing deals with members. He has coached and mentored thousands of aspiring and active investors over the last decade. Connect with Justin: Instagram: @thejustincolby YouTube: Justin Colby TikTok: @justincolbytsof LinkedIn: Justin Colby
Chapter 1: What are the key principles behind Ternus?
I get goosebumps as I say this every time because I tell the team, we make millionaires. You know, when I got out of the Marine Corps, I wanted to be a cop. I was going to be a cop, then a state trooper, then a Texas Ranger. I feel like you would have killed that also. I would have, but I would not.
be flying around the way i fly around that's right that's no doubt but i mean that's what i wanted to do in in in i found real estate i got in as a project manager then i was an acquisitions guy for a home investors franchise then i partnered up with my partners then i met my wife and then we went out on it together and we have you know the ed mylet book the one and we have changed the course of our family with this business yeah and the fact that we get to help others do it
It makes me so happy. And that's why we will loan to a first-time investor just like they're an experienced investor.
The science of flipping family. Fuck the big banks. Decentralized financing. These are mottos that my next guest lives by. This man is a very dear friend of mine, but over 10 years ago, he brought Wall Street to Main Street, and now he's reversing the whole system he helped build and bringing back that money into Main Street. Tim Herridge is here with Ternus. What's up, dude?
Dude, just glad to be here.
Yeah, this is going to be fun. So you are, your mottos, I call them like trigger words, but fuck big banking, right? Decentralized finance, decentralizing finance. This is now your new mission, but you're the motherfucker that basically went out and started the whole thing.
Yeah, I'm trying to undo the problem I created.
Yeah.
I mean, yeah, I get it. You know, it's part of my lesson in life has been everyone gets their money from somewhere. And during the Great Recession, I was an active flipper and money dried up for investors. So 10 years ago, 11 years ago, I partnered with Blackstone to start a company called B2R Finance. I know them well. Which became Finance of America, which we took public in 2021.
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Chapter 2: How did Tim Herriage change the lending model?
It doesn't fly with them. And you have made my life and all of your borrowers. And I know you have a hundred something loans current. Like it's easy to work with you. It is just as easy to work with you as it is to give, Hey, here's the property. Here's comps. Here's pictures. Let's buy it. And in seven days we have money type of idea.
Well, and don't forget, you put it on Instagram last year. We have a really small package. It was like the best, worst compliment ever. It's like Tim Harris has a small package. It's great. I'm like, I think. I guess. Right. But we don't have to securitize our loans. Yeah. So I just have to make sure that if you don't pay me, I can foreclose.
So my loans can be more simple and straightforward, much more like a traditional hard money. And it's great like that because I already have capital partners like we will give you millions of dollars, but you're going to need to pull credit. I said, no, I don't. I don't because- My partners, Bill and Tom, and I have enough money to not need Wall Street's money.
But I also don't because I now have shareholders that understand that the credit... frankly, is your liquidity, the money you have in the bank. Do you have the money to get the project started? Because I'm going to loan you all the rehab and to pay the interest. That's it. That's your credit. And the asset is the collateral. And having bought thousands of houses, I'm still just an asset guy.
I was talking to my mentor, Jeff Tennyson. He took Lima One from like $100 million a year to $3 billion a year. he's my CEO coach. And I was like, we haven't brought this yesterday down here in Miami. And he was like, dude, you've got to make sure you don't lose that as you grow the company. That's right. Like you have to keep it. It's asset based lending.
Yeah. It's not true to asset based lending. And that's the difference right now. Right? Like I, that's why I would tell everybody to go to turn this.com because if you're buying any level of asset fix and flip long-term hold shirt, like it is the asset. They underwrite the asset for the assets, best potential. And you lend on it if it has good potential.
Well, and it's also important. This is probably a good part to talk about. We really live, eat, breathe and sleep our core values. And I'm a Marine, so kind of dumb. Sometimes we need acronyms to figure shit out. So our core values is stars, speed, transparency, accountability, respect and service. And when I talk to my team about it, I've been on the other side of the table so many times.
Time kills deals. And if I yank you around or don't give you an answer quickly, even if the answer is no, I'm doing you a disservice, right? And transparency. So many times lenders will collect that app or let you order that appraisal, and they know it's going to be hard to get done. I would rather say, dude, you need to keep looking for money, and we'll do our best to figure it out.
But, like, this is not a yes. It's a no. But there may be something there. Let us go look at it. But for now, keep looking. It's funny, 13, 14 months into it, we get so many people that just love our transparency because they're – They're like, they'll call you back. Hey, real quick, can you tell me if this one will work for you?
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Chapter 3: What challenges did Tim face in real estate financing?
One of them is this billionaire from England. He was the founder of Invitation Homes, you know, the company that is the largest home owner in the world. And he's a British man and he actually has already bought shares in Ternus. Nice. I will buy this money for luck. Tim, good job. But he's in line and he's like, so we're working on a project and we need your help. And I'm like, okay, who is we?
And he pulls out his card, you know, chairman and founder of Invitation Homes. And you're like, Got it. Yeah. The next day, I'm in his Dallas office. The next week, they fly me to New York. I'm at the Blackstone headquarters. These 20-foot mahogany walls on the 50-something floor, looking at Central Park. Same building as the NFL.
Rich like mahogany.
Yeah, man. And you talk about... I didn't belong in that room. And I sit down at the head of the table. Nick is his name. He positions me and I'm like his puppet that day. And they bring in all these analysts, 20 something people sitting around the table. Okay, tell him this. Because he had memorized my speech and he knew exactly how I was going to help him sell the B2R idea to Blackstone.
And I'm like, okay, enough of that. Now tell him this. Okay, enough of that. Tell him this. 10 minutes into the meeting, the senior managing director guy that has like a $20 billion authority said, okay, good to meet you, man. Got to bounce. He gets up and leaves. I'm like, That's weird. I just got here. Yeah. You flew me up, you know?
And then, you know, 10 minutes later, the next senior guy, okay, man, good to meet you. I got a balance. I must be tanking this. 10 minutes later, Nick's like, okay, that'll do. Let's go, Tim. And he walks me to the elevator. I'm thinking like, maybe we'll grab lunch, talk. Elevator's closing. He's like, okay, be in touch. And he stays on the floor and I'm going down.
I get in the car, go back to the airport, call my wife. I'm like, I'm done. She's like, well, what did you do wrong? I don't know. Right. A couple months later, I'm the managing director of a multibillion-dollar company, and I learned all this institutional stuff. I mean, I've got an office in Manhattan, an apartment, and it's just these rooms, when you're really there for –
non-transactional purpose, if you're really just there to expand your universe and add value to people, you are one phone call, one handshake away from changing the entire trajectory of your life, of your family. I mean, even my partners, Tom and Bill at Ternus are We started hanging out two years ago at boardroom, and we just became friends. Yeah.
So much that one night in Tampa last year, we're dragging back in from the casino at 4.30 in the morning, and here goes Casey Quinn and all the hard charges out for their morning run. Yeah, yeah. It's just like you're passing in the lobby. You're like, oh, good luck, buddy. See you in a couple hours. But I never knew we'd be partners. Yeah. I just knew we were friends.
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