Clay Sparkman
This from a recent article in The Puget Sound Business Journal:
“Sales of larger apartment buildings in King County are on the upswing, setting a record average price per square foot in 2011, according to data supplied by Dupre + Scott Apartment Advisors Inc.
Investors last year paid an average price of $136,509 per unit for [...]
Posts Tagged ‘trust deed loans’
Another good piece of data for real estate markets in the PNW
Friday, February 3rd, 2012Everything you wanted to know about private money but were afraid to ask
Thursday, January 12th, 2012Clay Sparkman
(Note: I posted the following on my broker blog recently. It is oriented to toward brokers, but at the same time, I think it would be quite useful to those trying to get a handle on investing in private money loans and trying to better understand the process.)
Private money is often [...]
A few useful and interesting resources for private money professionals
Wednesday, November 9th, 2011Clay Sparkman
These days–with uncertain markets—tools and resources which provide us with information and data are more crucial than quite possibly ever before.
I am always trying to find more resources that will be of use to both me and readers of this blog. Here are a few items that have popped up lately.
ALTOSResearch offers this wonderful [...]
A private money loan prospectus – Hood Canal, Washington
Friday, October 21st, 2011Clay Sparkman
From time to time, I post a prospectus for a loan that we are currently in the process of placing. This serves three purposes: (1) It gives readers a window into the kinds of loans that we are placing, (2) It provides an example of how are loans are initially presented, and (3) It [...]
A good time for private money investing (or so we think)
Monday, September 19th, 2011Clay Sparkman
We’ve been getting quite a few calls from new investors lately who are interested in investing in trust deed secured loans. This makes a certain amount of sense to me, as a number of factors are lining up to enhance the attractiveness of this type of investing. The factors I have in mind include [...]
The top ten red flags that you may not want to lend to a particular fix and flip borrower
Tuesday, August 30th, 2011Clay Sparkman
There are some good things happening out there, but these last (nearly) four years now have been tough. There are plenty of negative signs in the economy as a whole, but I am actually somewhat bullish at this point about real estate markets in general and private money investing in particular. Still, these are [...]
There’s something about equity
Thursday, May 19th, 2011Clay Sparkman
With a double dip real estate depreciation nationwide becoming fact in April, and now with the federal government threatening not to extend government backed financing options large (jumbo) residential loans, this market is hardly getting easier or more predictable. So you might ask, “How do we get private money loans done in today’s real [...]
Squeezing loans into the box (by thinking outside the box)
Thursday, March 17th, 2011Clay Sparkman
As you all know, sometimes we have to be creative to get loans done in this market. One of the most critical aspects of any loan (as you well know) is the Loan to Value ratio, and there are often options for reducing the LTV to make the deal more attractive.
For purchases, the seller [...]
How to invest in private money loans when real estate markets are uncertain
Tuesday, March 1st, 2011Clay Sparkman
We’ve been through nearly 3 ½ rough years in the real estate market—and projections seem to indicate that we will finally see clear up-turn in the second half of this year, but no one really knows for sure. We have managed to survive this down-time (thus far) and continue doing loans even in the [...]
A private money loan prospectus
Tuesday, January 18th, 2011Clay Sparkman
I’m not sure how many of you have made loans with us before, so I thought I would post a prospectus for a loan that we are currently in the process of placing. The prospectus which is shown here is the high level presentation, or executive summary of the loan. Having read the prospectus [...]
An ireloquent post
Tuesday, January 11th, 2011Clay Sparkman
A friend of mine likes to make up words. He comes up with some pretty good ones. A recent invention of his—ireloquent—strikes me as particularly utilitarian. It is useful in those situations where someone is going on and on about something in the most eloquent way, but in fact has provided a response that [...]
A story of adaptation: or how to survive and succeed in a challenging real estate market
Thursday, November 11th, 2010The following is a guest post by Matthew Whitaker, Managing Member of Magnolia Partners, LLC and Golden Key, LLC. I originally posted this article on my Broker Blog, but it occurred to me that it would be appropriate to post it here as well. What I think a trust deed investor should take away from [...]
What does this mean to us?
Sunday, October 3rd, 2010Clay Sparkman
Okay, I don’t know about you, but whenever I read news about some new development in the real estate market, my first instinct is to say, “What does this mean to me?” Hey I’m not proud of it, but that’s just how I’m wired.
This past two weeks we read that:
(1) GMAC and JPMorgan Chase [...]
The sweet spot
Thursday, September 16th, 2010Clay Sparkman
We are always looking for the sweet spot these days in the real estate market. And by sweet spot, I mean that realm of investments that are on balance less risky and more likely to turn a profit in what is otherwise a jaded real estate market.
I have gone on a bit in my [...]
A way to find qualified commercial borrowers – Lendicom.com
Monday, August 30th, 2010Clay Sparkman
Most private money investors choose to work with brokers. However it is a decision that each private money investor must make independently and with great care—to use or not to use a broker.
The essence of the matter I think is this. If you want a full-time job (and some investors certainly do) then you [...]
Top ten loan offerings that you may choose not to review
Monday, August 16th, 2010Clay Sparkman
We haven’t done one of these for awhile. There is plenty to be serious about with regard to the economy, the real estate markets, and in particular, the market for trust deeds and private money loans. There is plenty of uncertainty in these markets. And yet, there are also some good things happening and [...]
Getting started with private money – the dating thing
Thursday, August 5th, 2010Clay Sparkman
I am frequently asked by private money investors: “… so how do we get started investing in private money loans?” You know, there is no simple answer to this question. I tell them that it is kind of like dating. If we are going to do this as an investor/broker team, then they need [...]
When life gives you lemons …
Sunday, July 18th, 2010 Clay Sparkman
I have always believed—and history seems to bear this out—that when the status quo becomes problematic, new opportunities present themselves. Certainly the real estate economy of the past three years has proved problematic, and so as private money investors we are called upon to seek out those borrowers/investors who have encountered and successfully [...]
A brief unofficial analysis of the private money market for investors
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010Clay Sparkman
The national economy is in a state of confusion and the local economy is in a state of confusion. So what does this mean for the market for investing in trust deed based loans?
Well of course nobody really knows–and this is just my take on it–but here goes: First of all, let’s talk briefly [...]
Why title Insurance
Monday, June 28th, 2010Provided by Corinne Akerill, Escrow Officer at First American Title
When making a loan that is to be secured by an interest in real property, the following are a few questions that a title insurance company can answer.
Does the person who wants to borrow the money have an interest in the property being offered as collateral? [...]
Question: what will it take to get the banks to lend?
Monday, June 14th, 2010Clay Sparkman
Back in January, in my post entitled, “Won’t somebody please call a plumber … the banks are clogged,” I addressed what I consider to be the essential question regarding what it will take to get the real estate economy on track and moving in the right direction assertively and with confidence again.
And now, nearly [...]
Those who shorted subprime
Monday, May 24th, 2010Clay Sparkman
I just recently finished reading The Greatest Trade Ever, the 2009 book by Wall Street Journal reporter Gregory Zuckerman. It is a terrific read. I really enjoyed it. It evolves primarily around John Paulson, and tells the story of how he managed to make billions of dollars for himself and his hedge fund investors [...]
Don’t put all your egg baskets in one egg truck
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010Clay Sparkman
Colloquialisms are funny things. We use them pretty much every day in our speech and in our writing and yet most of us, I suspect, though we know the meanings of the expressions, frequently don’t know why the individual words have come to mean what they mean. Take for example: “Don’t look a gift [...]
Top ten clues that you should probably withdraw your loan request from a particular private money lender
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010Clay Sparkman
I remember when I first came into this business 15 years ago, the general attitude toward private money–and private money lenders and brokers–was quite negative. And to a certain extent, the reputation was not completely unearned. It was an industry that seemed to harbor a small handful of crooks and a great many more [...]
The quest for a good set of comps
Saturday, March 20th, 2010Clay Sparkman
As I have mentioned in at least one previous posting (Ten Crucial Steps in Reading an Appraisal), I am not so concerned about the bottom line value on an appraisal or property valuation as I am about the particular logic that lead to the creation of that value. If the instrument is transparent and [...]
An interview with Grover W. Sparkman
Thursday, March 11th, 2010S. Clay Sparkman
Grover W. Sparkman is the President of Fairfield Financial Services, a company that he founded with his wife, Louise Sparkman, and a business partner in 1964. He has been involved in just about every imaginable aspect of private money lending and paper brokering for nearly half a century. He also works as a [...]
Rehab and construction loan FAQ
Monday, March 8th, 2010Clay Sparkman
One of the most promising areas at the moment for real estate investors, by all indications, is REO, rehab, and quick flip of properties. The opportunity to buy distressed properties at a low price point is evident in many markets. And yet it is difficult for most end-buyers (with a non-profit initiative) to take [...]
Private Money FAQ
Sunday, February 28th, 2010Clay Sparkman
I realized early on that one of my greatest challenges in the private money lending business was to educate brokers, borrowers, and ultimately lenders regarding private money lending–what it is and when and how and when it should be used. So many people know so little about it, and those who think they know [...]
Is Oregon next?
Thursday, February 18th, 2010Clay Sparkman
After many years of holding relatively firm, the real estate market in the Pacific Northwest may be in trouble. The following informative piece was printed yesterday at Business Insider. Make sure to follow the “Check out how bad Oregon has become” link and the 14 slides that accompany the article.
http://www.businessinsider.com/oregons-expanding-foreclosure-rate-could-make-it-the-next-california-2010-2
What does this mean for [...]
Top ten clues that you should probably pass on a particular loan offering
Sunday, February 14th, 2010Clay Sparkman
I thought it would be nice to publish something just for fun today. I rather enjoy doing these TOP TEN lists, but I try to avoid doing them very often for fear that it will look like this blog is purely for my own self-amusement. And of course to a certain extent this is [...]
Ten crucial steps in reading an appraisal
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010Clay Sparkman
The crucial thing that you must understand about any appraisal (or other real estate valuation instrument) is that it is only as good as its logic. So that—in other words—you must never accept an appraisal’s conclusion regarding value without looking beyond the surface to understand the logic that leads to the conclusion and without [...]
What exactly do you want me to do for you?
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010Clay Sparkman
When evaluating loan requests, this is the fundamental question: what exactly do you want me to do for you? It is impossible to count the number of times that I have receive loan packets or proposals that didn’t include a loan summary or any clear description of the request. The process of evaluating a [...]
Won’t somebody please call a plumber … the banks are clogged
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010Clay Sparkman
One of my dear good readers sent the following e-mail in response to my last post, Home strippers coming to a neighborhood near you.
“Good topic Clay. Now forgetting about us private lenders, the conventional lenders continue to be their own worst enemies. They persist in bringing the properties to the city hall steps at 40% over [...]
Home strippers coming to a neighborhood near you
Tuesday, December 29th, 2009Clay Sparkman
Okay, so I was told that if I wanted to get more people to read my posts, I need to utilize attention grabbing headlines. (How am I doing so far?) Now I’d like to see a show of hands, and please be honest here, as this is purely for scientific purposes and the results [...]
Trust deed lending – ten mistakes you should never make and ten mistakes you must never make
Saturday, December 19th, 2009Clay Sparkman
Okay, first the ten mistakes you should never make:
(1) Never close a loan without title insurance.
(2) Never close a loan on property that has valuable structures without a valid hazard insurance policy in effect listing you or your entity as loss payee.
(3) Never close a loan leaving property taxes unpaid (unless you are fully [...]
