Clay Sparkman
Awhile back I published a 3-part post on my Private Money Investor blog regarding my personal likes and gripes as a purveyor in of private money. This has been my sole job for the past 20 years. Who wouldn’t want to go rant and rave publicly about their job? I guess I could have [...]
Posts Tagged ‘real estate investing’
The private money lending business: likes and gripes (part I)
Wednesday, January 5th, 2011Fairfield broker promotion – free iPad UPDATE
Saturday, October 23rd, 2010Clay Sparkman
We are sending out this update to amend the rules for he iPad giveaway. We accidentally left two items out.
We at Fairfield Financial Services (FFS) are pleased to announce our free iPad bonus promotional program AND that we now have sources available to lend with no maximum on commercial loans in all 14 of [...]
Fairfield broker promotion – free iPad
Saturday, October 23rd, 2010Clay Sparkman
We at Fairfield Financial Services (FFS) are pleased to announce our free iPad bonus promotional program AND that we now have sources available to lend with no maximum on commercial loans in all 14 of the states that we service.
Starting Monday, October 25th, we are offering a free promotional iPad to any broker or [...]
Less Grumbly – A Follow-up to ‘grumblings of a slum lord in the post-bust environment’
Wednesday, October 13th, 2010This Guest post by Brian Blum, Operating Manager of Maverick Structures LLC,
is a follow up to an earlier post
Sure, we each have “teams” of lawyers, Realtors, title agencies, finance people, insurance agents, and contractors working with us, but don’t kid yourself – real estate investing is largely an individual sport. Many investors have neither receptionists [...]
Calling all rehabbers, short sale buyers and quick flip artists
Saturday, October 2nd, 2010Kris Gillmore and Clay Sparkman
Over the past three years we’ve all watched real estate prices come crashing down, in many cases forcing lenders to foreclose and take back the property. Although this is a sad misfortune for some, it is a tremendous opportunity for others. With regard to quick-flip investment property, I have always been [...]
Grumblings of a slum lord in the post-bust environment
Friday, September 24th, 2010Guest post by Brian Blum, Operating Manager, Maverick Structures LLC
I’m a real estate investor. I see opportunities in buildings – and in numbers, and I use those opportunities to create income and equity. What I do benefits society, but I’m not going to lie to you – I am driven to do it for my [...]
A view from the other side
Friday, September 17th, 2010Clay Sparkman
Over a year ago, well before I started pecking away at this blog, I began blogging about private money and private money issues from the investor perspective. Naturally this blog is called The Private Money Investor.
It deals with all aspects of investing in private money loans and hard money loans secured by trust deeds [...]
When life gives you lemons …
Thursday, September 9th, 2010Clay Sparkman
I recently posted this article on my investor blog, The Private Money Investor. Even though the article is targeted toward investors who put their money into private money loans, I think it is appropriate to post it here. After all … just look around you … this is where the game is.
I have [...]
The ever elusive lender
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010Clay Sparkman
If you don’t believe that lenders are getting hard to find, read this article from the New York Times: In Hard Times, One New Bank (Double-Wide). Kind of scary, huh?
If you are having trouble finding the ever elusive lenders that you need for your particular client transactions and projects, a web based tool known [...]
The big stretch
Sunday, August 22nd, 2010Clay Sparkman
In a prior posting, I pointed out that one of the primary advantages of private money is that it allows for creative problem solving due to the flexible nature of the beast. I went on to discuss some of the ways in which one can often make a private money transaction work, on any [...]
What you will only learn on the streets about how to read an appraisal (and hopefully without the scars to prove it)
Monday, August 9th, 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 [...]
Ignoring the experts
Monday, August 2nd, 2010Clay Sparkman
One thing I can tell you about private money is that the regular rules don’t work there. And in fact, there aren’t really any rules that you can count on. At best, there are guidelines and these vary greatly depending on the broad spectrum of particulars that define a particularly loan request.
With private money, [...]
The infinite universe of private money
Friday, July 16th, 2010Clay Sparkman and Richard Sundvall
Our private money lending programs tend to be fairly rigid with regard to LTV requirements but quite forgiving with regard to other issues. One of the nice things about private money is that it allows for creative problem solving. I have put many transactions together, that initially didn’t appear to be [...]
Sunshine and hard money
Sunday, July 11th, 2010Clay Sparkman
It is summer at last!
In the Pacific Northwest, that means it is time to play–or for those who are investing in real estate projects, perhaps the reprieve from the rain means that it’s time to get to work on purchase and rehab projects. As much as 80% of the loans that we do are [...]







