Clay Sparkman
With the decline of real estate prices and concern about the global economy, there is a lot of speculation regarding the timeline of this recession. In conversations with brokers, investors, and developers throughout the country, the topic often turns to one common question: what’s going on out there? I’ve heard what the experts say, [...]
Posts Tagged ‘rehab loans’
What’s Going On Out There?
Friday, February 3rd, 2012Calculating LTVs for rehab, development, and construction loans
Friday, January 20th, 2012Clay Sparkman
We thought a quick primer on LTV calculation for projects involving construction would be of use to most of those who utilize or broker private money.
You really need to use two LTVs. We use a Front End LTV (F-LTV) as well as an After Repair Value (ARV) or Final LTV (LTV), when evaluating loans. [...]
Everything you wanted to know about private money but were afraid to ask
Friday, January 6th, 2012Clay Sparkman
Private money is often misunderstood. Many industry professionals know very little about it, and fallacies and misconceptions tend to dominate the collective wisdom. As you know, as a subscriber to this list, I have made it my mission to try to educate professionals regarding the realities of private money. In this capacity, I spend [...]
Private money – getting from point A to point D
Wednesday, December 28th, 2011Clay Sparkman
In the spirit of learning by example, I’d like to take the opportunity to describe an interesting scenario that we put together.
They say that when it rains, it pours. Well, for our borrower it had been pouring for a long time. A long run of bad luck had left him in a difficult situation, [...]
Submitting private money loans
Wednesday, December 7th, 2011Clay Sparkman
One of the challenges for individuals and professionals pursuing a private money option is figuring out what information to provide for a specific loan request (and in what format). Because the questions and issues are quite different for private money, and certainly different within the private money context depending on the type [...]
Private money and the question of value
Friday, November 18th, 2011Clay Sparkman
When it comes to private money, the rules–as you may know them–generally don’t apply. Certainly, with regard to the matter of valuing a property, most of you would do well to throw away what you’ve already learned and start over. To help you along these lines, I would like to share an article written [...]
Top Ten Ways you know it might be time to consider private money
Wednesday, October 26th, 2011Clay Sparkman
This has been a tough four years for many of us, so in celebration of the anniversary of the sub-prime collapse, I thought it would be nice to start off by having a little fun. With that in mind, I have prepared a top ten list, Top Ten Ways you Know it Might be [...]
Our sweet spot … our wheelhouse
Thursday, October 6th, 2011Clay Sparkman
There was November, 2007 and then there were the nearly 4 years now that followed. If you are an acting broker in this market it is because you are a survivor. Darwin’s theory—survival of the fittest—would have been more aptly named, survival of the most adaptable. If you are still here, then it is [...]
Announcing: iPad 2 Bonus to Brokers Closing Loans with Fairfield
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011Clay 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 Wednesday, September 27th, we are offering a free promotional iPad 2 to any broker or [...]
Don’t Believe Everything You Hear About Private Money
Monday, September 12th, 2011Clay Sparkman
This week I’d like to address some myths about private money, and hopefully correct some common misconceptions that seem to exist with regard to private money lending as an alternative mechanism for funding the refinance and acquisition of real estate.
Myth: As a broker, I should first try to use conventional bank financing, and if [...]
Getting Unstuck with Private Money
Friday, August 26th, 2011It is often quite difficult for professionals to get a sense of what hard money is all about and to know when it is the best option for putting a transaction together. I have found that the best way to teach is by example. So to that end I will profile several loans here that [...]
Example private money loan – turn of century coastal view home remodeling project
Tuesday, April 26th, 2011Clay Sparkman
Because I have found that one of the best ways to learn is by way of example, I like to give frequent examples of actual loans that we have funded. The following loan was funded quite some time ago, but is quite typical of the sort of thing that we are looking to do [...]
Won’t somebody please call a plumber … the banks are clogged
Tuesday, April 19th, 2011Clay Sparkman
This article was originally posted on my lender blog in January of 2010. Now, some 15 months later, it still seems pretty much timely, That worries me. I’d like to hear your thoughts on this matter. You brokers are the real experts. Please give voice.
One of my dear good readers sent the following e-mail [...]
Off the beaten path
Tuesday, April 12th, 2011Clay Sparkman
Private money might well be thought of as a multi-purpose tool–a tool for getting those tough jobs done. You might imagine it to be a Swiss Army Knife, or better yet, a Leatherman Tool. It is not for those straightforward tasks that you encounter from day to day along the beaten path. It is [...]
How to broker private money loans when real estate markets are uncertain
Sunday, March 6th, 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 (all who are still present please take a moment [...]
How to communicate your deals
Monday, February 28th, 2011S. Clay Sparkman and Richard Sundvall
There are certain key pieces of information that we need to know when we’re sizing up a deal. Having this information when you contact us can speed up the process considerably. Also, if you have these pieces in hand you can talk about your deal more clearly and present yourself [...]
Fairfield broker promotion – free iPad
Thursday, February 10th, 2011Clay Sparkman
We at Fairfield Financial Services (FFS) are pleased to announce that we will once again be running our free iPad bonus promotional program.
Starting Friday, February 11, we are offering a free promotional iPad to any broker or borrower who submits a loan through FFS that we actually close.
The conditions are as follows:
(1) You must [...]
A story of adaptation: or how to survive and succeed in a challenging real estate market
Sunday, November 7th, 2010Guest post by Matthew Whitaker, Managing Member of Magnolia Partners, LLC and Golden Key, LLC
In December of 2007 we were faced with a decision. After three years of successfully flipping properties to low and moderate income buyers, we awoke one day with no buyers and no plan to find new ones. Our dilemma [...]
Fairfield 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 [...]
