Clay Sparkman I first wrote and published this piece in its original form in September of 2009. I am of the firm belief that the key to success (defined as: having fun and maximizing your return, two closely correlated phenomena), is rigorous and comprehensive vetting of the loan proposal. If you do this right, the […]
Private money lending – general
Hang Tight
Wednesday, November 6th, 2019Clay Sparkman As you all know, these have been difficult times for private money investors. Competition is up, rates are down, and solid opportunities are getting harder to find. The following article: Three Challenges Faced by Today’s Private Money Lenders and How to Weather Them, by Noah Brocious at Forbes, is a a very straightforward […]
Information for investors
Thursday, August 22nd, 2019Clay Sparkman Here is our *Information for Investors* section. It is direct and to the point. It tells you what you can expect of us and what we will expect to you, in a broker-relationship. http://www.privatemoneysource.com/investors.php Best, Clay Sparkman, CEO – Clay (clay@privatemoneysource.com, 503-476-2909) Clay is Vice President of Fairfield Financial, a primary source for […]
The Round Table, with King Arthur
Wednesday, March 27th, 2019S. Clay Sparkman I’ve been doing this for 25 years, and I must say, we’ve seen good times and some bad. I’ve been involved in several thousand private money loans. Certainly, I’ve experienced a full cross section of the private money lender perspective. One might wonder, how can a long-term private money lender expect to […]
Getting started with private money investing
Thursday, October 25th, 2018Clay 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 […]
A book that we must read
Thursday, January 19th, 2017Clay Sparkman This book strikes me as a must read for anyone in the lending business. I have not read it yet, but I intend to get started now. Have any of you read it, and if so, what was your take away? Here The Unbanking of America: How the New Middle Class Survives Lisa […]
Resources for private money profesionals
Friday, January 6th, 2017Clay Sparkman I posted this article in 2011, and am sad to say that I haven’t come across much in the way of new resources since. I’m going to re-post, with a few small changes, and please let me know if you know of any useful resources available to private money professionals. These days–with uncertain […]
Private money for maijuana grow and sell operations
Thursday, December 29th, 2016Clay Sparkman Good article in the Los Angeles Times: Lending money to pot businesses is a high-risk move: ‘This is not for the faint of heart’ A few years back, this was starting to look like a pretty good place to consider investing your private money. Several things were favorable: (1) The general trend nationwide […]
Examining an FAQ about Trust Deed investing
Tuesday, December 20th, 2016S. Clay Sparkman TNG (The Norris Group) published the following FAQ on their site. I thought it might be fun to go through this and see where I agree and perhaps disagree, and offer my annotations (in red). Frequently Asked Questions About Trust Deed Investing 1. What is a trust deed investor? A trust deed […]
Twenty-eight questions you must ask
Friday, October 7th, 2016Clay Sparkman I first wrote and published this piece in its original form in September of 2009. I am of the firm belief that the key to success (defined as: having fun and maximizing your return, two closely correlated phenomena), is rigorous and comprehensive vetting of the loan proposal. If you do this right, the […]
