Clay 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 misunderstood. […]
Private money lending – general
Everything you wanted to know about private money but were afraid to ask
Thursday, January 12th, 2012A 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 […]
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, […]
Private loan packaging guidelines
Sunday, October 31st, 2010Clay Sparkman One of my long term objectives with this blog is to eventually walk with you through all of the private money loan processes and procedures, from the moment of conception until death (death of course not being a bad thing in my chosen metaphor, but simply meaning loan payoff, workout, or foreclosure). This […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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) […]
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 […]
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 […]
