Clay Sparkman
As I continue my search for resources that might be useful to those who invest in real estate secured loans, I become increasingly convinced that our particular niche field is somewhat of an intellectual/informational wasteland. Every time I stumble upon an article or site that looks like it might be of interest, it turns out to be a blatant plug for some specific product or company. And the stuff that isn’t blatantly biased, quite often seems to be hack work, badly lacking in quality and perspective. It would be as though I were searching for articles and blogs on gourmet food only to find that all of them had been written by employees of McDonald’s, Burger King, and Taco Bell. (Hopefully I won’t get sued for this. I did not mean to disparage the great corporate food powers in any way, shape, or form.) My real point is: if I see one more article entitled “Hard Money Made EZ” or if I see “hard money” refereed to as “hard $$$” one more time, I’m outa here.
Moving on, I turned up a few items of interest in my lap around the internet this morning. The following article is quite dated, but still might be of interest for those looking to expand geographically (and into a very large target market).
http://www.danwei.org/front_page_of_the_day/private_money_lending_business.php
I also stumbled onto this site/book by Paul Wells who claims to hold the secrets of private money. I hope indeed he does, as we could use a good text book in this field. I have asked him for a review copy, and if he is obliged to comply with my request, I will make a point to read/review it here.
http://www.paulwellsauthor.com/mortgageinvesting.html
I couldn’t help but be amused by this post by Leonard Rosen in August of 2007.
“America’s hard money expert shares his views on real estate investing. There are many different types of investing strategies that are available to the novice and sophisticated investor.
However, I do not know a safer investment strategy coupled with a higher rate of return than real estate. Unlike the equity markets, real estate has proven to be a safe haven for many investors. Over the past 40 years, real estate has risen in value in literally every major market in the United States.”
Oh well. The full text is here:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/35089
And here is another book on the topic, specific to California (but that is a pretty good starting point for talking about the basics of private money lending nationwide), and with five of five stars on five reviews. I can’t figure out how to ask for a free review copy, so if anyone knows the book please weigh in here.
http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Trust-Deed-Investment-California/dp/0934581010
About.com defines private money pretty much the same way as most outsiders do:
http://www.answers.com/topic/hard-money-loan
At least they hedge the “last resort” part with the “short-term bridge” bit. However, I am beside myself with how many people who should know better claim–I see this over and over again–that the borrower (credit/income/net worth and such) is irrelevant to the private money lending process. Why would anyone make a private money loan and disregard readily available information about the financial status of the borrower? It is beyond me.
Please oh please … if you know where the goodies are hiding out there, please share them with the rest of us. That after all is what this blog is all about: sharing quality information and resources with like-minded folks who care about private money investing. (Oh yes: and promoting me and my company; but NOT BLATANTLY MIND YOU … good lord no … not blatantly.)
— Clay (clay@privatemoneysource.com)
Clay,
“Where is all the good stuff?’ Right here — you are providing it. I too have looked in vain for two years for thoughtful websites dedicated to private money lending. I am always trying new search terms in Google and keep getting the same generic, superficial pre-packaged pieces about this field. I am impressed with your three posts thus far and now you know your voice is not just an echo.
Sincerely,
Arthur
PS –One interesting site I recently found is a blog called peterpayspaul — “hard money lending from the inside”. It is mostly related to commercial lending. Check it out —
http://blog.pmaclennan.com/
Thank you Arthur. I greatly appreciate your generous reply. Getting started in the blogging business–I see now–involves a bit of a conundrum at first. One finds ones self thinking, “well I don’t have many people waiting on my stuff just yet so maybe I can put off a new post until tomorrow, and I really hate to do my best work when so few people will actually be reading it.” But of course, in fact the only way to build a serious group of readers/participants is to give your very best stuff as much and as often as possible. So thank you again for the encouragement. And a hat tip to you as well for http://blog.pmaclennan.com. This looks to be a very relevant and professional site. I plan to get to know it.
Regards,
Clay