Clay 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 […]
Posts Tagged ‘private money loans’
A brief unofficial analysis of the private money market for investors
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010Why title Insurance
Monday, June 28th, 2010Provided by Corinne Akerill, Escrow Officer at First American Title When making a loan that is to be secured by an interest in real property, the following are a few questions that a title insurance company can answer. Does the person who wants to borrow the money have an interest in the property being offered […]
Question: what will it take to get the banks to lend?
Monday, June 14th, 2010Clay Sparkman Back in January, in my post entitled, “Won’t somebody please call a plumber … the banks are clogged,” I addressed what I consider to be the essential question regarding what it will take to get the real estate economy on track and moving in the right direction assertively and with confidence again. And […]
Those who shorted subprime
Monday, May 24th, 2010Clay Sparkman I just recently finished reading The Greatest Trade Ever, the 2009 book by Wall Street Journal reporter Gregory Zuckerman. It is a terrific read. I really enjoyed it. It evolves primarily around John Paulson, and tells the story of how he managed to make billions of dollars for himself and his hedge fund […]
Don’t put all your egg baskets in one egg truck
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010Clay Sparkman Colloquialisms are funny things. We use them pretty much every day in our speech and in our writing and yet most of us, I suspect, though we know the meanings of the expressions, frequently don’t know why the individual words have come to mean what they mean. Take for example: “Don’t look a […]
Top ten clues that you should probably withdraw your loan request from a particular private money lender
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010Clay Sparkman I remember when I first came into this business 15 years ago, the general attitude toward private money–and private money lenders and brokers–was quite negative. And to a certain extent, the reputation was not completely unearned. It was an industry that seemed to harbor a small handful of crooks and a great many […]
The quest for a good set of comps
Saturday, March 20th, 2010Clay Sparkman As I have mentioned in at least one previous posting (Ten Crucial Steps in Reading an Appraisal), I am not so concerned about the bottom line value on an appraisal or property valuation as I am about the particular logic that lead to the creation of that value. If the instrument is transparent […]
An interview with Grover W. Sparkman
Thursday, March 11th, 2010S. Clay Sparkman Grover W. Sparkman is the President of Fairfield Financial Services, a company that he founded with his wife, Louise Sparkman, and a business partner in 1964. He has been involved in just about every imaginable aspect of private money lending and paper brokering for nearly half a century. He also works as […]
Rehab and construction loan FAQ
Monday, March 8th, 2010Clay Sparkman One of the most promising areas at the moment for real estate investors, by all indications, is REO, rehab, and quick flip of properties. The opportunity to buy distressed properties at a low price point is evident in many markets. And yet it is difficult for most end-buyers (with a non-profit initiative) to […]
Private Money FAQ
Sunday, February 28th, 2010Clay Sparkman I realized early on that one of my greatest challenges in the private money lending business was to educate brokers, borrowers, and ultimately lenders regarding private money lending–what it is and when and how and when it should be used. So many people know so little about it, and those who think they […]
