Clay 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 […]
Posts Tagged ‘trust deed lending’
Don’t put all your egg baskets in one egg truck
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010Top 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 […]
Is Oregon next?
Thursday, February 18th, 2010Clay Sparkman After many years of holding relatively firm, the real estate market in the Pacific Northwest may be in trouble. The following informative piece was printed yesterday at Business Insider. Make sure to follow the “Check out how bad Oregon has become” link and the 14 slides that accompany the article. http://www.businessinsider.com/oregons-expanding-foreclosure-rate-could-make-it-the-next-california-2010-2 What does […]
Top ten clues that you should probably pass on a particular loan offering
Sunday, February 14th, 2010Clay Sparkman I thought it would be nice to publish something just for fun today. I rather enjoy doing these TOP TEN lists, but I try to avoid doing them very often for fear that it will look like this blog is purely for my own self-amusement. And of course to a certain extent this […]
Ten crucial steps in reading an appraisal
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010Clay Sparkman The crucial thing that you must understand about any appraisal (or other real estate valuation instrument) is that it is only as good as its logic. So that—in other words—you must never accept an appraisal’s conclusion regarding value without looking beyond the surface to understand the logic that leads to the conclusion and […]
What exactly do you want me to do for you?
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010Clay Sparkman When evaluating loan requests, this is the fundamental question: what exactly do you want me to do for you? It is impossible to count the number of times that I have receive loan packets or proposals that didn’t include a loan summary or any clear description of the request. The process of evaluating […]
