Clay Sparkman
I have long searched for resources that might be useful to those who wish to learn more about private money and hard money loans, and in the process I have 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” referred to as “hard $$$” one more time, I’m outa here.
Moving on, I turned up a few items of interest that might be of interest. Much of this material is written from the investor perspective, but to a great extent—and if you really want to learn all about private money—that is just another side of the same coin which deals with borrowing and brokering.
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 asked him for a review copy, but never received one, so I cannot comment on the quality of the material.
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 … perhaps a bit dated. 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 who 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 borrowing, brokering, and investing. (Oh yes: and promoting me and my company; but NOT BLATANTLY MIND YOU … good lord no … not blatantly.)
— Clay (clay@privatemoneysource.com, 503-476-2909)
Clay is Vice President of Fairfield Financial, a primary source for private money since 1964. Fairfield is currently targeting loans in OR, WA, AK, CA, CO, ID, FL, GA, ID, MT, NV, NY, OK and TX. To submit a loan to Fairfield for consideration: http://www.privatemoneysource.com/loanproposal.php
Tags: hard money borrowing, hard money brokering, hard money investing, hard money lending, hard money loans, private money borrowing, private money brokering, private money investing, private money lending, private money loans, real estate, real estate investing, trust deed investing
