Kris Gillmore and Clay Sparkman Over the past three years we’ve all watched real estate prices come crashing down, in many cases forcing lenders to foreclose and take back the property. Although this is a sad misfortune for some, it is a tremendous opportunity for others. With regard to quick-flip investment property, I have always […]
Posts Tagged ‘hard money borrowing’
Calling all rehabbers, short sale buyers and quick flip artists
Saturday, October 2nd, 2010Grumblings 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 […]
When life gives you lemons …
Thursday, September 9th, 2010Clay Sparkman I recently posted this article on my investor blog, The Private Money Investor. Even though the article is targeted toward investors who put their money into private money loans, I think it is appropriate to post it here. After all … just look around you … this is where the game is. I […]
The ever elusive lender
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010Clay Sparkman If you don’t believe that lenders are getting hard to find, read this article from the New York Times: In Hard Times, One New Bank (Double-Wide). Kind of scary, huh? If you are having trouble finding the ever elusive lenders that you need for your particular client transactions and projects, a web based […]
The big stretch
Sunday, August 22nd, 2010Clay Sparkman In a prior posting, I pointed out that one of the primary advantages of private money is that it allows for creative problem solving due to the flexible nature of the beast. I went on to discuss some of the ways in which one can often make a private money transaction work, on […]
What you will only learn on the streets about how to read an appraisal (and hopefully without the scars to prove it)
Monday, August 9th, 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 […]
Ignoring the experts
Monday, August 2nd, 2010Clay Sparkman One thing I can tell you about private money is that the regular rules don’t work there. And in fact, there aren’t really any rules that you can count on. At best, there are guidelines and these vary greatly depending on the broad spectrum of particulars that define a particularly loan request. With […]
The language of private money
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010Clay Sparkman Most of you are probably familiar with the nomenclature of private money lending, but from time to time, I find myself clarifying the meaning of one or more of the essential words, acronyms or phrases. And so I shall publish here a brief glossary of such terms for your reading enjoyment. Consider this […]
The infinite universe of private money
Friday, July 16th, 2010Clay Sparkman and Richard Sundvall Our private money lending programs tend to be fairly rigid with regard to LTV requirements but quite forgiving with regard to other issues. One of the nice things about private money is that it allows for creative problem solving. I have put many transactions together, that initially didn’t appear to […]
Sunshine and hard money
Sunday, July 11th, 2010Clay Sparkman It is summer at last! In the Pacific Northwest, that means it is time to play–or for those who are investing in real estate projects, perhaps the reprieve from the rain means that it’s time to get to work on purchase and rehab projects. As much as 80% of the loans that we […]
