Hard Money And The Market

You can learn some important lessons in college, although sometimes they come from unexpected places.

Many college students are required to take a basic economics course. A friend – whose major was not economics – recently told me that one of the most important things he learned in college came from his macroeconomics introductory course.

They were discussing supply and demand and the stock market. His professor had his students hunt down several “investment letters.” He then asked his students a very simple question: If the people who write these investment letters know what the market is going to do, why don’t they just take their own investment advice and make millions of dollars? Why are they selling subscriptions to investment letters?

Experts disagree

This came to mind recently when I read one market “expert” write that US securities are in a bubble while another said that they were fine and the only “bubble” was a bubble of hyperbole created by the pundits trying to scare people out of the stock market.

At the bottom of all of this is the art and science of making appraisals. Securities investment advisors are really nothing more than appraisers who try to tell you the value of a share of stock in any given company. And as I just illustrated, they can vary widely in their “appraisals.”

Were you following the trials and tribulations of Crumbs Bake Shop Inc.? It was a chain that cashed in on the cupcake craze and went public in 2011. At its height it had 80 locations and it stock sold for $13 a share. The bubble burst, it was delisted from NASDAQ and all the shops were shuttered.

Alas, even opening an entirely gluten-free store in Manhattan couldn’t delay its demise.

True value

I relate this story because at some point in time – and not too long ago – analysts thought the cupcake business offered value. This underscores how critical it is to make solid, accurate appraisals.

And because of this one fundamental principle, investors feel secure working with Evoque Lending. We understand that an accurate, unbiased appraisal is central to the success of our business. We work with the most professional, well-trained and experienced appraisers in the areas where we write first trust deeds.

With more than 15 years of experience in this business, we have a thorough understanding of appraisals for Los Angeles real estate, Orange County real estate and real estate in the San Francisco area. In fact, our experience extends to virtually all the major areas in California. We make sure our investors are presented with safe first trust deed investments.

Security built in

Because we start with accurate appraisals, we are able to consistently build in the comfort levels our investors require when we write first trust deeds. We insist on at least a 35 percent cushion of protective equity on every loan.

Further, coupled with this level of safety is a return on investment that is typically in double digits today. The folks who bought the cupcake stock at $13 would probably find that ROI quite attractive; today they don’t even have any crumbs left on their plates…

Accurate appraisals are just one important part of our lending process. If investing in first trust deeds sounds like something that might interest you, please give me a call and I can detail all the measures we take to insure your safety and a good return on your investment.