I was taken by a LinkedIn post by Paul Welch recently - a brutally frank assessment of his business since October of last year. He is not the only one who is finding it tough at the moment, I am sure.
But who and how many would be "happy" to be so honest?
My guess is few.
The world of short term lending, and indeed the finance industry generally, will happily shout about success - real or perceived. Those record weeks/months/years, the great hires in an apparently expanding business and the deals completed, all too common. Even the Association of Short Term Lenders happily report their members growth with little or scant regard for the problems they will undoubtedly be experiencing. No one wants to report issues - perhaps those robust credit policies are so robust after all? Or have they been undermined with the drive for expansion?
In the last few days I have had calls from old contacts- the gist of the conversations has been "how can we work together?". Their backgrounds are diverse, but all are involved in various stages of the property/development process. Those discussions have given food for thought.
The short term lending "specialist" market grew out of the last recession, barely troubled until now. Cash looking for a home matched against a demand left with the demise of many property lenders post 2008 was a perfect match - loans secured by property with a healthy margin - what could possibly go wrong? Well quite a lot actually. I have many cliches - but the most pertinent has always been " its only a good loan when its repaid". Lending is easy, getting it back, well, as many are finding out now, is not always so easy.
And trust me, I have learnt the hard way.
There is no substitute for experience - and if I don't have an answer then its very likely I know someone who will.
Don't suffer in silence - I'm always more than happy to have a chat - confidentially of course - to see if I can either help or point you in the right direction.
So whether you are a lender, broker or property professional, feel free to get in contact.
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