Dan J. Harkey

Master Educator | Business & Finance Consultant | Mentor

Private & Hard Money Lending

Valuable Insight and Information About Private & Hard Money Lending

Dan has given 350 seminars, written books, sponsored legislation, and penned technical articles on real estate and lending. Dan’s website provides reliable information and guidance.

Brokers and agents play a crucial role in this subset of the lending industry, making and arranging loans funded by private investors and secured by real property. They operate as intermediaries with fiduciary responsibilities, facilitating the lending process. The lending criteria in this subset are more property/equity-driven and less credit/income-driven.

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California Senate Bill 35 (SB-35) Tiny Home Subdivisions

SB-35 was enacted in 2017 and is a key piece of legislation aimed at addressing the state’s housing crisis by streamlining the approval process for certain residential developments.

UCC-1 Financing Statement? What is it and how does it work?

A UCC-1 (Uniform Commercial Code-1) financing statement is a legal form that a lender files to publicly declare their interest in a borrower’s personal property as collateral for a loan. It’s part of the Uniform Commercial Code, which governs commercial transactions in the United States. This filing process is a crucial step in the loan process, ensuring that all parties are informed and knowledgeable about the legal aspects of the transaction.

Mechanics’ Lien Laws: California

California’s Mechanics Lien Law provides a legal remedy for contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, laborers, and certain design professionals to secure payment for work or materials provided on construction projects. Here’s a comprehensive overview based on the latest 2025 guidance:

Trust-Owned Property: A Strategic Lending Opportunity for Real Estate Professionals

Please note that, as a matter of law, the trustee of the family trust owns the property on behalf of the trust. The trust is not a standalone entity and cannot act without a trustee.

Owner-Occupied Commercial Buildings- Ownership of Two Different Entities of the Same Principal- The Business and The Real Estate

Financing owner-occupied commercial buildings presents unique challenges and opportunities, especially when the ownership and operating structures involve entities like S-Corporations and a trustee of a revocable family trust

Strategic Investment Opportunities

How Private Money Lenders Enable Success Where Banks Hesitate

Investing in value-added real estate with private money financing can be highly profitable, but it also comes with several risks that investors and lenders must carefully evaluate.

A profit potential will be calculated on the front end, including developing a plan, obtaining bids, the outlay of capital for fix-up costs, re-rent, and stabilization.

California’s Centralized Development Approval Process: A Shift in Power

A state-level bureaucracy has taken over the development approval process, leaving local municipalities with only ministerial approval rights, subject to the state standards.

Can You Acquire Property Subject to a Seller’s 3% Loan Without Notifying the Lender?

Most trust deeds and mortgage documents have an alienation clause, referred to as a due-on-sale clause, providing for an acceleration of the debt on the transfer of ownership

A Few Borrowers’ Withheld Material Facts Which Complicate the Loan Underwriting Process

Lenders rely on receiving all material facts available to make their credit assessment of the collateral property and the borrower. When information arrives in sketchy or inconsistent forms, it complicates the process.

AB-3108-Makes it a felony for any mortgage broker or loan originator to knowingly misrepresent the purpose of a loan.

This law, which focuses on making loans to single-family owners of occupied properties, tightens accusations of fraud by a mortgage broker while simultaneously inviting borrowers and hungry lawyers to sue the lender and mortgage broker for fraud. This recent law was signed by Governor Newsom in California, amends Section 4973 of the Financial Code.

Clear and Present Danger: When He Tried to “F” Over His Soon-To-Be Ex-Wife

Honey, I Didn’t Think You’d Mind!

Skin in the Game:

Why It’s Essential in Real Estate Lending

What Condo and Multifamily Property Owners Need to Know in 2025

California’s SB-326 and SB-721:

The Illusion of a Down Payment in the Mind of a Fool

A borrower is attempting to rationalize the fact that the tenant is paying off the owner of the property to cancel the lease and vacate the property, which belongs to him as a financial asset. He suggested that the amount of the lessee’s payment to the property owner as consideration for cancelling the lease should be considered his down payment because he is getting such a good deal on the vacant commercial property.

Institutional Theft: The Systematic Transfer of Wealth from Ordinary Taxpayers to The Elites.

The people are kept busy through entertainment outlets and through continuous propaganda to ensure the status quo. The process occurs repeatedly with only minor grumbling by the people.

Honey, I handle the business in the family, and I didn’t think it made any difference.

Silence is not always golden when the consequence is alienation from your spouse; lonely days and lonely nights are forthcoming. Distrust and hostilities in future dealings are a sure thing.

Appraisers' Opinions of Values: All Are Not Equal

Some Appraisal Reports Are Useless

McMansion Blues: In Many Cases, The Transition Is Not Worth the Hassle

Inflationary Pressures Have “Come Home to Roost,” Where the Rising Cost of Property Taxes, Property Insurance, Association Dues, Capital Improvements, and Maintenance, added together, in Many Cases, Is More Than the Property Loan Payment.

Note Hypothecations: A Key Concept in Real Estate Finance

Note hypothecations involve understanding two separate and distinct loan transactions. The first part involves how someone ends up owning a note and a deed of trust as a financial asset, and the second part describes how that person willingly conveys the legal title of those documents to another party as collateral for a loan.