Shepherd Capital Partners

Economic Recovery

Rob Purnell — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:00:38 +0000

A reality check on recent “good” news. Human optimism has driven civilization to extremely challenging locations. We humans are optimistic by nature. How else would civilization have spread to areas as extreme as the arctic north or the vast deserts of North Africa? Our optimism is in full force almost daily now as reporters and ...

Trust Deed Investing Overview

Rob Purnell — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 05:36:39 +0000

Trust deed investments offer a highly secure alternative to the traditional menu of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. After the stock market went into a tailspin last year a lot of money went into hiding in money market accounts and other cash equivalents. Why not? An annual yield of 1% is better than devastating ...

REO Investment Opportunities

Rob Purnell — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:00:27 +0000

REOs are attractive today but may be “fools” gold. REO investing can be lucrative but requires specialized knowledge and skills as well as a solid capital base. In the charred ashes of today’s economy there emerges incredible opportunities for investments, both long and short-term. Everyday I see great opportunities to lend money on real estate for ...

Alternative Investment Advice Doesn’t Push New Thinking

Rob Purnell — Mon, 04 May 2009 19:13:24 +0000

New investment strategies don’t stray far from traditional products. As I was catching up on my back issues of the Wall Street Journal I came across an article telling me that in this new economic environment investment advisers are embracing new tactics and turning their clients to alternative investments. (Advisers Ditch ‘Buy and Hold’ For ...

Guru Predicts Long Road to Real Estate Recovery

Rob Purnell — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:23:01 +0000

On Monday April 13th UC Berkeley’s Fischer Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics held it’s 14th annual conference in San Francisco. Keynote speaker and well known real estate guru Ken Rosen did not paint a rosy picture for a short term recovery. “The world is structurally changed and it’s going to take ...

New Mortgage Loan Limits Don’t Change the Equation

Rob Purnell — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:03:56 +0000

There has been a lot of excitement in the past week about the new “conforming” loan limits for Fannie and Freddie loans. The new limits were announced as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 which the President signed into law on February 17, 2009. Realtors and potential home buyers ...

It’s a Numbers Game

Rob Purnell — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:00:56 +0000

Managing your credit in these challenging economic times. Not long ago managing your credit was a hot topic. Everyone wanted access to the easy money floating around and there was plenty of advice on how to build and maintain a good credit rating. Suddenly those voices have gone silent, but now more than ever it’s ...

Then and Now

Rob Purnell — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:40:27 +0000

President Obama and Abraham Lincoln have a lot in common, but Obama needs to follow Lincoln's example for economic recovery and growth. "You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot strengthen the weak by...

Save the World, Save the Economy, Just Save

Rob Purnell — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 23:39:14 +0000

Savings and Long-Term Investment is the Path to Sustainable Recovery There is no shortage of opinions on how we ended up in this global economic meltdown: greedy Wall Street executives, lack of government regulation, capitalism was doomed to consume itself. Who always seems to get off scot-free is the American consumer. Ok, maybe not ...

Commercial Mortgages Slipping Further – Private Mortgage Alternative Continues to Rise

Rob Purnell — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:17:35 +0000

“CMBS Market Begins to Show Fissures” The following is an excerpt from the Wall Street Journal – WSJ (11-19-08): The market for debt used to finance hotels, offices and shopping malls tumbled Tuesday on worries that the long-feared rise in defaults for commercial mortgage-backed securities had begun, possibly ushering in the next phase of the financial crisis. According ...