Hello Valued Lenders,
Recent events involving several well-known real estate and mortgage companies in Northern California, have naturally generated questions throughout our industry. Our hope is to provide some clarity, explain how our business is structured, and reaffirm the principles that have guided our company from the very beginning.
Many investors, borrowers, brokers, and referral partners have asked the same question: “How can I know my investment is being handled properly?”
It is a fair question, and one that deserves a thoughtful answer. At Pacific Direct Mortgage, we believe that trust is not built through promises. It is built through structure, transparency, and doing things the right way, year after year.
Ethics is more than good intentions. In private lending, ethics is not simply about honesty. It is about building a business model where transparency, accountability, and confidence are part of the process from the very beginning.
The best safeguards are often built into the way business is conducted, from the very beginning of the process. For us, our approach is different. Our company has always operated on a simple principle: One Lender, One Loan.
We do not maintain a pool of investor capital or a trust account of funds waiting to be deployed. Each investor reviews the individual opportunity, performs their own due diligence and underwriting they deem appropriate, and personally decides whether to participate and fund a loan. Only if approved does the investor then finance that individual investment.
Another important part of our process is that investor funds move through a licensed and Title and Escrow company.
For every loan we originate, title insurance is obtained, and the movement of funds is handled through established escrow procedures. We do not take custody of investor capital intended for a loan investment. This structure provides accountability and clarity regarding where funds are going, how they are being used, and what collateral secures the investment.
When we founded Pacific Direct Mortgage, we believed that private lending should be a relationship business. Many of the private investors and referral partners we work with have been with us for years, and some we’ve known for decades! There are even some families investing through us, who have invested in Trust Deeds across multiple generations.
We understand that trust is earned slowly and can be lost quickly.
That is why we have always believed that conservative lending practices, transparency, and ethical conduct are more important than rapid growth or chasing every opportunity that comes along.
Markets will change. Interest rates will move. Regulations evolve. Individual companies may come and go. But the principles that create a sound lending business, however, remain the same:
Integrity. Transparency. Proper documentation. Real Estate collateral. Title Insurance. Consistency. And treating other people’s money with the respect it deserves.
Those principles have guided our business from the beginning, and they continue to guide us today.
We appreciate the confidence that our private investors, borrowers, brokers, and referral partners place in us, and we remain committed to earning that trust every single day.
Thank you for your continued trust,
Ken & Ari Walker
Broker & Co-Owners
Pacific Direct Mortgage & Real Estate, Inc.
