Please see the Prospectus for a complete description of the risks you should consider before investing in Notes.
An investment in Notes is subject to significant risks. Some of the more significant risks include the following:
Our Notes are not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any third party, so repayment of your Note depends upon our equity (which may be limited at times), our experience, the collateral securing our loans, and our ability to manage our business and generate adequate cash flows.
Our Notes are not certificates of deposit or similar obligations or guaranteed by any depository institution and are not insured by the FDIC or any governmental or private insurance fund, or any other entity. Therefore, you are dependent upon our ability to manage our business and generate adequate cash flows. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow to repay our debts, you could lose your entire investment.
The Notes are risky speculative investments. Therefore, you should not invest in the Notes unless you are able to afford the loss of your entire investment.
The Notes may not be a suitable investment for you, and we advise you to consult with your investment, tax, and other professional financial advisors prior to deciding whether to invest in the Notes. The characteristics of the Notes, including the maturity and interest rate, may not satisfy your investment objectives. The Notes may not be a suitable investment for you based on your ability to withstand a loss of interest or principal or other aspects of your financial situation, including your income, net worth, financial needs, investment risk profile, return objectives, investment experience, and other factors. Before deciding whether to purchase Notes, you should consider your investment allocation with respect to the amount of your contemplated investment in the Notes in relation to your other investments and the diversity of those holdings. If you cannot afford to lose all of your investment, you should not invest in these Notes.
There will not be any market for the Notes, so you should only purchase them if you do not have any need for your money prior to the maturity of the Note.
The Notes are not listed on a national securities exchange or authorized for quotation on the Nasdaq stock market, or any securities exchange. The Notes do not have a CUSIP identification number. There is no trading market for the Notes. It is unlikely that the Notes will be able to be used as collateral for a loan. Except as described elsewhere in this prospectus, you have no right to require redemption of the Notes. You should only purchase these Notes if you do not have the need for your money prior to the maturity of the Note.
We have the right to pay your investment back to you before the stated maturity of your investment. If we do, you may not be able to reinvest the proceeds at comparable rates and you will stop earning interest on your investment.
At any time, we may redeem all or a portion of the outstanding Notes purchased by you prior to their maturity. In the event we redeem any part or all of your Notes early, you would have the risk of reinvesting the proceeds at the then-current market rates, which may be higher or lower.
You will not have the benefit of an independent review of the terms of the Notes, the prospectus, or our Company as is customarily performed in underwritten offerings.
The Notes are being offered by our Executive Vice President of Operations without an underwriter or placement agent. Therefore, you will not have the benefit of an independent review of the terms of the Notes, the prospectus, or our Company. Accordingly, you should consult your investment, tax, and other professional financial advisors prior to deciding whether to invest in the Notes.
Our business is not industry-diversified. The United States economy experienced a slow recovery after the significant downturn in the homebuilding industry beginning in 2007, which was one of the worst credit and liquidity crises since the 1930s. Deterioration in the homebuilding industry or economic conditions, including as a result of COVID-19, could decrease demand and pricing for new homes and residential home lots. A decline in housing values similar to the national downturn in the real estate market that began in 2007 would have a negative impact on our business. Smaller value declines will also have a negative impact on our business. These factors may decrease the likelihood we will be able to generate enough cash to repay the Notes.
Developers and homebuilders to whom we may make loans use the proceeds of our loans to develop raw land into residential home lots and construct homes. The developers obtain the money to repay our development loans by selling the residential home lots to homebuilders or individuals who will build single-family residences on the lots, or by obtaining replacement financing from other lenders. A developer’s ability to repay our loans is based primarily on the amount of money generated by the developer’s sale of its inventory of single-family residential lots. Homebuilders obtain the money to repay our loans by selling the homes they construct or by obtaining replacement financing from other lenders, and thus, the homebuilders’ ability to repay our loans is based primarily on the amount of money generated by the sale of such homes.
The homebuilding industry is cyclical and is significantly affected by changes in industry conditions, as well as in general and local economic conditions, such as:
● | employment level and job growth; | |
● | demographic trends, including population increases and decreases and household formation; | |
● | availability of financing for homebuyers; | |
● | interest rates; | |
● | affordability of homes; | |
● | consumer confidence; | |
● | levels of new and existing homes for sale, including foreclosed homes and homes held by investors and speculators; and | |
● | housing demand generally. |
These conditions may occur on a national scale or may affect some of the regions or markets in which we operate more than others.
We generally lend a percentage of the values of the homes and lots. These values are determined shortly prior to the lending. If the values of homes and lots in markets in which we lend drop fast enough to cause the builders losses that are greater than their equity in the property, we will be forced to liquidate the loan in a fashion which will cause us to lose money. If these losses when combined and added to our other expenses are greater than our revenue from interest charged to our customers, we will lose money overall, which will hurt our ability to pay interest and principal on the Notes. Values are typically affected by demand for homes, which can change due to many factors, including but not limited to, demographics, interest rates, the overall economy, which can be impacted by outbreaks of communicable illnesses, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, cost of building materials and labor, availability of financing for end-users, inventory of homes available and governmental action or inaction. If there is a tightening of the credit markets, it would be more difficult for potential homeowners to obtain financing to purchase homes. If housing prices decline or sales in the housing market decline, our customers may have a hard time selling their homes at a profit. This could cause the amount of defaulted loans that we will own to increase. An increase in defaulted loans would reduce our revenue and could lead to losses on our loans. A decline in housing prices will further increase our losses on defaulted loans. If the amount of defaulted loans or the loss per defaulted loan is large enough, we will operate at a loss, which will decrease our equity. This could cause us to become insolvent, and we will not be able to pay back your principal and interest on the Notes.
Currently, we are reliant on a single developer and homebuilder, the Hoskins Group, who is concentrated in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania market, for a significant portion of our revenues and a portion of our capital. Our second largest customer is in the Orlando, Florida market and is also a significant portion of our portfolio.
As of June 30, 2022, 30% of our outstanding loan commitments consisted of loans made to Benjamin Marcus Homes, LLC and Investor’s Mark Acquisitions, LLC, both of which are owned by Mark Hoskins (collectively all three parties are referred to herein as the “Hoskins Group”). We refer to the loans to the Hoskins Group as the “Pennsylvania Loans.” The Hoskins Group is concentrated in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania market. The Hoskins Group also has a preferred equity interest in us, and in January 2021 we invested approximately $500,000 in Series A Preferred Units in Benjamin Marcus Homes, LLC. Therefore, currently, we are reliant upon a single developer and homebuilder who is concentrated in a single city, for a significant portion of our revenues and a portion of our capital. Any event of bankruptcy, insolvency, or general downturn in the business of this developer and homebuilder or in the Pittsburgh housing market generally will have a substantial adverse financial impact on our business and our ability to pay back your investments in the Notes in the long term. Adverse conditions affecting the local housing market could include, but are not limited to, declines in new housing starts, declines in new home prices, declines in new home sales, increases in the supply of available building lots or built homes available for sale, increases in unemployment, and unfavorable demographic changes. One of our independent managers, Gregory L. Sheldon, also serves an advisor to the Hoskins Group and, consequently, Mr. Sheldon may face conflicts of interest in the advice that he provides to us and the Hoskins Group, including if any such adverse condition were to materialize.
Also, as of June 30, 2022, 5% of our outstanding loan commitments consisted of loans made to a customer in Orlando, Florida.
Most of our assets are commercial construction loans to homebuilders and/or developers which are a higher-than-average credit risk, and therefore could expose us to higher rates of loan defaults, which could impact our ability to repay amounts owed to you.
Our primary business is extending commercial construction loans to homebuilders, along with some loans for land development. These loans are considered higher risk because the ability to repay depends on the homebuilder’s ability to sell a newly built home. These homes typically are not sold by the homebuilder prior to commencement of construction. Therefore, we may have a higher risk of loan default among our customers than other commercial lending companies. If we suffer increased loan defaults in any given period, our operations could be materially adversely affected, and we may have difficulty making our principal and interest payments on the Notes.
If we lose or are unable to hire or retain key personnel, we may be delayed or unable to implement our business plan, which would adversely affect our ability to repay the Notes.
We do not have an employment agreement with any of our employees and cannot guarantee that they will remain affiliated with us. Although we have purchased key person life insurance on our Chief Executive Officer, we do not have key person insurance on any of our other employees. If any of our key employees were to cease their affiliation with us, our consolidated operating results could suffer. We believe that our future success depends, in part, upon our ability to hire and retain additional personnel. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in attracting and retaining such personnel, which could hinder our ability to implement our business plan.
We have entered into loan purchase and sale agreements with third parties to sell them portions of some of our loans. This increases our leverage. While the agreements are intended to increase our profitability, large loan losses and/or idle cash could actually reduce our profitability, which could impair our ability to pay principal and/or interest on the Notes.
The loan purchase and sale agreements we entered into have allowed us to increase our loan assets and debt. If loans that we create have significant losses, the benefit of larger balances can be outweighed by the additional loan losses. Also, while these transactions are booked as secured financing, they are not lines of credit. Accordingly, we will have increased our loan balances without increasing our lines of credit, which can cause a decrease in liquidity. One solution to this liquidity problem is having idle cash for liquidity, which then could reduce our profitability. If either of these problems is persistent and/or significant, our ability to pay interest and principal on our Notes may be impaired.
Management has broad discretion over the use of proceeds from this offering, and it is possible that the funds will not be used effectively to generate enough cash for payment of principal and interest on the Notes.
We expect to use the proceeds from this offering for purposes detailed in the “Questions and Answers” and “Use of Proceeds” sections. Because no specific allocation of the proceeds is required in the indenture, our management will have broad discretion in determining how the proceeds of the offering will be used.
If a large number of our current and prospective borrowers are unable to repay their loans within a normal average number of months, we will experience a significant reduction in our income and liquidity, and may not be able to repay the Notes as they become due. Due to the impact from COVID-19, some of our borrowers have been unable to repay their loans within a normal average number of months.
Construction loans that we extend are expected to be repaid in a normal average number of months, typically nine months, depending on the size of the loan. Development loans are expected to last for many years. We have interest paid on a monthly basis, but also charge a fee which will be earned over the life of the loan. If these loans are repaid over a longer period of time, the amount of income that we receive on these loans expressed as a percentage of the outstanding loan amount will be reduced, and fewer loans with new fees will be able to be made, since the cash will not be available. This will reduce our income as a percentage of the Notes, and if this percentage is significantly reduced it could impair our ability to pay principal and interest on the Notes.
We depend on the availability of significant sources of credit to meet our liquidity needs and our failure to maintain these sources of credit could materially and adversely affect our liquidity in the future.
We plan to maintain our loan purchase and sale agreements and our lines of credit from affiliates so that we may draw funds when necessary to meet our obligation to redeem maturing Notes, pay interest on the Notes, meet our commitments to lend money to our customers, and for other general corporate purposes. Certain features of the loan purchase and sale agreements with third parties have added liquidity and flexibility, which have lessened the need for the lines of credit from affiliates. If we fail to maintain liquidity through our loan purchase and sale agreements and lines of credit for any reason, including a potential negative impact to the credit markets as a result of an outbreak of a communicable illness such as COVID-19, we will be more dependent on the proceeds from the Notes for our continued liquidity. If the sale of the Notes is significantly reduced or delayed for any reason and we fail to obtain or renew a line of credit, or we default on any of our lines of credit, then our ability to meet our obligations, including our Note obligations, could be materially adversely affected, and we may not have enough cash to pay back your investment.
In addition, the borrowing capacity on two of our lines of credit is based on the amount outstanding on the underlying collateral loans. If we are unable to find suitable investment opportunities, we may not be able to replace the underlying collateral loans with new loans and, in such a situation, the borrowing capacity on those lines of credit would be reduced. Also, the failure to maintain an active line of credit (and therefore using cash for liquidity instead of a borrowing line) will reduce our earnings, because we will be paying interest on the Notes, while we are holding cash instead of reducing our borrowings.
We have unfunded commitments to builders as of June 30, 2022. If every builder borrowed every amount allowed (which would mean all of their homes were complete) and no builders paid us back, we would need to fund that amount. While some of that amount would automatically come from our loan purchase and sale agreements, the rest would have to come from our Notes Program and/or our lines of credit. Therefore, we may not have the ability to fund our commitments to builders.
As of June 30, 2022, we have $25,869,000 of unfunded commitments to builders. If every builder borrowed every amount allowed and no builders repaid us then we would need to fund that amount. Lines of credit, loan purchase and sale agreements, payoffs from builders, and immediate investments in our Notes may not be enough to fund our commitments to builders as they become payable. If we default on these obligations, then we may face any one or more of the following: a higher default rate, lawsuits brought by customers, an eventual lack of business from borrowers, missed principal and interest payments to Note holders and holders of other debt, and a lack of desire for investors to invest in our Notes Program. Therefore, we could default on our repayment obligations to our Note holders.
We have a significant amount of debt and expect to incur a significant amount of additional debt in the future, including issuance of the Notes, which will subject us to increased risk of loss. Our present and future senior debt may make it difficult to repay the Notes.
We have a significant amount of debt and expect to incur a significant amount of additional debt in the future. As of June 30, 2022, we have approximately $48,690,000 of debt, net of deferred financing costs. Our primary sources of debt include our lines of credit, loan purchase and sale agreements, and the Notes. As of June 30, 2022, we have a total outstanding balance of $10,035,000 on our lines of credit and approximately $11,205,000 on our loan purchase and sale agreements. We also have the capacity to sell portions of many loans under the terms of our loan purchase and sale agreements. The loan purchase and sale agreements and other secured debt are with third parties and all but one of the lines of credit are collateralized by loans that we have issued to builders. The Notes are subordinate and junior in priority to any and all of our senior debt and senior subordinated debt, and equal to any and all non-senior debt, including other Notes. There are no restrictions in the indenture regarding the amount of senior debt or other indebtedness that we may incur. As of June 30, 2022, we had approximately $25,564,000 in Notes coming due by December 2022, and we cannot be certain whether we will be able to fund those Notes upon maturity. Upon the maturity of our senior debt, by lapse of time, acceleration or otherwise, the holders of our senior debt have first right to receive payment, in full, prior to any payments being made to a Note holder or to other non-senior debt. Therefore, upon such maturity of our senior debt Note holders would only be repaid in full if the senior debt is satisfied first and, following satisfaction of the senior debt, if there is an amount sufficient to fully satisfy all amounts owed under the Notes and any other non-senior debt.
In addition, we expect to incur a significant amount of additional debt in the future, including issuance of the Notes, borrowing under credit facilities, and other arrangements. The Notes will be subordinated in right of payment to all secured debt, including the Wallach Affiliate LOCs, Myrick LOC, loan purchase and sale agreements, the senior subordinated note discussed in the prior paragraph, and the line of credit discussed in the prior paragraph. Therefore, in the event of a default on the secured debt, affiliates of our Company, including Mr. Wallach, have the right to receive payment ahead of Note holders, as do other secured debt holders, such as the loan purchasers under the loan purchase and sale agreements. Accordingly, our business is subject to increased risk of a total loss of your investment if we are unable to repay all of our secured debt.
Payment on the Notes is subordinate to the payment of our outstanding present and future senior debt, if any. Since there is no limit to the amount of senior debt we may incur, our present and future senior debt may make it difficult to repay the Notes.
Our loan purchase and sale agreements and secured lines of credit with third-parties also function as senior debt. The balance on those loan purchase and sale agreements and other secured debt, net of deferred financing costs was $22,388,000 on June 30, 2022, and is expected to grow in the future. In addition, we have $1,250,000 in senior unsecured lines of credit which were fully drawn as of June 30, 2022. We also have senior subordinated notes which are senior to the Notes of $1,094,000 as of June 30, 2022. The Notes are subordinate and junior in priority to any and all of our senior debt and senior subordinated debt, and equal to any and all non-senior debt, including other Notes. The Notes are senior to junior subordinated notes. There are no restrictions in the indenture regarding the amount of senior debt or other indebtedness that we may incur. Upon the maturity of our senior debt, by lapse of time, acceleration or otherwise, the holders of our senior debt have first right to receive payment, in full, prior to any payments being made to a Note holder or to other non-senior debt. Therefore, upon such maturity of our senior debt Note holders would only be repaid in full if the senior debt is satisfied first and, following satisfaction of the senior debt, if there is an amount sufficient to fully satisfy all amounts owed under the Notes and any other non-senior debt.
Our operations are not subject to the stringent banking regulatory requirements designed to protect investors, so repayment of your investment is completely dependent upon our successful operation of our business.
Our operations are not subject to the stringent regulatory requirements imposed upon the operations of commercial banks, savings banks, and thrift institutions, and are not subject to periodic compliance examinations by federal or state banking regulators. For example, we will not be well diversified in our product risk, and we cannot benefit from government programs designed to protect regulated financial institutions. Therefore, an investment in our Notes does not have the regulatory protections that the holder of a demand account or a certificate of deposit at a bank does. The return on any Notes purchased by you is completely dependent upon our successful operations of our business. To the extent that we do not successfully operate our business, our ability to pay interest and principal on your Notes will be impaired.
Our CEO (who is also on our board of managers) and Executive Vice President will face conflicts of interest as a result of the secured lines of credit made to us, which could result in actions that are not in your best interests.
We have two lines of credit from Daniel M. Wallach (our CEO and chairman of the board of managers) and his affiliates, and one line of credit from William Myrick (our Executive Vice President). The first line of credit has a maximum principal borrowing amount of $1,250,000 and is payable to Mr. Wallach and his wife, Joyce S. Wallach, as tenants by the entirety (the “Wallach LOC”). The second line of credit has a maximum principal borrowing amount of $250,000 and is payable to the 2007 Daniel M. Wallach Legacy Trust (the “Wallach Trust LOC,” and together with the Wallach LOC, the “Wallach Affiliate LOCs”). The third line of credit has a maximum principal borrowing amount of $1,000,000 and is payable to Mr. Myrick (the “Myrick LOC”). As of June 30, 2022, there was no amount outstanding pursuant to the Wallach Trust LOC, with availability on that line of credit of $250,000, there was no amount outstanding pursuant to the Wallach LOC, with remaining availability on that line of credit of $1,250,000. As of June 30, 2022, the amount outstanding pursuant to the Myrick LOC was $344,000 with availability on that line of credit of $656,000. The interest rates on the Wallach Affiliate LOCs and the Myrick LOC generally equal the prime rate plus 3% and were 7.75% as of June 30, 2022. The Wallach Affiliate LOCs and the Myrick LOC are collateralized by a lien against all of our assets. The Notes are subordinated in right of payment to all secured debt, including these Wallach Affiliate LOCs and the Myrick LOC. Pursuant to the promissory note for each Wallach Affiliate LOCs and the Myrick LOC, the lenders have the option of funding any amount up to the face amount of the note, in the lender’s sole and absolute discretion. Therefore, Mr. Wallach and Mr. Myrick will face conflicts of interest in deciding whether and when to exercise any rights pursuant to the Wallach Affiliate LOCs and Myrick LOC, respectively. If Mr. Wallach or Mr. Myrick exercise their rights to collect on their collateral upon a default by us, we could lose some or all of our assets, which could have a negative effect on our ability to repay the Notes.
The indenture and terms of our Notes do not restrict our use of leverage. A relatively small loss can cause over leveraged companies to suffer a material adverse change in their financial position. If this happened to us, it may make it difficult to repay the Notes.
Financial institutions which are federally insured typically have 8-12% of their total assets in equity. A reduction in their loan assets due to losses of 2% reduces their equity by roughly 20%. We had 14% of our loan assets in equity as of June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021. If we allow our assets to increase without increasing our equity, we could have a much lower equity as a percentage of assets than we have today, which would increase our risk of nonpayment on the Notes. Note holders have no structural mechanism to protect them from this action, and rely solely on us to keep equity at a satisfactory ratio.