Below we have provided some of the more frequently asked questions and answers relating to the offering of the Notes. Please see the “Prospectus Summary” and the remainder of the prospectus for more information about the offering of the Notes.
Q: Who is Shepherd’s Finance, LLC?
A: Shepherd’s Finance, LLC, along with our consolidated subsidiary, (“Shepherd’s Finance,” “we,” “our,” “us,” or the “Company”) is a finance company organized as a limited liability company in the State of Delaware. Our business is focused on commercial lending to participants in the residential construction and development industry. Our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), who is also on our board of managers, is Daniel M. Wallach. Mr. Wallach is responsible for overseeing our day-to-day operations. Our office is located in Jacksonville, Florida. As of December 31, 2022, we have 66 customers in 21 states. As of March 31, 2023, Mr. Wallach and his wife, directly or indirectly, own 80.7% of our outstanding common membership interests, which constitute our voting membership interests. Therefore, Mr. Wallach is able to exercise significant control over our business, including with respect to the composition of our board of managers. A manager may be removed by a vote of holders of 80% of our outstanding voting membership interests.
Q: What are your primary business activities?
A: We extend and service commercial loans to small-to-medium sized homebuilders for the purchase of lots and/or the construction of homes thereon. In some circumstances, the lot is purchased with an older home on the lot which is then either removed or rehabilitated. If the home is rehabilitated, the loan is referred to as a “rehab” loan. As we continue to grow our business, we are focusing some of our efforts on our rehab loan program, which we believe in the long run will face less bank competition and have more stable demand than our new construction program. We also extend and service loans for the purchase of lots and undeveloped land and the development of that land into residential building lots. Most of the loans are for “spec homes” or “spec lots,” meaning they are built or developed speculatively (with no specific end-user homeowner in mind). The loans are generally secured, and the collateral is the land, lots, and constructed items thereon, as well as additional collateral, as we deem appropriate. As of December 31, 2022, we had 230 construction loans in 21 states with 66 borrowers and 20 development loans in nine states with 14 borrowers. We intend to continue expanding our lending activity and further diversifying our loan portfolio.
Q: What is your experience in this type of lending?
A: Since 2011, we have extended and serviced commercial loans to small-to-medium sized homebuilders for the purchase of lots and/or the construction of homes thereon. We have also extended rehab loans to homebuilders in instances when the lot has an existing home which is either removed or rehabilitated. We also extend and service loans for the purchase of lots and undeveloped land and the development of that land into residential building lots. We have originated approximately $337,494,000 of loans from December 2011 through 2022. As of December 31, 2022, we had 230 construction loans in 21 states with 66 borrowers and 20 development loans in nine states with 14 borrowers.
Our CEO, Daniel M. Wallach, has been in the housing industry since 1985. For 11 years, he was the Chief Financial Officer of 84 Lumber Company (“84 Lumber”), a multi-billion dollar supplier of building materials to home builders. He also was responsible for 84 Lumber’s lending business for 20 years. During those years, he was responsible for the creation and implementation of many secured lending programs to builders, some of which were performed fully by 84 Lumber, and some of which were performed in partnership with banks. In general, both the creation of all loans and the resolution of defaulted loans were Mr. Wallach’s responsibility, whether the loans were company loans or loans in partnership with banks. Through these programs, he was responsible for the creation of approximately $2,000,000,000 in loans which generated interest spread of $50,000,000 after deducting for loan losses. Through the years, Mr. Wallach managed the development of systems for reducing and managing the risks and losses on defaulted loans. Mr. Wallach also was responsible for 84 Lumber’s unsecured debt to builders, which reached over $300,000,000 at its peak. He also gained experience in securing defaulted unsecured debt.
Q: Why will your potential customers want to borrow from you?
A: While the number of housing starts dropped to historically low levels in 2007, they have been recovering since and there were approximately 1,130,000 new single family homes with construction started in the United States in 2021. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Inflation, Interest Rates, and Housing Starts.” However, during 2023, we expect that the housing market in most of the areas in which we do business will likely decline as compared to the same period of time in 2022 due to the impact of current economic conditions and reactions by the Federal Reserve Bank. While markets will probably weaken compared to where they were during 2022, we anticipate losses incurred in principal related to COVID-19 will decrease, and the lower interest income due to nonperforming assets will continue to decrease during 2023 as compared to 2022. Short term interest rates are expected to continue to rise. Mortgage rates peaked mid-2022 and have declined since. A continued rise in short term rates is likely to benefit the company as our competitors’ rates will rise faster than ours making us more competitive, but an additional rise in long term interest rates would negatively impact the housing industry as a whole, and therefore us. Many small-to-medium sized home builders can build homes for customers who have their own financing, but are unable to obtain or supply any or enough of their own financing to build speculative or model homes. The ability to have available either a speculative home or a model home can greatly increase the total number of homes a builder can sell per year, so despite the high cost of providing financing to builders today, we believe that there is a significant demand. Banks, which historically have been the most popular provider of financing for builders, are mostly not in that business today, or are in the business at a reduced level. We believe that this void in supply gives us the opportunity to profit in this niche business of providing financing to small-to-medium sized home builders. In addition, we believe that this is a good time to extend commercial loans to builders in the residential real estate market because many of our competitors have sustained losses due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and, therefore, are currently reluctant to lend in this space.
Q: What is the role of the Board of Managers?
A: While our CEO and other executive officers are responsible for our day-to-day operations, our board of managers is responsible for governance over our business. Our board of managers is comprised of Daniel M. Wallach, who is also our CEO, and three independent managers, Eric A. Rauscher, Kenneth R. Summers, and Gregory L. Sheldon.
Q: What kind of offering is this and how many Notes are outstanding?
A: We are offering up to $70,000,000 in Notes. As of December 31, 2022, we have approximately $21,576,000 of Notes outstanding, consisting of Notes issued pursuant to our prior offerings. We previously engaged in three public offering of Notes, the most recent of which terminated on September 16, 2022. Notes issued in our prior offerings rank equally to the Notes offered in this offering.
Q: How are the Notes sold?
A: The Notes are offered directly by us without an underwriter or placement agent. We may market the Notes by advertisements on the internet, advertisements in local and/or national newspapers, roadway sign advertisements, or through direct mail campaigns and other miscellaneous media in states in which we have properly registered the offering or qualified for an exemption from registration.
Q: What are the proposed terms of the Notes you are offering?
A: The Notes will initially be offered with maturities ranging from 12 months to 48 months from the date of issuance. The interest rates will vary within the predetermined interest rate ranges, as described in this prospectus, but annual interest rates as of the date of this prospectus are as follows: 7% for 12-month Notes; 8% for 24-month Notes; 6% for 36-month Notes; and 10% for 48-month Notes. Interest will be calculated based on the actual number of days your Note is outstanding. Interest is calculated and compounded monthly based on a 365/366 day year. When you make an investment, your rate will be fixed throughout the duration of your investment.
Q: How is the interest rate determined?
A: From time to time, we will establish the interest rate(s) we are offering for various maturities. By referring to the features (e.g., the maturities and interest rates) which are in effect at the time, you will see the interest rate(s) and maturities we are currently offering. The interest rate offered on the Notes depends on which maturity you select and is subject to a range, as follows:
Note Maturity Minimum Rate Ceiling
_______________________________________________________________________________________
12-Month 5 % 10 %
24-Month 6 % 10 %
36-Month 3 % 6 %
48-Month 8 % 12 %
The interest rate on a Note purchased by you is fixed and will not change over the term of the Note.
Q: What will you do with the proceeds raised from this offering?
A: If all of the Notes offered by this prospectus are sold, we expect to receive approximately $69,298,000 in net proceeds (after deducting all costs and expenses associated with this offering). We intend to use substantially all of the net proceeds from this offering as follows and in the following order of priority:
● to make payments on other borrowings, including loans from affiliates;
● to pay Notes on their scheduled due date and Notes that we are required to redeem early;
● to make interest payments on the Notes; and
● to the extent we have remaining net proceeds and adequate cash on hand, to fund any one or more of the following activities:
○ to extend commercial construction loans to homebuilders to build single or multi-family homes, develop lots, or rehabilitate an older home on an existing lot;
○ to make distributions to equity owners, including distributions on our preferred equity;
○ for working capital and other corporate purposes provided, however, no more than 20% of the proceeds will be used for such purposes;
○ to purchase defaulted secured debt from financial institutions at a discount;
○ to purchase defaulted unsecured debt from suppliers to homebuilders at a discount and then secure it with real estate or other collateral;
○ to purchase real estate, in which we will operate our business (one such purchase occurred in February 2017); and
○ to redeem Notes which we have decided to redeem prior to maturity.
Q: What is a Note?
A: A Note is our promise to pay you a specified rate of interest for a specific period of time and to repay your principal investment upon maturity. The Notes are our general unsecured obligations and are subordinate in right of payment to all present and future senior debt. “Subordinated” means that if we are unable to pay our debts as they come due, all of the senior debt would be paid in full first. After the senior debt is paid in full, any remaining money would be used to repay the Notes and other subordinated debt that are equal to the Notes in priority. As of December 31, 2022, we had $25,521,000 in senior debt and approximately $28,132,000 in subordinated debt. We expect to incur debt in the future, including, but not limited to, more senior debt and the Notes offered pursuant to this offering.
Q: What is an indenture?
A: As required by United States federal law, the Notes are governed by a document called an “indenture.” An indenture is a contract between us and a trustee. The main role of the trustee is to enforce your rights against us if we are in default of our obligations under the Notes. Defaults are described in this prospectus under “Description of Notes — Events of Default.” There are some limitations on the extent to which the trustee acts on your behalf. These limitations are described in this prospectus under “Description of Notes — Events of Default.”
The Notes are issued under an indenture dated September 16, 2022, between us and U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as trustee. The indenture does not limit the principal amount of debt securities that we may issue under it. The indenture is governed by Delaware law and is qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939.
Q: Is my investment in the Notes insured or guaranteed?
A: No, the Notes are:
● NOT certificates of deposit with an insured financial institution;
● NOT guaranteed by any depository institution; and
● NOT insured by the FDIC or any governmental or private insurance fund, or any other person or entity.
The Notes are backed only by the faith and credit of our Company and our operations. You are dependent upon our ability to effectively manage our business to generate sufficient cash flow, including cash flow from our commercial lending activities, for the repayment of principal at maturity and the ongoing payment of interest on the Notes.
Q: How is interest calculated and paid to me?
A: Interest will be calculated based on the actual number of days your Note is outstanding. Interest is calculated and compounded monthly based on a 365-day year (366-day in case of a leap year). Interest will be earned daily, and we will pay interest to you monthly or at maturity as you request. If you choose to be paid interest at maturity rather than monthly, the interest will be compounded monthly. If any day on which a payment is due with respect to a Note is not a business day, then you will not be entitled to payment of the amount due until the following business day, and no additional interest will be due as a result of such delay. If you elect to be paid interest monthly, interest on your Note will be paid on the first business day of every month. Your first interest payment date will be the month following the month in which the Note is issued, except that if a new Note is issued within the last 10 days preceding an interest payment date, the first interest payment will be made on the next succeeding interest payment date (i.e., approximately 35–40 days after issuance). No payments under $50 will be made, with any interest payment being accrued to your benefit and earning interest on a monthly compounding basis until the payment due to you is at least $50 on an interest payment date.
Q: If I elect to have interest on the Note paid in one lump sum at maturity, can I change my election later?
A: Yes, we will allow you to change your election so that you receive monthly payments of earned and unpaid interest instead. You should contact us at (302) 752-2688 (30-ASK-ABOUT) or use our website, www.shepherdsfinance.com, to learn the steps you should take to change your election.
Q: When do the Notes mature?
A: The Notes will generally mature based on the maturity date you select at the time of purchase, unless the Company chooses to redeem your Note prior to its stated maturity or, in certain circumstances, you require us to redeem your Note prior to its stated maturity.
Q: May I redeem a Note prior to maturity?
A: Beginning 180 calendar days after the issuance date, you may request, in writing, that we redeem the Note. Your request, however, is subject to our consent and we may decline your request at our choosing. If we agree to your redemption request, a 180-day interest penalty will be imposed. This means that you will not receive the last 180 days’ worth of interest and, if the accrued and unpaid interest is not sufficient to cover the amount of the penalty, then any remaining amount of the penalty shall be deducted from the principal amount of the Note (i.e., we will subtract the remaining interest penalty from your original investment).
Holders of a Note with a 36-month maturity purchased on or after February 4, 2020 may require us to redeem all or a portion of such Note for a redemption price equal to the principal amount plus an amount equal to the unpaid interest thereon for such Note at the stated rate to the redemption date, subject to certain restrictions primarily related to how much advance notice is provided to us. Furthermore, unless the subordination provisions in the indenture restrict our ability to make the redemption, a holder of a Note may also require us to redeem all or a portion of their Note, regardless of amount and without any interest penalty, for a redemption price equal to the principal amount plus an amount equal to the unpaid interest thereon for such Note at the stated rate to the redemption date, upon one business day’s advance notice to us, but only if the holder immediately upon redemption invests the entirety of the proceeds from such redemption in another Note or another security then-offered by us, if any; provided, however, (i) a holder may only reinvest in another Note with a maturity that is equal to or greater than the period remaining until the maturity date for the Note to be redeemed and (ii) a holder may only reinvest in a Note with a 36-month maturity if the holder is seeking to redeem a Note with a 36-month maturity. The restriction requiring you to wait until 180 days have passed from the issuance of your Note to request a redemption does not apply to the redemptions described in this paragraph. See the “Description of Notes — Additional Redemption Options for Notes with a 36-Month Maturity” section of this prospectus for additional information.
Q: What happens if I die prior to the maturity date?
A. At the written request of the executor or administrator of your estate (or if your Note is held jointly with another investor, the joint owner of your Note), we will redeem any Note at any time after death. The redemption price will be equal to the principal amount plus earned but unpaid interest payable on the Note, without any interest penalty. We will seek to honor any such request as soon as reasonably possible based on our cash position at the time and our then current cash needs, but generally within two weeks of the request. It is possible that the subordination provisions in the indenture may restrict our ability to honor your request.
Q: Can you force me to redeem my Note?
A: Yes. At any time, we may call all or a portion of your Note for redemption. We will give you 30 to 60 days’ notice of the mandatory redemption and repay your Note for a price equal to the principal amount plus earned but unpaid interest to the day we repay your Note.
Q: Are there any JOBS Act considerations?
A. We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or the JOBS Act, and are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from, or reduced disclosure obligations relating to, various reporting requirements that are normally applicable to public companies. Such exemptions include, among other things, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations relating to executive compensation in proxy statements and periodic reports, and exemptions from the requirement to hold a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and obtain shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Additionally, under Section 107 of the JOBS Act, an “emerging growth company” may take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act of 1933 for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This means an “emerging growth company” can delay adopting certain accounting standards until such standards are otherwise applicable to private companies. However, we have elected to “opt out” of such extended transition period, and will therefore comply with new or revised accounting standards on the applicable dates on which the adoption of such standards are required for non-emerging growth companies. Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that our decision to opt out of such extended transition period for compliance with new or revised accounting standards is irrevocable.
We will remain an “emerging growth company” until the earliest of (i) the last day of the first fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenues of $1.235 billion or more, (ii) the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the date of the first sale of our common equity securities pursuant to an effective registration statement, (iii) the date on which we become a “large accelerated filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act (which would occur if the market value of our common equity held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million, measured as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter), or (iv) the date on which we have, during the preceding three year period, issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt.
Q: What are some of the significant risks of my investment in the Notes?
A: You should carefully read and consider all risk factors beginning on page 12 of this prospectus prior to investing. A summary of the principal risk factors we face is also contained in the “Summary of Principal Risk Factors” section of this prospectus.
Q: How do I purchase a Note?
A. You may purchase a Note from us by visiting our website at www.shepherdsfinance.com and following the instructions under the heading “Investors” and then “Our Investment Process” or by calling (302) 752-2688 (30-ASK-ABOUT) to request a copy of the prospectus along with an investment application. Upon receipt of your application and investment check and the acceptance and posting of your investment, we will send you a confirmation, which describes, among other things, the term, interest rate, and principal amount of your Note.
We reserve the right to reject any investment. Among other reasons, we may reject an investment if the information in your investment application is incorrect or incomplete, or if the interest rate or maturity you have selected has not been offered by us in the past seven calendar days for your desired investment amount at the time we receive your investment documents.
Q: Whom may I contact for more information?
A: You can obtain additional copies of this prospectus and review the established features of the Notes at www.shepherdsfinance.com or by calling (302) 752-2688 (30-ASK-ABOUT). However, the information contained on our website is not part of this prospectus. If you have questions about the suitability of an investment in the Notes for you, you should contact your own investment, tax, and other financial advisors.