A short-term asset-backed real estate lender that underwrites the collateral rather than the borrower.

What they do

First-lien loans secured by non-owner-occupied single family, investment, and commercial property, 6 to 36 month terms with monthly interest-only payments. No credit check, tax returns, or financial statements are required. Borrowers are investors, builders, and developers, mostly fix-and-flip and construction, in core MSAs.

Key facts

What makes them different

Two structural choices. The deed-of-trust-only footprint means non-judicial foreclosure, so the recovery timeline on a default is weeks rather than the year-plus a judicial state can take. And asset-based underwriting lets them close on speed for borrowers a bank cannot serve, while the LTV does the credit work.

Why KMAK invested

This is the income and capital preservation position in the portfolio. We like lending where the exit does not depend on being right about the borrower: a first lien at 65% LTV in a non-judicial foreclosure state is a defined downside, and a decade and a half of cycle-tested volume tells us the underwriting holds up. It also pays currently, which balances the long-duration illiquid venture and development positions we hold elsewhere. The 5.8% default figure is disclosed rather than buried, which is itself a reason we were comfortable.