Breaking Down Private Lending, Syndicated Mortgages, and MICs with Dan K. Akowuah

Real Life Mortgage Solutions

Host Len Lane welcomes special guest Dan Akowuah from Amansad Financial to discuss the intricacies of private lending and its role within the mortgage industry. Len and Dan break down the differences between private lending, syndicated mortgages, and mortgage investment corporations (MICs), a topic that is often misunderstood. Dan provides insight into private lending as an arrangement where individuals or corporations lend funds directly, bypassing traditional banking requirements. He explains how these private loans can offer an alternative solution for borrowers who may not meet conventional lending standards, emphasizing the importance of thorough due diligence and investor safeguards, especially with recent regulatory changes.

The conversation also delves into the current lending environment, touching on how high interest rates have influenced investor activity. Dan shares his approach to risk management, only working with investors who have diversified sources of income. He also notes that while private lending offers a unique opportunity for investors interested in real estate, it’s not without challenges. Dan stresses that ethical lending practices and rigorous verification procedures are essential, especially as regulatory bodies increase scrutiny to protect both lenders and borrowers. This episode provides valuable insights for anyone interested in understanding private lending's nuances and its place in today’s mortgage landscape.

About Dan K. Akowuah

Dan K. Akowuah is a seasoned private lending professional at Amansad Financial, with over a decade of experience specializing in non-traditional lending solutions for clients who may not meet standard banking requirements. Formerly associated with the Brokers for Life team, Dan brings a wealth of knowledge from his prior work in retail finance within the automotive and RV sectors.

Recognized for his meticulous due diligence and ethical approach, he has built a robust network of trusted investors. Dan’s expertise spans multiple Canadian provinces, focusing on securing private lending opportunities with a careful assessment of risk, particularly in single-family and select commercial properties. His dedication to maintaining high standards and regulatory compliance positions him as a knowledgeable and reliable partner in private lending.

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Contact Len Lane | Brokers for Life:

• BrokersForLife.ca
• Linkedin: Len Lane
• LinkedIn: Brokers for Life
• Facebook: Brokers for Life
• X: @Brokers4Life
  
  

Contact Dan K. Akowuah | Amansad Financial:

• Website: amansadfinancial.com
• LinkedIn: DanA
  
  

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Transcript:

Len 00:02

Welcome. My name is Len lane, and I am the founder and president of brokers for life Inc, and we are Dominion Lending Centers in Western Canada. The topic of our podcast will be about what we consider to be real life Mortgage Solutions. Welcome back. This is episode four of talking about lenders. Today we're going to talk about something that you probably hear about in the industry or in the news and unfortunately, but it also gets kind of mixed up with what MIC are, what syndicated is, and what private individual lending is by itself. So my guest today is Dan K. Akowuah, Amansad Financial, former member of the Brokers for Life team and long time friend now, 7, 8 or 8, years, I don't know what it is, but Dan, welcome to the studio.

Dan 00:54

Thank you. Thanks for having me here. Excited to get some conversations going.

Len 00:59

Exactly. So let's start with that definition. I know everybody gets kind of confused about what true private lending is. Maybe give us your definition of it. And how did you get started doing that?

Dan 01:13

Well, I would say private lending, from my perspective, is when you have an individual or individual who owns like a corporation of some sort, and they're lending money and acting like the bank to somebody who needs money but can meet the bank requirements or an alternate type requirements, right? So it's basically people helping people in a different fashion.

Len 01:32

So they can be corporations?

Dan 01:35

Yeah, they can be corporations,right? But especially with the new FINTRAC rules, you have to make sure that everybody that is part of that corporation is vetted, right? So, it's very important that when you're dealing with individuals who are corporations, you also, in addition to getting their ID and verification, you want to verify the corporation and make sure that they're legitimate and so forth.

Len 01:57

Right, and percentage of ownership is that important within that?

Dan 02:02

Exactly. Yeah, exactly. You know, ideally, 50% right? It is like the threshold. You don't want a minority, minority shareholder making decisions.

Len 02:14

Spending the company’s money, right? So, yeah. So how did you get started in that you've been doing it now? What? It's almost 10 years.

Dave 02:21

Um, actually, it's been since 2012. Yeah, so it's been quite a while. So prior to being in the mortgage business, I worked at in the automotive and RV, so I did a lot of retail type lending, right? Then, in 2007 when the economy kind of went kaputs, right? My income dropped substantially. And I said, You know what, I can't rely on being an employee. So, you know, I started doing some investigating, because I have a finance background. I kind of landed on the, in the arena of mortgage brokering. And for the first couple of years, I just did the traditional mortgages and the Alt-tier mortgages, but I found that to be too similar to what I was doing for 10 plus years in the RV business. And then I happened to come across a foreclosure type file with the bankruptcy all involved. And I kind of navigated through that, but it really opened my eyes to a different type of lending, right? And then from there on, I started basically doing a lot of research, a lot of homework, speaking, I did lots of meetings with um, Gay Andrews, who used to be with Caplink, and she coached me a lot. And I'm forever grateful for that. And it's kind of built up over time and built up a good network of trusted investors. And that's been my, you know, my niche, ever since.

Len 03:46

Yeah, and quite successful at it. We know from personal experience that that your due diligence on paperwork and and everything is is probably above above some of the actual lenders that we work with themselves, not the point finger, but it's uh… so private lending, as I said at the beginning, private lending, syndication, MIC, always kind of get lumped into the same thing. But how does this differ from a mortgage investment corporation or a MIC?

Dan 04:19

Well, the biggest difference is, with the mortgage investment corporation is you have, like, a management tea...