Posted on 11/19/2010 3:04:49 PM PST by Second Amendment First
Emiel Kandi forever changed the lives of a pregnant hairdresser, a jobless mechanic and a single mom when he loaned them money.
These unsophisticated, desperate borrowers thought a short-term loan from the well-dressed professional could save them from financial collapse or foreclosure. But the very asset they were trying to hold on to — their home — was what Kandi was determined to take.
Kandi is the lender of last resort for some people who've been turned down by banks because of poor credit or limited income. He says his requirement for a borrower is merely "a pulse and a legal ability to sign."
He admits he charges borrowers as much as he can get away with — 45 percent interest in one case — and makes it clear to them that if they fail to comply with the loan agreements, he will take their property.
"I am a wolf," he explained.
A Seattle Times examination of numerous Kandi loan deals shows that they are set up so he can quickly take borrowers' homes and in some cases flip them for a profit. And he gets away with it.
"He's in the business of taking people's property," said Martin Burns, a lawyer who sued Kandi on behalf of the mechanic. "He finds vulnerable people and exploits them."
Kandi, 34, of University Place, Pierce County, is part of the hard-money lending industry. It provides short-term commercial loans to people with businesses or real-estate investments who can't get conventional bank loans or have poor credit. Lenders charge high interest rates, typically 10 to 14 percent, and require real estate as collateral.
Hard-money lending has quietly served knowledgeable commercial borrowers for centuries, providing quick capital or solving cash-flow problems.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
I predict that this shyster will soon walk into one or two bullets.
So torn.
On one hand you've got people that should have been clued in that they really shouldn't buy a house, and on the other you've got effectively a loan shark.
Not sure I have any sympathy for the morons that went in on loans with him, but at he same time the guy is a predatory crook.
Read the article. The one guy owned the property free and clear. He needed the money to pay the property taxes to avoid Sheriffs sale.
These used to be called “loans to own”. Even though I really detest these types of sharks, I think they have a right to do what they do.
I have the opposite opinion. No one is making them come to him for loans and when they sign, they know full well the consequences of non-payment.
Apparently he is also the owner of something called Cobra Medical Group, which sells “medical marijuana” to whoever wants it. The City of Tacoma sued him, but had to back down, according to a recent story in Seattle Weekly, “Pot Predator.”
It has a mother? Who knew?
These are unsophisticated people who are being exploited by this shark. They are being referred to him by others getting kickbacks for the referrals.
I believe in the free market, but the unscrupulous taking advantage of desperate people is immoral.
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What if they are incompetent (unsophisticated) adults just trying to stay in a home they inherited and are going to lose it for unpaid taxes?
Just picking up the crumbs from Sandler,, Blankfein, etc., etc., and so forth.
Are you with the prison guards union?
This guy is a loan shark. Plain and simple.
A broken knee cap is better that being put out on the street.
Reads like some liberal ‘victim’ story to me. Like the bankers that ‘took advantage’ of people getting loans (via CRA) There’s more to this.
See the last comments....
Seems like the guys sticking up for Kandi (krondoral and malcolm) are one of us....
Again, there may be more but just the tone of the article sounded more liberal to me than anything. I could be wrong.
My first thought as well. But he's not playing by the rules. He's making "commercial" loans to avoid all the protections in the law for residential loans.
After a three-day trial in the Marsh case, Pierce County judge pro tem Clint Johnson determined Marsh had no scrap business and that almost all of the money paid his delinquent property taxes. "Kandi engaged in a scheme to misrepresent and defraud the plaintiff in a lending process and also acted in such a scheme to take plaintiff's property with substantial equity," Johnson said.
I'm in the commercial real estate business. You learn very early on, don't sign anything until you understand it. If your attorney can't understand it walk away.
bump
I didn’t see anything in the article about MM. Look, I’m no bleeding heart, and Kandi may or may not have done anything illegal. Just saying it’s pretty immoral in my opinion.
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