Avalon McLeod
McLeod Capital Fund Inc.
How has your outlook of the private lending changed over the past year?
My outlook has changed in a positive way. Being a private lender myself, I believe that this is a dynamic opportunity to help more real estate investors when most institutional lenders are raising the bar when it comes to credit and real estate experience. We, as true private lenders, can still focus on being predominately asset-based and be able to capitalize on this even during a pandemic.
What are you doing differently today to move your company forward than you were 6 months ago?
McLeod Capital Fund has been focusing more on niche marketing, including targeted marketing campaigns only focusing on states and counties where we predominately lend. Instead of marketing to everyone who can benefit from our product, we are now focusing on a single group of people: new and seasoned investors who are looking for asset-based lending.
How has your company evolved since its inception?
McLeod Capital Fund has evolved in a tremendous way over the past year. Our biggest accomplishment to date is being able to build up a network of private lenders who lend from their own funds, who underwrite the deals, and do the valuation themselves. I realize that if you want to be successful in this business, you must put yourself in a position where you can close deals faster than your competition. McLeod Capital Fund has evolved into a one-stop-shop with a diverse set of loan programs both state and nationwide. We have also merged with some of the most competitive and financially strong in the private lending space today.
What is something most people don’t know about your company?
Although we have been doing business in the financial arena since 2015, McLeod Capital Fund was officially incorporated in 2020. That said, our team has over 20 years of combined industry experience.
What has been the highlight so far in your career?
My highlight so far is building a network of private lenders in a short space of time and partnering with different funds nationwide to give Real Estate Investors access to private money.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Stick to doing what you are great at; however, do not stay in a box. Always broaden your horizons even if it is outside of your current field of work. If I had known better, I would have become a private lender a long time ago. But as they always say…nothing beats time for experience!
What piece of advice did you receive early in your career that has helped shape decision you’ve made?
A.B.N. Always be networking! Remember, the more you network in this business, the more you can help your next potential investor to acquire their investment property. I received this advice at a seminar. Also, time waits on no man. This is a business based on the idea of urgency. Carpe Diem!
Tell us about a person or organization you admire. How have them made an important impact on you, the industry, or the world?
I have always admired Civic Financial Services, especially Whit McCarthy who is currently an SVP. It’s astonishing to see the growth and what the company has accomplished since 2014. It shows you that once you put the pedal to the metal, and you genuinely believe in what you do, and do it with a burning desire, you will succeed. This is the Whit McCarthy story. He started from the bottom like everybody else, didn’t know that he would enter into Real Estate on the finance side, but he fell in love with it and stuck to it. And, look at his success story now!
How have you turned a career mistake or failure into a success in your career?
I have had downtime in this business where I made mistakes and I felt as if I was failing. Then, I remembered that failure is not an option and it really does not exist unless you pursue it. I turned this around by reaching out to people who do the same thing I do everyday for a living. One of my private lending partners who has been in the business for many years shared with me his advice. I started doing things differently, focusing on private money vs institutional hard money and this is where my entire business pivoted to adapt.
What do you predict for the future in private lending throughout the end of this year and beyond?
Well, it definitely won’t be one of the easiest roads to take with everything being so unpredictable from the lenders’ standpoint. However, if we look at the glass half full, we would see a dramatic influx of Fix and Flip Investors, Foreclosure and Short Sale Investors, Cash Out Equity and Bridge Rental Loans, all of which would tremendously benefit our industry.
If you had a clean state to start over and do anything you wanted to do, what would that be?
I would have attended AAPL in 2019 because I learned so much at the conference in 2020!
How do you want to be remembered? What have you done to cultivate that feeling from others?
I want to be remembered as a man of integrity, passion, wisdom, and zeal. I try my best on a day-to-day basis to interact with as many people as I can, so these values can be portrayed; hence boosting my productivity, longevity, and success in this business.
Avalon McLeod, is a Jamaican Native who serves as President/Senior Finance Officer at McLeod Capital Fund Inc. located in Hollywood, Florida.
