LEICHT FINANCIAL PLANNING AND WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Paul Leicht, the firm's president, appears to personally oversee underwriting and credit decisions. Public records list him as the principal, and the firm's lean structure — no posted investment committee biographies, no external advisor disclosures — suggests a principal-led decision-making model typical of single-family offices at this scale.

The firm operates in the direct trust deed and mortgage note market, sourcing from brokers, title company networks, and note-selling platforms rather than through institutional origination channels. Trust deed investors in California often develop relationships with specific originators and foreclosure attorneys; Leicht's long tenure in this niche suggests a regional, relationship-based sourcing model.

All available indicators point to a single-family office structure with no outside client mandates. The firm does not advertise fund vehicles, has no disclosed AUM, and lists no outside limited partners. Its trust deed investment model — where the family holds notes directly — would require additional regulatory structuring to accommodate external investors.

The portfolio concentrates on residential and commercial properties in trust deed states, notably California and the Western US. The firm avoids raw land and construction loans, preferring first-position liens on income-generating properties where the value can be assessed against stabilized net operating income rather than projected future value.

Public record shows no evidence of co-investment vehicles, joint ventures, or club-deal participation. The direct-note model itself reduces reliance on external managers: Leicht originates and holds the loan in-house, making partnership structures unnecessary for execution.

Unlike institutional debt funds that write floating-rate bridge loans at scale and often sell participations, Leicht retains full note ownership in a trust deed structure. The legal priority differs: a recorded deed of trust gives the lender direct non-judicial foreclosure rights in California and similar states, a mechanism that institutional funds typically subordinate or share when syndicating large loans.