Don Nikols

Don Nikols is primarily responsible for aggregation of capital and investor relations. His 44-year real estate career spans institutional and private money lending, entrepreneurial real estate development and brokerage of all types of capital from loans to project equity.

Since 2005, his sole focus has been private money lending including over $880 million in fundings primarily in Southern California.

As a principal he has formed numerous profitable development partnerships for apartments, condominiums, planned unit developments, single-family residences and retail shopping. As a broker he has arranged equity capital, preferred equity capital, equity-participating mezzanine debt, equity-participating 2nd trust deeds, structured finance transactions, construction loans and adjustable and fixed rate loans for development, renovation, purchase and refinance of individual project capitalizations ranging from $500,000 to in excess of $50 million.

Carrie & Don Nikols are benefactors of St. Michaels Abbey in Silverado, CA and have served as Chairs of the Stewardship Committee at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Costa Mesa, CA. Don has been a member of the Orange Coast Chapter of Legatus and has served as Chaplain for Boy Scout Troop 911 in Huntington Beach, CA.

Don is a licensed California Real Estate Broker and licensed California General Contractor (B-1). He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration-Accounting from California State University Northridge and holds a Certificate in Investment Real Estate from University of California Irvine.

Carrie Nikols

Carrie Nikols is primarily responsible for loan origination, underwriting and servicing. Her 40-year commercial real estate experience ranges from institutional permanent lending and large balance bridge loans to smaller bank and private money construction and tailored transactions.

Carrie has originated and underwritten or overseen underwriting of all but the first $3 million of the over $735 million of private money loans funded by The Nikols Company.

As the top producing Region Manager for DaimlerChrysler Capital Services, Carrie originated and was responsible for a portfolio of $10 to $75 million highly leveraged commercial property bridge loans, all handled as agreed with no defaults. She has also pioneered various loan structures and product types including mezzanine loans, tax-exempt bond letter of credit enhancements with taxable tails, assisted living facilities, self-storage facilities and single-tenant biotech properties.

Carrie has written approximately 50 income property and residential subdivision appraisals as a state certified appraiser and MAI candidate.

Carrie & Don Nikols are benefactors of St. Michaels Abbey in Silverado, CA and have served as Chairs of the Stewardship Committee at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Costa Mesa. Carrie was Board Member and Program Chair of the Orange Coast Chapter of Legatus and has also served on the board of the Woman’s Guild at St. John Vianney Chapel on Balboa Island, CA.

She holds a California Real Estate Sales license and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration-Real Estate Finance.

Loretta Schultz

Loretta Schultz coordinates all loan closings, supervises loan servicing and monitors the loan portfolio. With thirty years of commercial real estate lending experience, she brings a broad base of expertise in portfolio management and contract administration.

Loretta served as Vice President / Portfolio Manager for South Coast Commercial Bank and First California Bank wherein she hired, trained and managed staff for all aspects of processing, underwriting and servicing a variety of commercial real estate loan programs in a $120 million portfolio.

As the Loan Servicing Manager for Clearinghouse CDFI, Loretta was responsible for coordinating and managing the start-up of an in-house servicing department for a $320 million loan portfolio. She implemented policies and procedures to ensure compliance on the community development focused loans, preventing losses for the institutional investors.

Loretta holds an Associate of Arts degree in Accounting from Orange Coast College.

Josh Stude

Josh Stude joined The Nikols Company in 2019 and is responsible for loan underwriting in conjunction with Carrie Nikols’ loan originating efforts. Josh has worked closely with Carrie since 2014 as her primary contact within the CBRE appraisal division that was responsible for the valuation of nearly all properties financed by the fund during those 5 years before he joined Nikols.

Josh was a Senior Vice President with CBRE where he served 17 years and was recognized as a national top producer for 6 straight years from 2013-2018 for his valuation expertise. He began his career at CBRE in the brokerage research division working on industrial research in Southern California and then moved to the Valuation & Advisory group. His clients at CBRE included an expansive list ranging from local developers to REITs.

He holds the prestigious MAI designation from the Appraisal Institute as well as a Certified General Appraisal License in California. He has experience in valuation of all product types of commercial real estate including multi-family, industrial, office, retail, land and mixed-use developments.

Josh graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Management and Organizational Communication.

Morgan Rommel

Morgan Rommel is responsible for investor distributions, investor relations, financial reporting and tax/regulatory compliance as it relates to the Fund. Her eleven years in public accounting and private industry contribute to high levels of accuracy and accountability in the management of the Fund.

Her first career position was with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, LLP where she gathered the experience needed to earn her CPA licensing in California.

As Senior Accountant for the global enterprise Fike Corporation, Morgan compiled data from international subsidiaries and completed monthly consolidated financial statements while tracking impacts of foreign exchange rates and reconciling all foreign cash accounts. She worked with executives and managers across all subsidiaries budgeting department expenses, calculating projected sales and providing accurate financial forecasts for coming years. In addition to compiling and completing documentation for both profit plan and year-end audits, she processed personnel entries for payroll, health insurance, 401k and ESOP.

Morgan’s an Orange County native and a graduate of the Wallace E. Carrol School of Management at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, MA where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Marketing.

Julia Hitomi

Julia Hitomi assists the Chief Operating Officer in the processing and closing of loans. She is also responsible for reviewing and funding draws for renovation and construction loans, billing and collection and general servicing functions.

Julia has fourteen years of experience as a commercial real estate loan processor and servicer. She held processing positions with both First California Bank and Vineyard Bank wherein she analyzed credit applications, title reports and tax returns. While assisting the underwriter, Julia reviewed and signed off pre-funding conditions and coordinated timely closings with title and escrow companies. Julia also served as an administrative assistant and billing clerk for a local manufacturing company where she gained experience in reconciling accounts and cash management.

Julia holds a Bachelor of the Arts degree from California State University Fullerton.

Sydney Nikols O’Toole

Sydney Nikols O’Toole assists the Chairman/Founder and CEO with administrative functions and supports the marketing efforts of the company through conceptual design, writing and editing content and organizing and executing email and direct mail campaigns.

Sydney is also a writer and actress living in Los Angeles. She has developed half-hour comedy pilots for MTV and Comedy Central and is a graduate of the improv and sketch programs at UCB. She holds a BFA in Writing, Literature and Publishing from Emerson College in Boston.

Michael P. Simondi

Mike Simondi has documented nearly every loan that the Fund and all related entities have closed since the Fund’s 2007 inception.

Prior to forming Michael P. Simondi & Associates in 1996, he was Partner-In-Charge for Real Estate for the Orange County Office of Morgan Lewis & Bockius; Partner for Real Estate for the Orange County Office of Memel, Jacobs & Ellsworth; and Associate for Real Estate and Tax for the Orange County Office of Meserve, Mumper & Hughes. He was also Tax Accountant for Price Waterhouse & Co. and Arthur Young & Co.

Mike holds a J. D. from University of California, Hastings College of Law; an M.B.A. from University of California Berkeley, Accounting Emphasis; and a B.S. from University of California Berkeley, Accounting Emphasis. He has been an investor in the Fund since 2008.