Private lending for real estate entrepreneurs

5.0

Based on 17 reviews

What our relationships are saying:

“John and Ian are First Class… Closed a construction loan on time without a hitch. They follow up and follow through.”

— Paul-William Scoggins

“I can’t recommend them highly enough. Truly exceptional professionals who care about their clients’ success.”

— Ryan Styles

“Their expertise has been invaluable… It’s rare to find a lender more invested in your success than just the transaction.”

— Jenny Hardin

“These fellows are more like your partners and advisors than just lenders. They take the time to really listen.”

— Dahlia Frydman

Built on better deals.

Protection

We protect investor principal first, structured for survival, not optimism.

The right leverage. Clear exits. Real downside analysis.

If a deal only works in a good market, we do not do it.

Truth

We tell the full story, including what can go wrong.

No spin. No urgency pressure. No hiding risk behind yield.

We would say the same thing if we were lending our own last dollar.

Alignment

We only partner where incentives and values match long term.

Borrowers must have equity and realism. Lenders must understand risk.

If incentives diverge, we walk.

Our Sonoma County Roots

John H. Downey Jr. and Ian Tavelli

John H. Downey Jr., two-time Santa Rosa mayor

Downey Tire Center, Fourth Street, Santa Rosa

John H. Downey Jr. on Santa Rosa City Council

Mayacamas Lending opened in July 2025, but its roots run three generations deep in Sonoma County.

Ian’s grandfather and mentor, John H. Downey Jr., arrived in Santa Rosa in 1950 after serving as a merchant marine in World War II. He ran Downey Tire Co. on Fourth Street for decades, served on the City Council through the 1969 earthquake, was elected twice as Mayor of Santa Rosa, and co-founded National Bank of the Redwoods, a business bank built for the local entrepreneur.

John was also a keen poker player. In 2009, he bought Ian into the World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas. They both played. Ian, then 21, finished 17th and turned his grandfather’s $10,000 investment into just over half a million dollars. The lesson was not about cards. It was that skill, preparation, and courage are rewarded. Ian invested his share of the winnings, earned a degree in Global Business Finance from Arizona State University, and put both to work.

Ian built his career in Santa Rosa across both sides of debt, serving as Assistant Vice President at North Valley Bank and Relationship Manager at Tri Counties Bank. He then co-founded Tavelli Co. Inc. with his father Robert Tavelli, a family-owned collection agency that remains active today, before serving as Director of Lending at Altus Capital Group, where he underwrote and managed a portfolio of private bridge loans. That foundation in credit, collections, and community banking informs everything Mayacamas Lending does.

Ian partnered with Brad Wilkinson and John Hensley to launch Mayacamas Lending, named for the mountain range that divides Sonoma and Napa Counties. The company sits a few miles from where Downey Tire once stood and where National Bank of the Redwoods once operated. The proximity is not a coincidence. Neither is the approach.

Mayacamas Lending was built on the belief that good lending is protective by nature, honest by default, and only valuable when borrower and lender are truly aligned.

What We Finance

Commercial Bridge

For purchasing or refinancing commercial real estate

Fix & Flip

For purchasing and renovating properties

Long-Term Rental

For purchasing or refinancing rental properties

Multi-Family

For purchasing or refinancing multi-unit housing

New Construction

For ground-up residential construction

Rental Portfolio

For expanding or refinancing rental portfolios

Commercial Bridge

Sonoma, CA

Featured Project

Loan Amount: $100,000

Selling a business does not always mean walking away clean. This borrower had sold their business but retained ownership of the underlying real estate, a property on the Sonoma Plaza, and still carried a debt obligation that needed to be settled. The equity was there. What they needed was a lender willing to move quickly and structure the loan around the asset they held. Mayacamas Lending Inc. provided the capital secured by a first position deed of trust on the Sonoma Plaza property. The loan paid off the outstanding debt, resolved the obligation cleanly, and gave the borrower the clear footing they needed to move forward as a real estate owner without the weight of a lingering liability. The collateral was strong and the purpose was straightforward. That is exactly the kind of deal we are built for.

Commercial Bridge

Santa Rosa, California

Featured Project

Loan Amount: $559,000

For one Sonoma County business owner, Merchant Cash Advance debt had become the business's biggest liability. Weekly draws from multiple short-term obligations were pulling cash out faster than the company could retain it, not because the business was failing, but because the debt structure was designed to work that way. Significant equity sat in a property while the operating business suffocated under high-cost debt that no conventional lender would touch. Mayacamas structured a real estate-secured bridge 1st and 2nd Deed of Trust loan using the borrower's property as collateral, retiring the MCA balance in full and replacing fragmented weekly draws with a single, predictable monthly payment. Monthly debt costs dropped by more than $18,000. The loan was never meant to be permanent. Now this business owner has a clear path back to conventional financing, giving the borrower the breathing room to get there.

Fix & Flip

Sonoma County, CA

Featured Project

Loan Amount: $1,177,000

For this project, we partnered with a local builder/flipper to finance both the purchase and renovation of this classic home full of early-1900s charm. The property featured three bedrooms, two baths, and roughly 1,590 sq ft of living space on a quiet corner lot near a neighborhood park. We provided 90% of the purchase funding and covered 100% of the renovation budget, including converting a detached shed into an ADU to create extra living or rental space. With this loan product, the builder was able to modernize the home, unlock meaningful value, and bring a versatile, updated property back to the market for tenants or future resale.

Ready to discuss your next deal?

Tell us about your project and our team will follow up soon.

Brad Wilkinson, Ian Tavelli, and John Hensley