Note purchasing thoughts - targeting specific properties

[Bob R.]

I recently listened to the @davevanhorn podcast and the notion of note buying is really intriguing to me.  I was curious about a specific strategy that popped into my brain while listening.  Does this make any sense? poke holes please.

If you are targeting a specific home, let's say driving for dollars and you find some nice homes that look abandoned but you want, you look it up and its had a notice of default, title search - clean.

Is there a play here to find out who holds the note to contact them and purchase it, then proceed with the foreclosure (assuming it doesn't get caught up). Will a note holder look at the market values and be more willing to let go at a bigger discount to dump it before having to proceed through foreclosure (depending on LTV perhaps?) and then you can proceed with the foreclosure and get a very specific property you're interested in at a deep discount? rather than waiting, dealing with foreclosure etc.

There's probably a sweet spot in there where you can get a deal even if its underwater.  Now I don't know much about how you go about foreclosing as a noteholder to own the property outright, 

Anyone ever heard of doing something like this to try to snatch up a specific abandoned house? I'm sure I'm missing some complication...but seems doable.  I guess it would have to fall in that sweet spot.  can't have too much equity I guess, and if it was way under water would they want to hear anything about buying a note close to value?

This note holding/private/HML asset backed area of investing is veddy veddy innanesting to me :)

[Wayne Brooks]

That Rick, he's a sly devil.  I'm guessing he means, nope never "thought" about doing it...he actually Did it, or Tried to do it.  Yes, this has been discussed here a few hundred times.  I've tried/trying it on a few with a Very experienced, and connected, note guy...but no success yet.  Buying a particular note, from a large institution anyway, seems to be like finding the needle in the hay field.  Sounds good in theory, but reality begs to differ.