Note Buying Education

[Ilona Kovacs]

Hello everyone!   

We are looking at diversifying our investments and wanted to get more education on note buying.

Please shed some light on good books to read,  classes/seminars to take, etc.

We are in New York, and we'd like to stay on the east coast, if the classes would be live. 

Thanks for any help!

[Pari Thiagasundaram]

noteschool.com 

weclosenotes.com 

https://www.distressedpro.com/

Welcome to the note business !

[Tim S.]

I've just been going through the same process myself.   Do you intend to make a side business out if it, or just invest passively?  Many of the training courses seem to be focused on the former.  I like Scott Carson's stuff (We Close Notes).  He has a lot of free information available, videos on how to perform due diligence for example.  Search for him on YouTube and Vimeo, and Facebook.   They focus on non performing notes, but much of the content is still helpful if you are sticking with performing notes.

Everyone will suggest reading Jimmy Napier's book, "Invest in Debt".  I read it, it's good to understand discounted cash flows, and the math of note investing.   But it gives no information on how to execute.  

I also read Gordon Moss's "Performance anxiety" focuses on Non performing notes.  A good read as well.  These books cover the concepts, but not much information on the nut and bolts of how to execute.  This is the part I'm trying to figure out now, that kind of detailed information seems hard to come by.

If you are going to make a business out of it then I think it makes sense to pay for the training.  If you are just going to buy and sit on a few notes as a passive investor, I don't know if I'd pay for training.  Maybe a 3-4 day $600 class makes sense, but not the full blown $16,000 (and up) training courses like "Note School", from Eddie Speed.  

Which kind of investor are you going to be?  Passive/active, Performing or Non?

[Ilona Kovacs]

@Tim S.  That's a very good question!  we actually wanted to get an overview of what note buying is and isn't and whether or not it is for us. As for passive vs active, well, I could devote a few hours a week to it, for research, etc. I do work from home but it will depend on how my current business goes as well, ie gets more busy, etc.  So I think in the end, I'll read the books and go to couple meetups locally and see what note buying is all about... possibly check out a training seminar, there is one coming up in Philly with Eddie Speed's Note School that's only $800 for the weekend....

[Tim S.]

You should watch some free videos before spending $800.  

[Crystal J.]

I agree with Tim.  There are two great podcast about notes on the BP Podcast.  Podcast 028 guest Dave Van Horn and Podcast 017 guest Jeff Brown.  Put Notes in the BP search and two podcast should come up.  There are also great articles on BP by Dave Van Horn and Jeff Brown on Notes.  

[Bob Malecki]

@Ilona Kovacs, check out notemogul.com. They have a reasonably priced intro course that I've reviewed and find it to have solid, practical info and perspectives. 

Bob

[Jay Raught]

Any note school you attend is going to give you valuable insight on note investing and how to search and evaluate notes. Nothing will prepare you for what happens after you buy a note. There are so many moving parts, states have different rules for foreclosure, counties have different rules for title recording etc, etc. It may not be physical work, but you will put in work. Of the four notes I purchased in May I could write a short story on each one. 

[Jay Raught]

Check out Notemba and Note Buying Cash Machine for note podcasts. 

[Dustin DeSmith]

Newb question, would buying from a service like FCI or PPR "Dave Van Horn's company" be a simpler more turnkey option? I was wondering but it seems relevant to the OP

[Bob E.]

@Dustin DeSmith  To answer your question No.  Hell NO!  

FCI is just a marketplace, anybody can and does list notes there.  FCI does not do any of the due diligence to ensure what you are buying is actually enforceable.  I have seen some very bad product on these sites that was advertised as performing.

Example Marketing a note as performing when the borrower is making spotty payments and is three years behind on the taxes.

Example Marketing a note where some of the assignments are missing....

Bottom line is you need to educate yourself and know what to look for.  I know people that have successfully bought performing notes off FCI but they know what to look for and all the proper DD steps to do.

[Dustin DeSmith]

Bob E. Thank you for the information. DD is important no matter the investment. I'm sorry if I wasn't clear on the question. I was wondering if they would be an easier place to source vs trying to find a bank to sell single funds and then they offer servicing I think. I'm not sure about title recording either, "still have a lot to learn" but ppr's warranty seems nice. Thanks again for all your help. So much to learn. It makes examining and selecting my mutual funds look like a walk in the park. Even makes a business acquisition I'm a part of seem simple. 

[Patrick Desjardins]

Originally posted by @Dustin DeSmith:

I'm not sure about title recording either, "still have a lot to learn" but ppr's warranty seems nice.  

 You record your assignment of mortgage in the county where the property is located. If you don't know how to do it, you can outsource it with a company like Richmond Monroe. They just increased their storage fees by 500% and don't take electronic payments though, so they are frustrating to deal with.

[Pari Thiagasundaram]

@Ilona Kovacs for the seconds you can look at Dave Van Horn's pprnoteco.com and http://keyholeacademy.com/ 

[Dustin DeSmith]

Originally posted by @Jay Raught:

Check out Notemba and Note Buying Cash Machine for note podcasts. 

 Thanks Jay, I downloaded a bunch of these, I have plenty of listening time with an hr each way drive to work and 8-10 hrs there. I've almost finished all of the BP podcasts so I was looking for something else.

[Nathan Turner]

@Dustin DeSmith To answer your question on sourcing. Yes these are easy, low hanging fruit as far as finding available notes but it comes with a price. Typically these are a bit higher priced but it may be worth it to you just to get started. After that, networking, networking, networking to find other deal sources!

[Tom Chen]

@Ilona Kovacs If you PM Dave Van Horn, he'll email you a free copy of his ebook "Introduction to Note Investing" which was helpful for a newbie like me.

[Walter Johnson]

hi I'm new to BP,I'm learning how to navigate the site. I'm following step by step and am in the beginning of " the ultimate guide to real estate investing". It mentions Notes. What are they and how are they used?  How can I contact PM Dave Van Horne for his ebook. Thank you for your assistance.

[Dave Van Horn]

Hi @Walter Johnson,

I just messaged you directly with a copy of the e-book. You should be notified upon receiving the message and can check your Private Messages by clicking the inbox tab at the top right of your dashboard.

The book should illustrate the general in's and out's of the note business (what notes are, how they work, etc). Do let me know what you think.

Happy investing.

Best,

Dave

[Nahid Alipour]

@Ilona Kovacs the best education for your money is note buying for dummies with scott Carson hands down he's the best with lots of info and you can listen to his Monday night note in Vimeo. He's at we close notes. Eddie is also good but is very expensive and only for you to get excited about the bussnise but scott will show you how to do the bussnise .. Is a very different industry but is great..

[Kimberly Banks Fawcett]

Hi Illona. 

I agree with Nahid. Scott's class is cheaper than Eddie's and he spends time focusing on what your first steps should be if you want to get started. Eddie's has great information but both will likely get you totally fired up about this part of the business and it helps to not feel overwhelmed if you actually know what to do next.

Hope that helps!

Kimberly Banks Fawcett
Inspired Capital Group

[Ilona Kovacs]

Thanks @Kimberly Banks Fawcett and @Nahid Alipour  I'll definitely look into Scott's program!