What Have YOU Learned in Note Courses?

[Dion DePaoli]

I would like to open a discussion which drills into the actual content of these note investing courses that are offered.  I would like the conversation to steer away from identifying which or whose course you took but rather deal more with the actual substance of the course.  I am talking about a paid course which offered to teach you how to invest real property secured notes.  This doesn't really include going to your local REI meetup and listening to someone talk about investing in loans.  

I suppose we can outline some topic areas to which, if you have been a student, you should be able to identify whether or not you feel you are competent and comfortable on relying on your knowledge and skill developed from these courses.  Like a student of any trade craft, even as an apprentice you should have some basic skills above that of a layperson.  What do you think those are?  What do you think you didn't learn?  Have you gone out and mostly found yourself prepared or ill prepared?  How many actual note transactions (not real property) have you closed since class?

To further segregate subtopics to identify, can you confidently and comfortably do the following (Apply to all any PL, RPL/SPL, NPL):

• Source real product for sale outside of the internet exchanges such as FCI Exchange?
• Price a loan when no indication of price is given by a seller?
• Identify influences to the price by initial data?
• Identify trade terms which are not in your best interest or do you simply expect to trade how a seller demands to trade?  (ie - making deposits, closing in 24 hours, etc)
• Conduct due diligence extending beyond ordering a title report and looking up taxes - can you identify defects in documents, servicing and origination?   Do you know how to price that defect accordingly?
• Are you familiar with regulations that affect how a loan is made, serviced and dispositioned?  
• Do you use self servicing, limited servicing or full servicing platforms?
• Do you understand the regulations around soliciting investors and raising capital?
• What didn't you learn or feel like you could learn more about?

That should give a nice rounded out set of topics.  Again, the point of this discussion is not to bash any course or promoter of course.  Rather, I would like to quantify just what folks actually learn in these courses.  "I learned a lot." is not an answer to this thread.  If you have stepped into the industry and out of the unknown at some level you should be able to identify concepts to which you do not know much and those which you feel like you are properly knowledgeable and skilled.  

I hope some folks participate as I think the content of this type of discussion can be valuable for many.