Question on Performing Notes Due Diligence

[Kent Byron]

I would like to invest a portion of my SDIRA in performing notes and have been reading about the process. Big thanks to all you experienced note buyers for the great information in this forum and the recent BP interview with @Bob Malecki  that was super helpful in outlining the due diligence steps. However, I'm still not clear on the process for vetting the financial status of the person(s) making the loan payments. At what point in the process are you able to check the debtor's creditworthiness? Is this available once you've made an offer on the note? Does the note buyer receive the debtor's identity and pull a credit report himself, or does the note seller provide this information, and if the latter, how do you make sure the details are accurate and up-to-date? Thanks in advance for your help!

[Bob Malecki]

Hi @Kent Byron until you buy the loan and become the lender you cannot run any credit on the borrower. Many times the seller of the note will provide collateral files that may have some borrower info, and we also research social media, PACER for bankruptcy, and any sources for criminal records to develop as much info that we can to underwrite a NPL. 

If you are buying a NPL, your research is limited to the above for the most part. If you are buying a performing loan, the seller of the loan, the current lender, could provide more credit info since he/she is allowed to contact the borrower. You could request the seller to run credit on the borrower, for instance. 

Bob