Learning about performing notes

[Kellis Landrum]

I’m looking to learn the note business starting with performing notes.

I would like to find a way to do this for a (relatively) minimal entry point of around 10K per deal. I would like to ladder out a few of these deals, buying one every few months. In a nutshell I’d like to start with small deals and work up to bigger ones. This would help to accomplish the following goals-

1. Allow me to learn incrementally over a period of time while still in my day job
2. Create yield that I could then sink back into buying more or bigger notes
3. Mitigate the risk of buying one bigger note with no experience in the note business

I realize that 10K probably won’t get me a performing note, but I understand it’s possible to get partials for small amounts like this. I understand that note buyers like getting nice double digit yields plus kickers on notes, but at this point I am more concerned about learning the business by doing and building relationships rather than maximizing profit.

I have been listening to a lot of podcasts on notes and got quite a lot out of this post- https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/70/topics/411915-where-to-find-education-on-notes

I've checked out some of the paid and unpaid educational stuff listed here, but I think all of them end with the same advice- Find a JV Partner and pull the trigger. I gave PPR Note Co (Dave Van Horn's shop) a call, but it looks like they said they are now putting all but a scant few performing notes into their fund which is only open to accredited investors (which I am not).

So I suppose the question from here is how to go about finding a good JV partner. I'd ideally like find someone who I am investing along side rather than just buying from, but who wouldn't mind working with a noob. Any suggestions would be appreciated.