What if note buyer doesn't close?

[Leslie A.]

Hi,
I would appreciate advice on how you can be sure the note buyer you're working with will actually close the transaction.
I knew a mobile home park owner who had some notes to sell. I was contacted by a person who buys MH notes. They stated that they've been buying notes for eight years.
This person had a contract with the seller to buy 2 notes. He required the transaction to be handled through an escrow company and agreed to pay all closing costs (also in the contract). he gave the instructions to the escrow company and required much paperwork and legwork from the seller.
When it was time to close, the buyer felt the escrow charges were exorbitant and refused to close.
Now, I'm not so worried about my loss of fees (they were small), but this put a lot of hardship on the seller who was counting on the funds.
After this experience, I don't want to be in the middle of any note transactions. Really, note brokering/finding isn't in my long term plan anyway.
Would love to hear your advice and experiences.

[Marc Faulkner]

It sounds like Leslie may have had a contract with the buyer to buy the note and they backed out because they were not happy with the fees involved. That reasoning sounds like a big cop out to me and the investor should have a fair idea of what his costs would be prior to making an offer. One suggestion would be to offer to pay some of the fees out of what you were planning to make and possibly get the sellers to take a little less since they really NEED the money. When brokering a note deal your main job is negotiations and holding both parties hands to do what it takes to get the deal closed. Another suggestion is to always call me first when you are looking to sell a performing note! I won't make you an offer that I can't live with.