Effect of Pandemic on Note Management (so far)

[Andy Mirza]

I'm starting this thread to share info on the short term, immediate effects of the coronavirus pandemic as it pertains to the active management of note portfolios. We can save medium and long term implications in a separate post :)

So far, I'm seeing a slowdown in communication from some but not all of our vendors. This is understandable given that we should all take care of our personal and family needs first and foremost. Some vendors remain very responsive almost as if nothing else were happening. My guess and hope is that things start getting better in the next week or two as the immediate fear dies down and those that are used to working in an office transition to working remotely.

Cook County, Illinois postponed most cases for an automatic 30 days so this has affected some of our NPNs. We've been waiting to get a sheriff's sale date for one NPN but the sale can't take place until May anyhow; we're just delayed in getting the date.

In Las Vegas, NV, our eviction hearing was held telephonically. I believe that telephonic and video interactions will become more widely acceptable for court hearings. We won the hearing and have a date of possession for mid-April. Our attorney mentioned that we got that date because of the pandemic so I assume that possession is usually granted much sooner.

(I'm personally ok with extensions for a month or so regarding possession; although we've had quite a few borrowers treat us poorly prior to the pandemic, I think everybody should stay put until things settle down for everyone's sake.)

Finally, I don't think people will be rushing to invest capital in note funds at least for the next couple of weeks or maybe months. The stock market has most people's attention and the people that are scared will hold onto cash or possibly make bad decisions if panic takes hold. Hopefully, I'm wrong :)

[Chris Seveney]

@Andy Mirza - The reality is most of the courts are closed anyways and/or working from home.So whether they announced a moratorium or not it is going to happen. Once they get up and running there most likely will also be a number of new cases. If they were smart they would handle existing cases and delay some of the new cases.

This is changing on a day by day basis and until the dust settles, who knows what is going to happen. If someone would of told me a month ago the stock market would be under $20,000 and Tom Brady would be playing for the Buccaneers I would of asked you where you got your meds so I can go get some as they must be some pretty strong stuff.