All Forum Posts by: Bryan Castro

@Ken Biggs I'm on the same boat as you in terms of acquiring my first mortgage note. I was planning on getting a NPN and get it performing, but there was a great point made to get a performing note first which has me thinking.

I went to two different note seminars and met lots of people who are experience and it was good to pick their brain. I was lucky enough to go to seminars that were in Nevada and Illinois so I got to cover some ground on the networking side and even have met some posters from BP like @Bob Malecki. I would highly recommend to keep networking and if possible in your area, attend a Meet Up group or even a local Facebook Group!

In terms of team, maybe consider adding an IRA custodian if you are looking to build a retirement account. A few (and some more) performing notes in a Roth IRA account wouldn't hurt once we get the hang of it.

I know you know what position you are after, but could help you in the eyes of others to narrow down what notes you are looking to acquire based on location, price range, % of UPB, owner occupied vs non owner occupied, condition of property, built of property, collateral (land, SFR, mobile home).

Maybe you can pick a few states and locations and get it know the location; read up on the local market, any recent laws, redemption period, foreclosure times.

I did the above and I believe it would help me cut down looking at assets that aren't in my highest interest if I were looking at multiple assets with little time to put in an offer. At the same time, I am not eager to get a note for the sake of having a note.

Hey Note Investors!

I'm setting up a presentation to educate and develop potential private money investors on the topic of mortgage notes and I need a favor.

I'm looking to use and include your past note transactions as case studies, if you can help me comment below and I'll send a PM. I'm looking for notes that were acquired and UPB under $200,000, preferably Midwest any location would do.

I am looking for both Performing and Non-Performing Notes in the 1st position.

What I'm looking for in the case study: 

-Basics of the Opportunity and Numbers, Borrower History

-Commentary of How and Why you acquired the note and potential exit strategy 

-Timeline of processing the note start to finish, including the obstacles along the way

-How you actually exited the note including numbers

-Was the transaction done in your Roth

-photos

If you'd like to help me by sending me one of your previous note transactions (good, great, or bad) I would greatly appreciate it. Maybe one day we can work together through acquiring or disposing of notes, so please tell me what type of assets you are after. I have property lead generation websites and I will soon be setting up sites for note leads.

Thank you!

Best,

Bryan Castro

Invest in Debt by Jimmy Napier is a really good and short book that will educate you on the basis and how to calculate numbers ( i suggest buying a 10bii app on your smart phone to plug in the examples).

I have Gordon Moss' and Fuquan's book that I picked up at Paper Source, can't wait to finish them.

If you are able to attend an Eddie Speed seminar, I highly highly recommend it, especially if you are starting out but have a basic understanding of the business. I went to the Big Money class and it was very thorough of 1st NPNs. 

Try going on MeetUp.com and see if there are any local note investing groups in your area, or Facebook for online - they usually will have training or exchanges.

I am here sitting in the front! Im wearing a blue grandpa lookingish sweater on Day 1!

I will be one of the youngest looking attendees there!

See you guys and gals here!

Best,

BC

On Facebook : "Nationwide Note Buyers and Sellers" - you may have to request to join some of these groups.

I HIGHLY recommend searching keywords related to our niche and see what comes up, examples:

"California Note Buyers" "Nationwide NPN" "1st Performing Notes" - i used this technique to grow my online network in a very quick amount of time.

Best of Luck, send me a PM if anything.

@Daniel Burbol

Such a good post! About two-three months ago I got interested in notes and then found this post and helped guide me towards educating myself. Ending up flying to a Eddie Speed Note Seminar after I knew this was what I wanted to start. 

Will you be going to this year's Paper Source Event in Las Vegas at the end of this month?  I'll be there with my parents! Anyone else going?

Facebook and LinkedIn groups! 

Not a seasoned investor myself, but plan to be. I'll be following this discussion!

Thanks for the comment Ray! We'll be in touch!

Hi Bigger Pockets!

My name is Bryan Castro and I am based in Southern California. I found out about the forum over two years ago but never really used it until recently, I have been listening to their podcasts and have started to read some guides offered on the forum.

August 2013, after graduating high school - I got introduced to real estate investing through my dad who took me to a AM house flipping seminar, telling me it could be how I raise capital for my clothing line at the time. I basically got hooked and the next day there was a local three day event, which we ended up paying for and attending. I realized that real estate is a method to build wealth and I was very drawn to it. So with my dad, I was looking at properties and inspecting them, going to REI meet ups, and build many lead generation websites. I was acting as a local and virtual bird dog and I accidentally became a virtual wholesaler through my network which lead me to develop an educational program on bird dogging in real estate. In 2014, I enrolled in a local community college to complete courses needed to take the CA Real Estate Exam. I decided to take a break over the summer, but during that time I was training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (one of my long time passions) more often, and my gym asked me to teach the kids program. From September 2014 to present I have been teaching mainly kids mixed martial arts and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, as well as training and competing in BJJ. In the recent months, I have realized I haven't been putting in enough time to achieve my real estate goals and in December 2015 passed the CA Real estate License Exam. During that time I was educating myself on other investment methods in real estate and added rentals and mortgage notes to my strategy and event flew to Chicago for a ES-NS seminar on the mortgage notes. I also opened up a Roth IRA with Quest IRA during the event. I will be attending the upcoming PaperSource Seminar in Las Vegas, bring with me close family who have always been interested in investing their money but aren't emotionally ready.

*I censored the names from my mentors to avoid any advertising.

My business would operate in three units for different activities: Rehabs, Buy & Holds, Mortgage Notes. Currently my main goal is to invest in nonperforming 1st in some select midwest states and get them re-performing.

Right now, I have been looking into setting up the proper business entity needed to operate ( Im thinking LLC taxed as an S-Corp?) and how to properly go about raising capital - Let me know if you have any advice, please drop me a comment or PM me!

I have always been a lifestyle entrepreneur from the start and when I was 15 my dad took me to a seminar called Ex___s Academy and since that day I've been trying to engineer a lifestyle that involves doing the things I love and making a living from it. I do understand what it takes to be successful and what I need to do in my own situation to make it happen. I literally want to spend time with my family, travel the world, train jiu jitsu all day, and eat good food.

After 3pm, I'm usually heading to the gym to teach and then later train. I'm trying to wake up before 8 AM so I can spend at least 1030-2 on real estate, at least for now as I try to clear my schedule and switch to group private lessons.

Tips from my experience:

-Knowing/understanding your goals and the proper education needed is very important to creating your road map.

-Don't wait to take action, especially if you have already started to build momentum.

-Surround yourself with other investors so real estate becomes a daily habit and lifestyle.

Of course you can comment on the above, but if you can also reply to this question: If you were to start at my age with the knowledge you know now, what would you do differently?

Thanks Bigger Pockets People!

Best,

Bryan Castro