All Forum Posts by: Joshua Andrews

@Kevin F.

Making the transition to full-time investor is certainly possible. The question really comes down to how much time are you willing to dedicate to learn, practice and fail at the business before you succeed? 

Questions you need to answer for yourself are:

• How much income (in dollars) are you trying to replace?
• How much capital are you starting with?
• How long is your time horizon? Meaning, do you need to accomplish this in 5 years or 25.

Answering these questions will determine how long or how difficult it may be to accomplish. For example, if you are starting with $15,000 to invest, and that's all you have, and you need to replace $10,000 per month in income, you will need to be creative or raise money from other people. You can see how the above questions will help create clarity on the current situation vs where you want to be.

Buying your first note for investment or your IRA is not difficult. It requires some basic learning and possibly someone to hold your hand on the first purchase. Same goes for just a few notes.

If you plan on making it a business, meaning buying, selling, modifying or otherwise having it consume most of your focus, it is much like any other business. It takes time, networking, knowledge, perseverance, being organized, etc.

It can certainly be done. The best place to start is with the end in mind. 

• Why do you need the money?
• Why is doing this important to you?
• How much money do you need? 
• How will you know when you've succeeded?

Most importantly, what type of person do you need to become to reach these goals?

- Josh

@JohnPaul Pacheco You need a purchase and sale agreement. After the transaction is completed the seller will assign ownership of the deed of trust or mortgage to you. Then you will be the owner and entitled to collect payments on the purchased assets. 

@Jim Jopling Thank you sir, I appreciate the kind words. Happy to help and share.

- Josh

Good comments above.

I think the choice of what yardstick to use comes down to your exit method. If we work the loan and modify it, then we are looking at the yield, especially if we are holding the asset long-term. Yield is essentially the rate of interest the invested money is earning on an annualized basis. Of course this is assuming the entire amortization schedule is paid as agreed.

For performing assets yield is a great metric because you are taking the entire cash-flow stream into account.

In instances where you are creating value then selling or otherwise liquidating the asset, ROI may be more beneficial. You can definitely make the calculations more complex using half a dozen different methods, but simple is better from my experience.

- Josh

There are lots of servicers out there, and some are better than others. All will have their problems and frustrations from the lender (our) perspective. None are perfect.

We use Madison Management and FCI Lender Services. Both are very good.

- Josh

Papersource and Note Expo for me.

Eric,

As I am not a lawyer, take this with a grain of salt.

My understanding is that an LLC is ideal for many investors when the business itself generates a certain amount of income, usually under $40,000 per year NET. Above that amount, it may be advantageous to convert the LLC to an S corp, which is done with a filing called an S election. This amounts to the same LLC, but taxed as an S corp.

The reasoning to convert to an S corp is to avoid the self employment tax which is quite high. I would encourage you to do your own research and speak with a CPA on this.

- Josh

Hey Bob,

I am for sure attending. Looking forward to seeing you there!

- Josh

I have successfully collected and even foreclosed on a DOT without being able to produce the note. Here is an article that might shed some light on the process.

https://www.americanbar.org/publications/gp_solo/2016/march-april/foreclosures_when_missing_loan_note_yes_no_or_maybe.html

I read a book recently you might find useful and educational.

Alex Goldovsky of ProTitleUSA recently published a book called Bulletproof Title Due Diligence: Protecting Your Investments". 

This book is worth a read. Good solid information on the details of title, and how to use it to protect yourself when buying real estate or paper assets. You can find it on Amazon.

- Josh