All Forum Posts by: Vanessa Garcia

 I say "bid" because there was 1 note from a website (let's call them note seller A) with a stated price that he thought he was buying and it ended up that the seller came back with a counter offer. That experience really frustrated him and made him not want to buy from note seller A's website anymore. So I have been teaching & getting ready for midterms and spring break so I didn't want to say purchased if it was a bid. I have since talked to him and it appears the process is smoother for note seller B. 

We considered the idea of this note originally being in 2nd position then moving to 1st after the 1st was paid off or something because we thought it was weird too. Note seller B actually called him and asked if he wanted to sell the note back. Not sure if it's a clever ploy in reverse psychology or if there's more there. He's banking on there being more than meets the eye with this note turned title. 

1st position with 1st lien foreclosing. 

I do understand some of the pitfalls (not assuming I know everything here) of being in 2nd with a 1st lien foreclosing. 

 Very clear - as always :). Thanks Dion. 

The property did go up for auction - but it did not sell. 

He says papers were drafted on the 18th. 

The auction was on the 19th. 

He got VERY lucky there. 

Question: On all of the notes we've researched, run numbers on (I created my own excel spreadsheet to compare variables and included servicing costs, determine number of payment periods left, etc. - I am a math teacher btw) - I did create a column to flag bankruptcies and foreclosures. Not saying it was a positive flag but I wanted to make sure in my analysis that we knew when a property had those traits to seriously consider that before purchasing. If there's a foreclosure auction coming up is it common to keep the note posted for the day up to the auction or is that an oversight? I'd imagine based on the process described above that it would be less trouble to take the note out of a "for sale" list for a few days in case your exit strategy came through. 

So far we've only been on the buying end of deals since our actual strategy is long-term so we try to vet notes that we can be patient on. This one just happened to unravel rather quickly.  

 That's what I said. No greater pleasure than that of the little sister being right lol. 

As a general comment, I'd like to say that I was really hesitant to post anything but I had some faith that I could find answers.  I have been very cautious in this entire thing and for these 2 notes that he does currently have there are HUNDREDS of other ones that we threw out of consideration for one reason or another.  

Neither I nor my brother have done anything that I would consider foolish (he did a BPO, got tax information, etc.) and we're just asking for a little bit of help. I'm not asking for anyone to hold my hand through the process or be my "mentor" for nothing in return (I read a lot of different forums here on BP).  I really have been following the posts, threads, articles - every spare moment I have I have used to educate myself.  I just think it's a really big shame that there is a group of people who have so much to offer and yet discourage some other people just on the basis of them being "new".  

For all of the huff and puff against guru programs, etc., and pointing people towards trying to educate themselves there's a lot of people who don't like for others to ask any questions. It's human to make mistakes, but I refuse to continue to live in fear of making them because of all of the information I read on forums. If I never buy a note I will continue to be labeled as a newbie and be paralyzed by all of the potential consequences. 

@Wayne Brooks 

The timeline of purchase and foreclosure is a little fuzzy which is what leads to this particular situation. I think there are a lot of pieces of the life of a note that can be described as "in foreclosure" - but I'm not sure which ones actually qualify under that title. 

For example, would you describe a note as "in foreclosure" if you had only had the paperwork started, just got your court date, already went to court and were waiting for the title paperwork? When are you "in foreclosure" versus actually foreclosed?  I'm asking a serious question here.

In this case, the note seller hadn't updated their information with a court date or anything so he put in the bid, got accepted and later THAT day or the day after they found out that the foreclosure went through.  So at the time the case went to court the lawyer wouldn't have been working for him. Either I will or I'll ask him to check into the assignment of record and court outcomes although I know he's said for certain he will end up with a title.  Not sure how long it will take for the title to get into his hands.  

Not sure if we should just be patient or already trying to find a buyer.  We'd like to move quickly IF we can. 

@Jay Hinrichs 

I was afraid that there would be some people that started on that specific train of posting which is why I am not the only person afraid to ask questions about notes.  I am not a stupid or silly person, I am trying to learn.  Some people learn by reading, some by taking classes and others by doing.  I will not even attempt to box myself into any one of these categories but certainly I do NOT learn by being told not to do something because it is too complicated. 

He did find out that there are a few back taxes and he is willing to deal with that - they are back taxes but NOT labeled as delinquent.  I did tell him I was uneasy about the Detroit, MI market but according to the information we found it is NOT 100% run down and certainly worth more than we bought the note for. 

I am not sure what anyone gains from saying the same things over and over again.  I have read post after post berating people for asking questions that are not so simple. Every note is different and tells a different story so I'm not sure how anyone can be an expert when they buy their 1st or 2nd note. 

Hindsight is 20/20 so it's easy to point fingers at other people just starting out. I would appreciate it if we'd keep the conversation centered around what to do now instead of anything else. 

So my brother @Eli Garcia and I are working together on increasing note holdings between the 2 of us.  2 heads are better than 1 kind of thing.  Any who, he bought one that's in Detroit, MI that was in foreclosure and as his purchase went through foreclosure process went from "in foreclosure" to "foreclosed".  So now, as I understand it, he has the title for the property.

I recommended he sell it - either to a fix & flipper, buy & hold investor or just sell to someone wanting to live there period. I'm also a big fan of Google, so upon a quick Google search of the address he found out that there had been a foreclosure auction?  He tried to get ahold of the foreclosure attorney to see exactly what had happened and has had a few back-and-forth e-mails with the company he purchased the note from but I keep telling him that he should ask the expertise of BiggerPockets what his next move should be :) (I've been lurking for months and hardly post but I've been reading and learning a LOT).

More pointedly, at this point are there any specific questions he needs to make sure to ask? and/or anything he shouldn't be doing? 

My day job is teaching and I whole-heartedly agree there is a difference between a mentor and a coach. My question is - how do you (the newbie) know when you've learned enough? 

I am interested in notes - which is very complicated! But I don't know when my knowledge base will reach an acceptable level to dive right in. I keep reading forums that indicate you need a pretty deep knowledge space and it's not a good area for newbies and there are so many pitfalls... and and and... 

Honestly I'm less reassured and more petrified to proceed the more I read posts (sometimes it seems more can go wrong than right). But I am determined and will keep forging ahead. Eventually I will make my 1st deal and I won't stop calling myself a newbie but maybe then I'll feel more inclined to reach out? 

Does anyone know how much is the Las Vegas registration after the Super Early Bird registration is over? 

Teaching takes up a lot of my regular hours so I've mostly been reading (and reading and reading) but it'd be nice to meet some people offline.