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Virtual Coffee (Q&A open session) Mastermind — on the last Saturday of every month, take advantage of an opportunity to call in and enjoy an informal mastermind!

This is the time to get free help from myself and others on the call. The insights you will receive will save you hours and relieve the stress of uncertainty.

This call is open to non-members as well as members. I’m always delighted with how these calls play out.

*Citizen of the Realm members receive an email reminders with information on how to access each call.

CALL ARCHIVES:

February 2017 – People Do Business with People They Know, Like & Trust

A big thank you to Lev Abramovich, our newest Hot-Seat Participant and others on the call who helped make this morning an ultra success.

Thanks, again, for participating in this wonderful world of owner financing and notes. Now go out there and do your part to create financial solutions, just one Mom n’ Pop to another 😉

Show Notes:

  • [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible” padding_right=”30px” padding_left=”30px” ][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][2:30] I have an exciting announcement for anyone in the Southern California area
  • [3:55] Great resource for expanding your financial calculator skills
  • [6:45] Our latest hot seat applicant. (64-year-old note investor seeking stable income while minimizing risk)
  • [10:00] Dawn’s experience going cold turkey from W-2 to entrepreneurial life. Plus…her greatest motivation to turn things around
  • [13:55] Doing business outside your own backyard? Common risk…and how to avoid them!
  • [16:10] How much protective EQUITY do you need?
  • [25:10] Protection, Protection, Protection! How to gain peace of mind for yourself and your investors
  • [30:00] Open Q&A
  • [42:40] Nine month note investor newbie. Discover his biggest challenge
  • [54:30] An affordable CRM solution for investors

Click to Listen

January 2017 – Shifting Your Investments Toward Selling Notes for Long Term Profits

A big thank you to Dustin Jones, our newest Hot-Seat Participant, Brenda Boom, Tony Vatsula, Darla Thieme and others on the call who helped make this morning an ultra success.

Thanks, again, for participating in this wonderful world of owner financing and notes. Now go out there and do your part to create financial solutions, just one Mom n’ Pop to another 😉

Show Notes:

  • [2:25] Dustin Jones shared his experience creating notes that he holds for himself, but asked for insight on how he can shift his business toward effectively creating notes that he can sell for long term profits
  • [10:40] Pros and Cons of asking the borrower for a larger down payment without putting yourself at risk of becoming a predatory lender
  • [44:49] Brenda Boom gave Dawn an update on her latest real estate deals, which included a note out of Texas she is buying with a partner
  • [1:00:45] Welcomed first time caller, Tony Vatsula!

Click to Listen

December 2016 – Positive Cash Flow Through Seller Financing

Is it just me, or are the years flying by faster and faster?

I could swear it was just the other day that I was a full time nurse, stuck in the rat race!

Regardless of your economic hardships or financial challenges, I’m a firm believer that we are all richly blessed to live in a country where regular Mom n’ Pop people can enjoy the blessings of creating financial solutions for themselves.

This holiday season has definitely been filled with gifts of all sorts.

Such gifts included (1) opportunities to connect with people who call in with a hunger to grow and (2) witnessing first hand the gift of implementation, people who get out there and execute and implement the knowledge I share with the Note Queen Community.

I’m filled with a sense of gratitude…

A big thank you to Brenda Boome and others on the call who helped make the show an ultra success. I thought our conversation about whether or not to sell rental properties cash vs owner financing was helpful. How do you want to diversify your portfolio? How much real estate? How many notes? Long term? Short term? Inside a self-directed IRA? Outside of a qualified account? All great questions, and the answer is ultimately a very individual one.

Thanks, again, for participating in this wonderful world of owner financing and notes. Now go out there and do your part to create financial solutions, just one Mom n’ Pop to another 😉

Show Notes:

  • [6:40] Hot-Seat Applicant Overview.
  • [10:54] How to gain control of two properties without losing cash flow or equity?
  • [12:19] Options for protecting yourself (investment capital) as a note holder.
  • [14:40] Meet Brenda Boome, our December Hot-Seat Participant.
  • [18:16] Tax-Free investing out of your Roth IRA.
  • [20:39] Exploring seller financing options without jeopardizing cash flow.
  • [44:43] Working with Estate Planning Trusts.

Click to Listen

November 2016 – Pros and Cons when foreclosing on a note with a partial

I’m filled with a sense of gratitude this month for another year filled with opportunities to connect with people who call in with a hunger to expand their knowledge of owner financing (property) and notes (paper). A big thank you to Ken Bucho, David Ray, Dave Zamarron, Bach, Qioca and others on the call who helped make the event a success.

Ok, so here’s a couple things we covered during the call:

  • Best methods for structuring owner financed notes and land contracts so that they are sell-able in the open market
  • Pros and Cons when foreclosing on a note with a partial
  • What to do when the borrower files Chapter 12 Bankruptcy
  • And much much more!

Thanks, again, for participating in this wonderful world of owner financing and notes. Now go out there and do your part to create financial solutions, just one Mom n’ Pop to another 😉

Click to Listen

October 2016 – Amortizing vs Interest Only Notes – Rebounding After 2008 Real Estate Losses

Another satisfying morning talking about anything related to owner financing (property) and notes (paper). We were able to address a couple of our ‘hot seat‘ applicants who brought up issues related to the business that were relevant and helpful. A big thank you to James and Peter and others on the call who helped make the event a success.

Often people who have a strong preference for short-term, interest-only loan products (hard money loans) have a hard time figuring out why they would ever consider investing long-term in an owner-carry, amortizing loan where you get back a little bit of your principal each month.  It seems to diminish the return available… not all of your principal stays out there consistently at work in that particular deal, so on the surface, the cash-on-cash return doesn’t seem as attractive.

I was trying to explain that besides the increasing safety and security you get each month, having a few discounted notes in your portfolio exposes you to a wonderful upside you just can’t get with most private money loans. If a long-term amortizing loan pays off sooner than expected, the ‘unearned discount’ can really blow your mind. You won’t believe how high the returns can be even with super conservative note investments when they pay off early. You also don’t have to look for new deals constantly to keep your money working. If you aren’t ready to immediately deploy proceeds from a loan payoff, it will sit doing nothing for 1-3 months, effectively decreasing your annualized yield to 7-9%, even if you are lending at 10-12%.

Peter is one of many who really took a beating in the downturn of 2008. Real estate and stock market losses were absolutely brutal for people all across the country, and he is cautiously wondering if he should (and how he can) start dipping his toe back into the real estate investing world.

In my opinion, we are in bubble territory again and it won’t be long before we have another nasty economic reset. That doesn’t mean I’m hiding under a rock. Life must go on and… I am conservative in my approach and will only do a deal if it still makes sense even in the context of 25% depreciation or more. If I buy a property, I either buy it significantly below market, or secure excellent owner financing terms, or both. The property has to be able to carry itself, i.e. the cash flow has to cover all expenses and debt service. That way I don’t really care all that much what the market value of the property is at any given time.

Notes can be a great way to play the real estate game in times of uncertainty because you minimize your exposure to depreciation and loss of principal.

Robbin is a real estate broker who has successfully engaged in the NPN space as a way to acquire real estate at a discount. She bought several non-performing notes, foreclosed, became the owner, rehabbed and then rented them out. They are absolute cash cows, but she needs her seed capital back out of it. She is looking to owner finance to someone looking for a turn-key rental in Ohio.

She’s all in at $25,000. She’ll owner carry to another investor for $50,000 with a $25,000 cash down payment. The place rents for $750, so it is enough to retire the debt service (the $25,000 first note and mortgage to Robbin) in just 5 short years, leaving the lucky investor with a free and clear rental brining in $9,000 in gross rents each year. Perfect for a self-directed IRA!

Thanks, again, for participating in this wonderful world of owner financing and notes. Now go out there and do your part to create financial solutions, just one Mom n’ Pop to another 😉

Click to Listen

September 2016 – How to Get Started Investing in Notes – Finding Good Notes to Buy

Thanks, again, to all who participated, I really enjoy this time together each month where we talk about anything related to owner financing (property) and notes (paper). This is the first time we took applications for a ‘hot seat‘ so that we could guarantee air time for one person and really dig into where they’re at and where they’re trying to go.

This month, that person was Kennesha, a long time mortgage originator currently working at a credit union, who has been sitting on the sidelines, desperately wanting to get started investing in notes, but wondering how to navigate when she is a single mom of 2 young boys and has had to use up her own nest egg to survive over the last few years. I think you will really get a lot out of hearing her story and be inspired by her clear and passionate intent to create passive income, eventually freeing herself from the W-2 grind.

We also heard from Keoka, who is close to taking down her first note investment, and Chris, who had a wild ride with his first two NPN purchases through a broker, but is ready to get back in the saddle again. The partial note purchase idea sounded extremely attractive to him, so he plans to explore that in weeks to come.

Now go out there and create financial solutions, just one Mom n’ Pop to another 😉

Click to Listen

August 2016 – Real Estate Agents Work in Owner Financing and Notes – NPN Horror Story

Can’t tell you how much I love these calls. I’m not always able to get to every email that comes through, but this monthly call is where I can be available to facilitate answers, an informal mastermind free of charge.

Our first question was from Nancy, a real estate broker in Florida, who does a great job getting probate listings and finding cash buyers for them, but she is struggling with how to talk some of her sellers (heirs & beneficiaries) into carrying paper instead of just wanting all cash, because she’d like to be able to add some properties to her own portfolio, as well as help some of her other investors get good terms on an investment instead of having to come up with all cash.

When the heirs want to be cashed out most of the time, the only way an owner carry deal makes any sense to them is if you can show them how carrying paper and selling the note will net them more than an all cash sale. Obviously, to be able to do this, you need to have an idea of what someone will pay for a note on the secondary market.

Another idea is not to fight upstream getting someone to do something they don’t really want to, and play along aikido style… moving along with the flow of their energy, not trying to resist or change it. What if one of her cash buyers would be willing to buy a property cash and owner carry it to her?

The next discussion was brought to us by Keoka, one of our OFC community mastermind members, who has done a fair amount of real estate investing, but is newer to buying notes. Right now she is preparing to close on an owner carry note she found through a broker, or note wholesaler, and she had some questions about the contract she was being asked to sign, and how the double close would actually work.

Not all of the due diligence is in, but it looks like she is going to be able to buy a note secured by a mobile home on land in Texas at 58% ITV (investment-to-value) which is great safety. The buyer/borrower put down a 20% down payment at the end of last year, and there is a solid 8-month pay history. Her yield is north of 15%. Congratulations, Keoka!! Rock on.

 

Right at the end, we heard from a guy from New York, who buys properties for cash on the cheap and then carries the paper. Everything was going smoothly for him in Alabama until his RLMO (registered licensed mortgage originator) up and retired on him…. rude, right? 😉

He was wondering if I had anyone I could recommend.

Unless you’re in a state like CA, AZ, TX or FL, it can be hard to find a large national player who will do this service for you. Your best bet is to leverage existing relationships. If you have a mortgage broker you are regularly sending business to, or if you have a real estate agent you consistently work with, see if they will leverage their relationships to find an RLMO that will underwrite your owner carry deals for you.

As always, thank you so much to those who spent the time to be on the call, participate and share their expertise… I appreciate the value that comes from the group experience.

Now go out there and create financial solutions, just one Mom n’ Pop to another 😉

To find out when the next Virtual Coffee Q&A call will be you can reference our Facebook Events.

Click to Listen

June 2016 – How To Get Started Finding and Investing in Notes Without Your Own Money – Dodd Frank – SDIRA

We had the pleasure of having Quincy Long, President of Quest IRA, on the call, and wow, what a lot of great feedback and valuable expertise. We talked about strategies to invest in notes without your own money, and how you can invest small amounts of money for amazing returns inside of your own self-directed retirement accounts. Be sure to tap into the Financial Friends Network… your network will greatly expand your net worth.

David Ray out of the bay area in California was another super valuable contributor. He’s a real estate agent that understands the investment world, both real estate, owner financing and notes. He guided me through an example of how he does his business… love the free coaching! I may well implement his strategy here in my local market. Thanks, again, David 😉

Gregory and Kioka (sorry if I misspelled) both asked great questions about getting started finding notes to broker and/or buy. We talked about Craigslist, working with brokers, direct mail (Jeff Armstrong), and ways to create your own notes by buying property cheap with cash (or a private lender) and and selling to an owner occupant on terms. Stephen’s example was inspiring. He borrows private money (that is rapidly escaping the stock market) at 7% – 8% yields… fabulous.

There were questions about finding a registered licensed mortgage originator when you are doing more than 3 owner carry deals per year so you stay compliant with Dodd-Frank. Word on the street is that the larger operators (RMLO services) in this space are pulling back to being licensed to work in only a few states.

An associate of mine that buys with cash and sells with owner carry (he sells me front end partials on a fairly regular basis) solved this problem by getting the local real estate agent he works with to leverage her relationship with her mortgage broker so he will underwrite the deals and make the owner financing package Dodd-Frank compliant (which also makes it a safer note to buy). He is only doing this as a favor because of the relationships.

As always, thank you so much to those who spent the time to be on the call, participate and share their expertise… I appreciate the value that comes from the group experience. Now go out there and create financial solutions, just one Mom n’ Pop to another 😉

To find out when the next Virtual Coffee Q&A call will be you can reference our Facebook Events.

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May 2016 – Land and Trust For Safe Owner Carry On a 4-Plex, Getting Started With Notes In Your Self-Directed IRA

Tom from Wyoming started us off. He is selling two 4-plexes he owns free and clear to some friends and thinks he should be using a land trust… I agree. Selling price is $450,000, and he is only taking $10,000 down and leaving a lot of passive income on the table for the new owners. He is glad to do this because it is a fabulous strategy that provides nice income for retirement… he gets to defer capital gains, make a whole lot more than the bank would pay him on deposits, and by using the trust, he won’t have to foreclosure if his friends fall on a hard times and can’t make the monthly payment. That tightens up the underwriting, reducing the risk substantially.

There are several good land trust courses out there that include forms and documents. The guy who taught me and still supports me around any questions I have is Randy Hughes, and I suggested Tom check into his products and services. Randy’s basic land trust course is included with Premium membership to the OFC community, so if you plan on engaging regularly with these topics, you should consider joining us here and get a lot of bang for your buck.

David from Houston has started flipping houses, but wants to explore ways he could add owner financing and notes into his repertoire of investment strategies, especially what might make sense inside of his self-directed IRA. We talked about how he could sell with owner carry terms, perhaps adding a small premium for being willing to offer the financing, and then sell off a front-end partial to a co-investor to give him the capital to go out and do another deal. This would easily give him double digit returns on his retirement dollars.

Once you start down the path of learning about owner financing and the secondary market for notes, you’ll never go back… you’ll be hooked, twisted beyond all recognition… there will be no end of ways you can put deals together for the benefit of yourself and others. Adding these tools to your tool belt makes you a MUCH better problem solver, and it’s a lot of fun. Consider joining us on the island of misfit toys… we’re all a little bit odd.

As always, thank you so much to those who spent the time to be on the call, participate and share their expertise… I appreciate the value that comes from the group experience. Now go out and create financial solutions, one Mom n’ Pop to another 😉

To find out when the next Virtual Coffee Q&A call will be you can reference our Facebook Events.

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April 2016 – Probate Deal With Owner Financing, Bankruptcy and Non-Performing Junior Liens Etc.

So many great contributors this morning… John from Idaho was able to get owner financing on the purchase of a property in probate, but they needed more cash at closing than made sense for him to make as a down payment. We talked over ideas of how he could structure the transaction to meet the objectives of both parties.

Daphne from Illinois buys non-performing 2nds, and she was having an issue with one that was lien-stripped in California as part of a bankruptcy proceeding. Bac (Nico) from San Diego came to the rescue with some great information, as he regularly and almost exclusively buys NPNs that are in some stage of BK. He has a problem note in IL, so it looks like they will profit by working together.

Colleen was having a problem with a property near Joshua Tree National Monument, CA that wasn’t selling, and we talked about various marketing strategies. A couple others chipped in with great suggestions that I wouldn’t have thought of. AnDrew, a Realtor, made arrangements to follow up with her after the call… he had some connections out that way.

Those are just a few of the great things we covered.

As always, thank you so much to those who spent the time to be on the call, participate and share their expertise… I appreciate the value that comes from the group experience. Go forth and continue to create financial solutions, one Mom n’ Pop to another 😉

To find out when the next Virtual Coffee Q&A call will be (and to see what else we have going on), please reference our Facebook Events.

Click to Listen

March 2016 – Owner Financing and Discounted Notes

I always enjoy these calls where people from all over the country call in to talk about what’s going on with notes and real estate in their area, or to ask questions about certain transactions that are in front of them. Hope to have you join us whenever you can!

To find out when the next Virtual Coffee Q&A call will be (and to see what else we have going on), please reference our Facebook Events.

Click to Listen

February 2016 – Owner Financing and Discounted Notes

I always enjoy these calls where people from all over the country call in to talk about what’s going on with notes and real estate in their area, or to ask questions about certain transactions that are in front of them. Hope to have you join us whenever you can!

To find out when the next Virtual Coffee Q&A call will be (and to see what else we have going on), please reference our Facebook Events.

Click to Listen

January 2016 – Owner Financing and Discounted Notes

I always enjoy these calls where people from all over the country call in to talk about what’s going on with notes and real estate in their area, or to ask questions about certain transactions that are in front of them. Hope to have you join us whenever you can!

To find out when the next Virtual Coffee Q&A call will be (and to see what else we have going on), please reference our Facebook Events.

Click to Listen

October 2015 Land Trusts, Owner Financing & NPNS, Dodd-Frank, TRID, Licensing

Wow, another great call this morning. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy these conversations. A big thank you to all those who participated.

We started off with Tyler from Utah, who is considering buying his second property with owner financing. He bought his first property giving the seller $10,000 cash, and taking it ‘subject to’ the existing bank financing. He’s worried he did it ‘wrong’, and wants to use a land trust for the next one so he can protect the underlying financing… reduce the risk of it getting accelerated, or ‘called.’

We had Woody, who is increasingly transferring funds out of his Wall Street brokerage accounts to invest in more notes with me. He’s not feeling as rosy about the stock market these days. It was interesting to hear his perspective.

There was Lynette from Texas who is just starting to wonder how to get involved in real estate and notes so she can take her mother’s savings and help her create passive income to support her comfortably through retirement. She’s wondering how you safely get involved when there is so much talk of depreciation and hard times coming to America.

My personal approach is to tighten up my underwriting. If a property appraises at $100,000, I ask myself if I would still do the deal if it was only worth $80,000. We can’t quit engaging in the market. We need private solutions more than ever. One Mom n’ Pop to another, we can create financial solutions that strengthen the communities in which we live.

Buyers need to buy, sellers need to sell, and investors need to invest. We need each other.

Mike from New Jersey came on to talk about his experiences with non-performing notes, investing in real estate, and keeping a balance of both in his portfolio. He shared a story of a guy that bought a non-performing 2nd in 2010 for $11,000. It had a balance of $110,000. He sat on it for several years until the note was covered by substantial protective equity, i.e. the property securing the note increased in value.

And then he got it re-performing, meaning the payor (the owner of the house who owed the money) started paying again. After 12 months, he used that note as a down payment to buy another property. The seller gave him an $80,000 credit for the $110,000 note. So… for $11,000, he is getting $80,000 in value, and the guy accepting the note is happy for the 12% return and the chance to get started in notes.

The 12 months of seasoning is an important thing to look for if you’re buying re-performing paper. Mike says that in his experience, after 12 months of perfect payment history, only 10% of the notes will default again. Several players in the NPN space have reported to me that up to 50% of their re-performing notes go delinquent again within a 9-month period.

We ended the call talking about Dodd-Frank, the new TRID guidelines, and licensed servicing in general… how to stay compliant. Jolene from Texas provided some great insight. To find out if a servicer is licensed, reference this site: http://www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org/. I love how much more powerful and meaningful the conversation is when we bring in the experience and expertise of a growing group of like-minded people.

To find out when the next Virtual Coffee Q&A call will be (and to see what else we have going on), please reference our Facebook Events.

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September 2015 – Owner Financing and Discounted Notes

I always enjoy these calls where people from all over the country call in to talk about what’s going on with notes and real estate in their area, or to ask questions about certain transactions that are in front of them. Hope to have you join us whenever you can!

To find out when the next Virtual Coffee Q&A call will be (and to see what else we have going on), please reference our Facebook Events.

Click to Listen

August 2015 – Owner Financing and Discounted Notes

I always enjoy these calls where people from all over the country call in to talk about what’s going on with notes and real estate in their area, or to ask questions about certain transactions that are in front of them. Hope to have you join us whenever you can!

To find out when the next Virtual Coffee Q&A call will be (and to see what else we have going on), please reference our Facebook Events.

Click to Listen

July 2015 – Owner Financing and Discounted Notes

I always enjoy these calls where people from all over the country call in to talk about what’s going on with notes and real estate in their area, or to ask questions about certain transactions that are in front of them. Hope to have you join us whenever you can!

To find out when the next Virtual Coffee Q&A call will be (and to see what else we have going on), please reference our Facebook Events.

Click to Listen

June 2015 – Owner Financing and Discounted Notes

I always enjoy these calls where people from all over the country call in to talk about what’s going on with notes and real estate in their area, or to ask questions about certain transactions that are in front of them. Hope to have you join us whenever you can!

To find out when the next Virtual Coffee Q&A call will be (and to see what else we have going on), please reference our Facebook Events.

Click to Listen

May 2015 – Owner Financing and Discounted Notes

Wow, what a great call this morning… I feel extraordinarily edified by the interactions we shared. Thank you to all who joined in live to ask questions, bring up scenarios, share experiences and lend a hand as we did some brainstorming together.

A few of the things you’ll hear when you listen to the call, in approximate order:

  • Buying non-performing notes
  • I’m tired of managing property, how do I offer owner financing to trade the headache of tenants, toilets, and trash for effortless mailbox money? ~ Roger
  • How do I use land trusts to get my new condo out of my personal name? ~ Amy
  • I’m losing my property to foreclosure, what can I do, how do I let go? How can I tell myself a different story, make peace and open the flow of abundance through other doors? ~ Linda

To find out when the next Virtual Coffee Q&A call will be (and to see what else we have going on), please reference our Facebook Events.

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April 2015 – Buying Notes from the Bank – Weary Landlord Becomes the Bank – Land Trusts – Foreclosure When to Let Go

Wow, what a great call this morning… I feel extraordinarily edified by the interactions we shared. Thank you to all who joined in live to ask questions, bring up scenarios, share experiences and lend a hand as we did some brainstorming together.

A few of the things you’ll hear when you listen to the call, in approximate order:

Buying non-performing notes can be the easiest and cheapest way to have a shot at owning property ~ Tom Opportunities to invest in Orange County and Marina Del Rey ~ Mickey I’m self-employed, how can I buy a property in California without qualifying for a I’m tired of managing property, how do I offer owner financing to trade the headache of tenants, toilets, and trash for effortless mailbox money? ~ Roger How do I use land trusts to get my new condo out of my personal name? ~ Amy I’m losing my property to foreclosure, what can I do, how do I let go? How can I tell myself a different story, make peace and open the flow of abundance through other doors? ~ Linda

To find out when the next Virtual Coffee Q&A call will be (and to see what else we have going on), please reference our Facebook Events.

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March 2015 – Why We Use Trusts, Owner Financing and Selling a Note to Pay Off a Partner

Mickey, a new member of the OFC community had a lot to offer this month. First, we started talking about a duplex he and partner own free and clear together. How do you sell with owner financing and still pay out the 50% partner who wants to walk away with his cash? Several solutions came up.

Gines was talking about some note tapes he has been evaluating on behalf of his real estate team, who wants to diversify their investments into notes. Chuck was asking about business notes, and how business and real estate owners can defer capital gains and have nice income for retirement… and, sell for a price that they like, not a discounted cash price.

I shared a few of my experiences with buying a non-performing note, and how it’s going now that I own the property. I also have a couple non-performing notes I may broker off. I am buying a performing owner carry note from a guy in Florida. He also has a couple privately originated NPNs he is looking to sell, and I’m not sure I want them for my own portfolio. I’m just not set up to handle a large volume of non-performing paper.

To find out when the next Virtual Coffee Q&A call will be (and to see what else we have going on), please reference our Facebook Events.

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February 2015 – Switching From Real Estate to Notes, Mobile Home Park Purchase, Etc.

A guy that has been doing a lot of real estate investing (buy and hold, trustee sales, rehabbing and flipping) is now looking at how he can switch over to investing in discounted notes. He has already done some private lending, so he knows that game, but wonders what might be possible with seller carry back notes, or NPN bank paper.

Another gentleman is looking at buying a mobile home park with some partners, and they would rather get seller financing (and have the seller sell the note) than mortgage their souls to a banking institution.

To find out when the next Virtual Coffee Q&A call will be (and to see what else we have going on), please reference our Facebook Events.

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January 2015 – Anything Owner Financing and Notes

I always enjoy these calls where people from all over the country call in to talk about what’s going on with notes and real estate in their area, or to ask questions about certain transactions that are in front of them. Hope to have you join us whenever you can!

To find out when the next Virtual Coffee Q&A call will be (and to see what else we have going on), please reference our Facebook Events.

Click to Listen

December 2014 – Landlords Who Want to Provide Home Ownership to Their Tenants – Offer Terms Sell the Note

There were several great conversations this morning, but one that stood out to me was at the very end. Long time landlords are concerned about the low percentage of home ownership in their community, and they want to figure out how to bridge the gap… they don’t want America to become a serfdom. After a few owner financing deals, though, all their capital is used up. They are grappling with how to structure their transactions in a way that they’ll be able to sell part of the note to get their ‘seed capital’ back, so they can go out, buy another house, and provide the American Dream to another deserving couple.

How do you offer terms but still get cash back out without taking a huge discount on the sale of your note?

To find out when the next Virtual Coffee Q&A call will be (and to see what else we have going on), please reference our Facebook Events.

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December 2014 – 12 Step Program for Real Estate Investors Who Need to Get Into Notes

We had a good chuckle with Arell, a nice real estate addict from Florida who would rather start shifting more of his assets into paper. Instead of holding 10 town homes (that he acquired with owner financing) as rentals, he wants to turn them around with seller financing, and be the bank instead of a landlord. First, he needs to admit that he has a problem I think. I don’t know, I’m a little rusty on my Bill W. stuff… (OK, looked it up on Google, here are some thoughts for you down below if you want to heal along with us… after the holidays, of course).

Another special delight for the call was Meg from Washington who understands owner financing and is helping her clients come together in win-win transactions that don’t have anything to do with new bank financing. It’s always SO refreshing to meet real estate professionals that are embracing this topic in an intelligent and powerful way. She just needs a little help understanding the other side of the coin… what the discounted note market is all about, and how to structure owner carry transactions in a way that the paper created could be sold for the highest possible price if the note holder ever needed liquidity… cash.

Thanks, once again, for all of you who joined in and shared your presence (spoken and unspoken), I appreciate you! To find out when the next Virtual Coffee Q&A call will be (and to see what else we have going on), please reference our Facebook Events.

12-Step Program for Real Estate Investors:

  • We admitted we were powerless over tenants and taxing authorities—that our lives had become unmanageable.
  • Came to believe that paper could restore us to sanity.
  • Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to Dodd-Frank, as we understood Him.
  • Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of our assets.
  • Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the fact that we were utterly weary of managing property.
  • Were entirely ready to have owner financing strategies remove all these defects of character.
  • Humbly asked a 3rd party note servicing company (and maybe a Mortgage Loan Originator) to help us.
  • Made a list of all profits and peace of mind we had lost, and became willing to restore it.
  • Made a decision to provide the privilege of home ownership to the bank-rejected, in a way that would not injure them or others.
  • Continued to receive hassle-free monthly mortgage payments, and if we didn’t, gladly received back our real estate.
  • Sought through phones and mediation to improve our conscious contact with our Payors, praying for their prompt performance and when necessary, doing a work out.
  • Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other real estate addicts, and to create gratifying private solutions to replace the gaping holes left by Washington and Wall Street.

I found this from a blog post I did in the early days of the Note Queen blog way back in 2009:

12 Steps to Real Estate Recovery:

  1. We admitted we were powerless over the real estate market – that institutional financing had become unmanageable.
  2. Came to believe that a power greater than Fannie Mae or the FDIC could restore us to sanity.
  3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of creative financing as we understood it.
  4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of all the options available to us.
  5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to a seller financing consultant the exact nature of our perceived limitations.
  6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of consciousness.
  7. Humbly asked Him to remove our fear of the unknown.
  8. Made a list of all the benefits we were looking for, and the risks we wanted to avoid, and became willing to honor them all.
  9. Made direct offers to extend terms wherever possible, promising to protect lenders, ourselves and others through use of the proper seller financing strategy.
  10. Continued to collect the payments, and when we owed the bank, promptly paid it.
  11. Sought third party administration of our note or equity holding trust, praying for relief from acceleration, and the power to avoid the due-on-sale clause.
  12. Having experienced empowerment as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to distressed buyers and sellers everywhere, and to practice flexibility in all our affairs.

November 2014 – Buying Your First Note in a Self-Directed IRA – What’s Your Max ITV

New investor prepares to do his first note investment in his self-directed IRA. We discuss max ITV, buying mobile home notes, partials help to minimize risk and increase returns.

To find out when the next Virtual Coffee Q&A call will be (and to see what else we have going on), please reference our Facebook Events.

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October 2014 – Investing in Owner Carry Notes vs. Private Lending vs. NPN Bank Paper

This morning we talked with several people involved in the note business… Mark from Ohio shares his experience with a new direct marketing campaign for seller carry notes, and I ask him to seriously consider finding a way to buy them, instead.  Once I shifted my attention to buying (with OPM) instead of flipping the notes or brokering them, my life changed profoundly in a relatively short period of time. Think like an investor, not a ‘finder’, even if you decide to broker notes much of the time.

Increasingly spend energy cultivating money partners and buy notes for your own account, keeping a piece of the passive income as your profit, instead of a one-time fee. Note sellers like talking to the actual buyer of the note, not someone who lacks the ability to make a decision, pull the trigger and get money into their hands. Plus, there’s no faster way to really learn what the note business is all about than to buy and manage a small and growing portfolio of notes.

Mark from Phoenix wondered how he could transition his house flipping business into more of the paper business. If you understand real estate, then it’s not so hard to learn how to buy paper, notes, loans secured by real estate. The importance of working through a self-directed retirement account also came up here.

At the end, we had a great discussion with Alexis, who has been making private loans for several years with $1,000,000 in personal funds, and she wondered if she should get on the band wagon and shift over some of her portfolio into non-performing junior liens… I think she may have ended up re-thinking that strategy.

Thank you to all of you who participated in the call on Saturday, or who are participating here now… I very much appreciate you joining me for these important and enjoyable topics and I wish you success in all your endeavors.

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September 2014 – Why Didn’t the House Sell With Owner Financing?

This month’s call was an in-depth conversation with one of my past consulting clients who wondered why he hadn’t been successful selling his property with owner financing. There are some great points to think about. We also talked with a gentleman who, for retirement income and estate planning purposes, wants to sell a piece of commercial real estate with owner financing as soon as his tenant’s lease is up next year. Near the end, a Realtor from New York got on to ask about Dodd-Frank. Because his clients are ‘mom n’ pops’ who only usually have one owner financing deal, they are not considered Loan Originators according to Dodd-Frank, and do not need to comply with the regulations. They can even have a balloon. And… it’s still a good idea for them to understand the ‘safe harbor’ guidelines for creating a win-win situation.

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August 2014 – Meeting People All Over the Country Interested in Owner Financing and Notes

I always enjoy meeting people from all around the country on these calls. There are property buyers and sellers, and paper buyers and sellers, and sometimes the Realtors and note brokers trying to make a living between the two.

Thank you for joining me on the call! This conversation wouldn’t be the same without all of you.

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July 2014 – Exit Strategies for Flippers, Land Trusts and Subject to Etc.

This was a fun call with members and non-members alike. One of my consulting clients used this time to go over different strategies on exiting a property he picked up for cash. We talked over various owner financing scenarios. Someone else is trying to exit a property that he bought, ‘subject to’ in a land trust, and now wants to sell ‘subject to’ in a land trust. Love this stuff!

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May 2014 – Buying Non-Performing HOA Liens??

This month’s call started off with an interesting chat about buying defaulted HOA liens… a concept that reminds me a lot of buying NP junior liens. Always enjoy these sessions… you never know what will come up! Maybe I will take a look for these in Nevada, one of the super lien states.

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March 2014 – NPN as a Way to Acquire Property, Dodd Frank, Seller Financing

What a great way to wrap up the year, hanging on the phone with friends, old and new, talking about property and paper. There is a lot of great feedback from all of you, making the brainstorming extremely valuable. When I don’t have direct experience in something, invariably there are others on the call who can help out.

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Andy, one of the callers, made great contributions sharing his insights as a lender for many of the entities that are trying to borrow funds to buy large note portfolios. The financials just aren’t making a lot of sense right now. There is a lot of money chasing real estate and now notes, driving up prices beyond the point at which it makes sense from a risk/reward scenario. He advises that most people not chase it, wait for it to come back down.

There is word on the street that some of the hedge funds are starting to sell off pieces of their property portfolios to investors who can drop $250,000 at a time. If the investor comes in with a 25% down payment, the hedge fund will finance the remaining 75% at 4% interest. I do not have any direct knowledge of this, or contacts for you, but you may want to dig around if this interests you. My guess is that the notes they are gobbling up will eventually come back to the small bread-and-butter investors as they realize they are losing money, and unable to properly service all the notes they are holding in portfolio. The markets are incredibly crazy right now, but I do know several people personally who are making a lot of money in the NPN space.

December 2013 – Buying a Partial of a 2nd, JV Options for Completing a Rehab, Calling Bans for NPNS

What a great way to wrap up the year, hanging on the phone with friends, old and new, talking about property and paper. There is a lot of great feedback from all of you, making the brainstorming extremely valuable. When I don’t have direct experience in something, invariably there are others on the call who can help out.

One of the things I’m going to increasingly incorporate into the Virtual Coffee chats is to respond to emails I’ve received over the preceding weeks that I haven’t had a chance to address. Between consulting with clients, closing note deals and supporting members, I can’t always keep up with solicitations for advice, but want to have some venue for addressing them. The Virtual Coffee chats seems like a great way to do this.

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November 2013 – Condo Deal, Land or Personal Trusts, Buying NPNS from Banks

Another one of my favorite times… hanging on the phone with members and non-members alike. Lynn brought up a condo deal that provided a lot of good discussion from various points of view, Ken brought up land trusts and/or personal property trusts for use in the note business, Peter, a California attorney, inquired about how the non-performing note business worked. There are a lot of little gems in here of how to go about thinking about and/or approaching different property and paper transactions. Thanks to all of you who joined in! You rock!

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October 2013 – Land Trusts and How to Use Them with the Note Business

For this month’s Virtual Coffee, I had all of us tune into Randy Hughes’ Land Trust University. Because I will be heading towards using them (or personal property trusts) increasingly when I buy notes, and I have more and more questions about land trusts in general, I thought it would be a good use of time to collaborate. It also gives you complimentary insight into Randy’s program… he gives great information and support to his members. I counted on Randy holding my hand the first couple of Land Trusts I put together myself.

Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!

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September 2013 – Called from the NPN Seminar in Las Vegas

I happened to be drinking hotel room coffee in Las Vegas where I was at the NPN Seminar put on by Bill Mencarow’s PaperSource. I shared some of the things I was learning that I thought were relevant to the performing note business… we all know that performing notes sometimes become non-performing. Also, the drastically different thinking that goes on with the non-performing junior liens helps to expand the way I look at a deal. We also ended up talking about a couple of owner carry scenarios that I and other members were working on.

I absolutely love these monthly calls… some of my favorite. I think we also ended up talking about land trusts a bit. There’s a lot of juice in these meetings!

Enjoy!

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August 2013 – Owner Financing Scam, Do You Need a License To Do The Note Business, Etc.

I started off describing a scenario with a consulting client, an elderly lady in St. George, UT, where I strongly recommended that she NOT carry under the terms a buyer was offering her. She thought it looked good at first, but by the time I emailed her the full impact of the contract she was about to sign, she decided to switch gears. This scenario will be fully discussed in Transaction Review & Calculator Practice on September 3rd, 2013, but in a nut shell, here is how the deal was structured:

  • Purchase price: $820,000
  • Down payment: $0
  • 1st hard money loan: $420,000
  • 2nd owner carry note: $400,000
  • Balloon on 2nd: 4 months

The property came fully furnished, so it would be easy for him to rent it out to vacationers. With no money out of pocket, he had no risk whatsoever, and could collect rent for 4 months, and then give the property back to her in deed-in-lieu style, and if he had stiffed the 1st, the owner would have to bring the hard money loan guy current to the tune of $15,000+ just to prevent him from foreclosing while they resold the property. This would come out of her equity… the buyer had no risk, the HML (hard money lender) had no risk, ALL of the risk was on the seller… how does that make sense?

In the recording, I report that the property was on the market 48 days, but what I meant to say is that it had only been on the market 48 hours when she got this ‘full price offer’. In the end, especially after I told her to cross collateralize her 2nd with another of the investor’s properties, and to review the terms of the 1st note and deed of trust since she could possibly inherit it, she decided to offer a lease option, instead.

Once he had to come up with a mere $50,000 to gain control of this $820,000+ property, suddenly he was having trouble. My client thanked me profusely for saving her from what looked like a definite scam. What do you think?

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Also, talked with 2-3 people who are new to the note business and some of the questions/concerns they face. Mike Ruscica (http://noteconference.com) made an appearance, and we talked a little about licensing (do you need a license to broker notes?), and some perspective on the economy at large, and what role owner financing and notes play in strengthening our communities.

If you want to be added to the Virtual Coffee list we have started, please feel free to email me at:support@notequeen.com with your name, email, and what part of the business you are interested or active in.

As always, wishing you success!

July 2013 – Owner Financing, Land Trusts, Selling a Note, How do You Buy Non-Performing Mobile Home Park Notes?

This continues to be such an enjoyable and enlightening way to spend time with members and non-members alike.  I started off sharing the story of one of my recent consulting clients, who bought a property cash, and is now looking to sell with owner financing, but wants to cash out of the note as soon as possible.  He was surprised to learn that the way he was thinking of structuring the transaction would have cost him up to .50 cents on the dollar.  A low interest rate with a 30-year amortization can really gut the value of a note.

There were others who chimed in about some very interesting topics, as well.  Jamie from New York has a VERY interesting strategy that looks to be a great alternative to reverse mortgages.  Dean, with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, said he is getting loans through underwriting that are usually dropped by most big lenders, including loans to the self-employed.

Randy came on with info about land trusts, and a course he’s teaching in Chicago soon, and Jean Norton is looking to introduce her ‘tribe’ to non-performing notes.  Among other things, I suggested that she consider going to Bill Mencarow’s NPN seminar in Las Vegas (Sept. 2013).

When Kim from Oregon asked how she could go about learning how to buy specific one-off bank notes secured by the mobile home parks she is looking to acquire, I pointed her in the direction of Mike Ruscica’s RENoteControl.com and NoteConference.com.  Mike, as far as I know, is training people for free on how to get to the right people in the banks holding these notes, and will help investors get started buying them, as well.

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June 2013 – Review of Note and Owner Financing Deals, Land Contracts for Sale, Business Notes

On today’s call, we were able to hear about a few small note deals that one of our members, Ken, has put together, as well as discuss the land contracts that one of my clients, Anne, is interested in selling. We also talked to Joe, who has been successful in getting several real estate agents to bring their stale listings to him for creative solutions. We discussed ways to restructure the community to make it more beneficial for members, and yet not too time intensive for me to moderate.

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If you want to be added to the Virtual Coffee email group, please email me your name and what aspect of the business you’re interested in. After the next Virtual Coffee Q&A (that usually happens the last Saturday of every month) you will see that you are added to the list of parties interested in owner financing and notes. Also, a reminder that I have added another Private Coaching Call dedicated solely to members of the Owner Financing Club community (on the 2nd Wednesday of every month).

May 2013 – Non-Performing Notes, Owner Financing, Direct Mail, Non-Circumvent, Etc.

There is a lot of interest in non-performing notes right now, and while that is not my niche, there were several on the call who are working in NPNs. We created a “Virtual Coffee List” for all those that wanted to network with each other, both members and non-members alike.

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If you want to be added to the Virtual Coffee email group, please email me your name and what aspect of the business you’re interested in. After the next Virtual Coffee Q&A (that usually happens the last Saturday of every month) you will see that you are added to the list of parties interested in owner financing and notes. Also, a reminder that I have added another Private Coaching Call dedicated solely to members of the Owner Financing Club community (on the 2nd Wednesday of every month).

March 2013 – Investing in Land & Mobile Home Notes

Wow, lots of great info on this call. Community member, Ken Bucho, shared a note deal he just closed, and also where he is finding notes to buy! Talked with another gal who is considering a mobile home note, and much, much more! Thanks, everyone! Oh, and at the very end, some questions from a new note broker who recently purchased the Note Appraisal Course that you have access to as a member of the community.

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September 2012 – Q&A Session

On the last Saturday of every month, we have an FAQ session for members of the Owner Financing Club community, where we talk about anything and everything do to with owner financing and discounted notes. On this month’s call, we talked a lot about the difference between interest-only notes and amortizing notes.

July 2012 – Virtual Coffee: July Q&A Session

Great conversations with a couple members new to the note business and investing in paper. We also discussed a potential real estate transaction, and discovered that even though owner financing was available from the seller, it really wasn’t such a good deal after all.

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