Scholarship Winners Announced!

Hi everybody, I’m happy to announce the two winners of the Power Notes workshop “implementation” contest. Here they are…

1. Jarrell Armstrong

Perhaps the most common feedback I get from students is that I’ve improved the speed with which they became “professional” as a note buyer or a note finder.

And the term “professional” means both oral presentation skills to banks, and negotiation skills in terms of what you ask (or demand) when you’re negotiating with banks. If you can’t cut it with the banks or with sellers in general, then you won’t get anywhere in this business – so being “primed and ready” so-to-speak, is a critical part of your training. And having the right tools is critical. I never had these when I got started. And imagine, for those of you out there buying your first note (as I did four years ago) – you’re really at the mercy of the bank if you have no idea what a Purchase and Sale Agreement is, aren’t you?

This is one line that I really picked up on out of Jarrell’s submission: “Good documents and purchase agreements and bid stips,” as Jarrell pointed out in his submission, “build credibility and most importantly, protects you and makes you a much better buyer.”

Jarrell spent 14 years on Wall Street, as both an analyst and in research sales. And yet he himself admitted that he’s had to learn a whole new lingo here in the world of notes, and that none of his background gives him much credibility in this new world of notes.

Jarrell’s greatest gift of all isn’t his background on Wall Street, or his network, or his bank “savvy”. It’s actually his willingness to learn and to be coached. “I still NEED help in this process,” he wrote.

Many many people are stubborn, and feel that they know it all (OK, so my wife accuses me of this all the time, so I should drink from the Kool-Aid here!). Case in point – a woman came up to me at a real estate investment club I spoke at recently and said only “You’ll be hearing from me.” One week later I get a call from her telling me “I’ve seen so many pools and I’ve been in this business for 30 years – what are you looking for?” I told her what my criteria are and she said “Well, send me an LOI and a POF and I’ll get you all the pools you’d ever want to see. There’s soooo much on my desk right now, it’s crazy!”

So I asked her, because I was actually curious – “What is the total UPB on some of the pools you have available right now?”

There was silence.

Then she asked me: “What’s UPB?”

When I explained, she immediately jumped back in with her schtick: “Well, I’ve been in the business for 30 years, have my own broker’s license, and I’ve seen it all – I just hadn’t heard of that term before.”

Jarrell – congratulations to you for both winning a scholarship, and for being man enough to know when to ask for help to kickstart you even faster. You’ll do well.

I look forward to seeing you in San Francisco.

Just one request … please leave your electrified fooling machine at home.

2. Mike Ruscica

Have you ever gone to a new city and tried a new type of coffee and been … blown away with how good it was?

In simpler terms, do you find that you’re a creature of habit who’s gotten used to certain things in your life: the jeans you wear not because they’re the ones that make you feel the thinnest or the sexiest, but because they’re the ones you bought this year and haven’t had the time or the money to buy another one?

Or the cup of coffee you pick up at the local coffee shop across the street from work every morning? Or the Friday night movie night you spend with your wife or partner because you’re too lazy or too cheap to drive the 45 minutes to the nearest iMax?

Well when it came to buying Notes – Mike Ruscica had his daily habit. At least, that’s how he explained to me how he got his start in note buying with Dreambuilder Investments, located in New York.

At one point, Mike thought that he would build his entire business centered off of one seller, Dreambuilder.

And then he discovered us.

And he realized that he could “mix it up with the big boys and girls,” as he wrote in his submission.

How did he come to that realization?

He claims it was the confidence he gained in talking to banks and sellers, from the webinars and calls and training that we came up with for people just like him, here at NoteBuyingProfits.

Mike – I look forward to seeing you here in San Francisco.

–Dean

P.S. I’ll be sure to stock the hot tub with plenty of big boys and girls for you.