I get asked all the time ‘But, Dean, how do I find non-performing notes?? Do banks really sell notes to individuals?”

One person just told me “hey, I walked into my local bank branch and asked if they had non-performing notes for sale and they told me “no, we don’t sell notes.”

Well, if you want to get serious about figuring this out – AND shortcut your learning curve dramatically: it’s all in my ‘How to Find Non-performing Notes Course (4 hours+ jam-packed information on exactly the subject of ‘how to find non-performing notes’).
You can watch the first 2 HOURS for absolutely FREE. Take a peek:

If the bank doesn’t have either of the first two departments, then make sure that you aim straight for the top of their loss mitigation department – you don’t want to get stuck in mid-level manager hell.

And then once you get that person on the phone – tell them that you buy non-performing notes, anything 90 days or more delinquent, tell them where you typically buy notes, and if they ask you for what your typical pricing is, tell them you can price up to, say, 85% of UPB (unpaid principal balance). (You don’t want to kick yourself out of contention for buying notes when you haven’t even gotten a foot in the door, and if the bank’s asking about price, make sure that you convey that you don’t skimp!)

As to the secret of how to get through to the right person – and what it REALLY takes to break through to that bank representative: it’s covered in detail starting at minute 11 of Part 3 (the third hour) of my ‘How to Find Non-performing Notes‘ Course.

I bid a pool of non-performing notes held by a trustee for a bankrupt mortgage company. Two loans were missing collateral files. One is a loan on a Florida property. Ouch – Florida judges are increasingly strict on lost note affidavits and missing notes in general. In some cases, they’ll throw out the foreclosure proceeding if you don’t have the original note, or appropriate documentation. 

Scurrying as fast as I could, I was able to track down a copy of the note that was in storage at the title company office that insured the note (this was a 2006 loan).  (One of the things that you’ll learn more and more about me is that I like to get my hands dirty on as many note buying deals as I can – it allows me to learn more and more about everything that can happen in our world of non-performing notes – I’m not a “hands-off” trainer in any way).

Fingers crossed … we’ll be able to sail through a foreclosure with a lost note affidavit, but without the original note.

How did I price? I took an extra 15% off my bid due to the missing note issue. Why 15% and not more? I needed to play it safe on the bid. But the home’s value supports a higher bid. I feel we have a better than even chance of being able to foreclose, and then use the foreclosure to help us negotiate a refi or a deed-in-lieu with the borrower.

If you want to learn more about the science part of pricing notes, take a look at our ‘Determining Price’ Note Buying Course. 4 hours+ just on this topic alone. And you get to watch the first hour for free…

[To put in perspective how this fits into the overall note buying game plan, check out this Mind Map.]

As usual, watch the first part for FREE… (In this case one hour & 40 minutes!)
Take a look:

-> Learn the 3 steps to nailing a property’s price

-> The difference between AVM’s, BPO’s and comps, and what to look for with each

-> Go on a trial run on property values with me (literally watching over my shoulder) on a nonperforming note in Naples, FL – and follow the loan that went from $520,000 to $250,000!

-> Title – the ins and outs, and who to use to pull title reports

-> Learn what to look for when it comes to understanding your borrower

It’s all in the course. So take a look, and learn how to really price nonperforming notes – without ever leaving your office (living room?).

Again, just check out the first hour and 40 minutes for FREE and get more details over at NoteBuyingProfits.com.

The loss rate on those 2nd mortgages, originated by OwnIt Mortgage which filed BK in 2006, is estimated to be close to 60% at this point, and the bonds have seen their ratings drop from AAA to junk in the course of a year.

The reason for the losses? Well, the numbers seem to be pointing to more borrowers stopping payments on their 2nd mortgages altogether.

Ken Andrews, a savvy San Diego bankruptcy and foreclosure attorney who represents borrowers, has what passes for sound advice for borrowers with those 2nd mortgages - just stop paying. And for those who aren’t quite satisfied with the pesky 2nd remaining secured on their home, he’s got a solution for them – strip the lien by filing a Chapter 13. It’s worth reading his recent piece here.

So what’s the big deal? As a note buyer, you need to be increasingly aware of some of the changing incentive structures for borrowers. A lowering of the social stigma against foreclosure and bankruptcy could be a harbinger of larger numbers of BK’s in your portfolio.

Not that that’s automatically bad. Bankruptcy postpones the completion of a foreclosure proceeding, when the Bankruptcy’s dismissed. And when it’s approved and discharged, it creates a set of cash flows that can be much steadier than a typical performing loan.

So follow the masses here – stay ahead of the curve ball – and think about taking advantage of the borrower BK note buying opportunity.

Defaulted paper gets charged off in all states, though, so don’t just assume that because a state is holding steady in terms of pricing, that it wouldn’t present a note buying opportunity.

See the map below or click on it to be taken to Freddie Mac’s page.

Jared Lanning, struggling to pay a home loan on which he owed more than his house was worth, was thinking he might just let the lender take back the property. Then he got a call one evening from an Orange County investor who had bought his mortgage.

“I want out of your loan,” said the investor, Evan Gentry, chief executive of G8 Capital of Ladera Ranch, who offered to lower the balance and the interest rate.

Lanning, a crane operator in Englewood, Colo., was skeptical. A phone pitch, after all, had led to his getting the unaffordable loan in the first place. But Gentry was legit: He helped Lanning get a new Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgage — with a $12,000 lower balance. Gentry also paid $5,000 in closing costs for the new loan. Lanning’s new monthly payment is $200 less than before.

Investors — including big fish like former Countrywide Financial Corp. President Stanford Kurland as well as smaller fry like Gentry — are buying loans on the cheap from lenders who want them off their books. By paying less than face value for the mortgages, the new holders can modify loan terms, including shrinking the amount owed, and still make money.

Partner up with a good mortgage broker who can refi you (as the nonperforming note holder) out, and buy as much defaulted paper as you can right now. NoteBuyingProfits.com will give you the tools how to. Speaking of which, make sure you read this update, courtesy of Barney Frank.

Many note investors were slightly subdued – sellers are still expecting more than note buyers are looking to pay – pools of notes don’t seem to be trading as quickly as they were in the 1st Quarter. One rep from GMAC indicated to me that he thinks a lot of banks are “on the sidelines” waiting to see what Congress has in store in terms of a bailout.

But this is only half the non-performing note picture. I spoke to several banks that are looking to sell of their non-performing notes now and into next quarter.

Note Buying Lessons learned? There is no common approach that everyone takes.

Which is what makes this note buying business so interesting – it’s up to you and I to find the banks that are looking to sell nonperforming notes at those heavily discounted prices that we know we can find.

The Secondary Market Conference the MBA hosts is a great place to build relationships. With over 900 attendees, all players (e.g. vendors, investors, servicers, Banks, etc.) in the secondary marketplace) it’s a very good conference to go to.

Let me know if you’re planning to attend and we can meet for coffee.

You can get a FREE 2-hour sneak peek into the ‘Finding Non-performing Notes’ Course I just finished.

It covers:

- the 4 ways to find non-performing notes
- the difference between Good, Bad and Ugly note brokers (there are
probably 20 Uglies for every Bad, and 5 Bads for Every Good – not
that I’ve been counting)
- the art of “Going Direct”
- the inside scoop about the Yellow Pages
- and lots more

My wife Michelle teases me that buying nonperforming notes is boring enough as it is. so I might as well give you the option to opt out after hearing me praise “the 1R” 18 different times!

OK, but full disclosure here, she’s got a lot of respect for the fact that I can run a nationwide real estate investment business and still drop off and pick up our 1 yr old and our 2 1/2 year old daughters to and from daycare almost any hour of the day.

If you want to learn how to build a note buying business that could send you all the non-performing note deals you’ve ever wanted, without having to work at that once you got it up and running, you’ll definitely want to take a look at the ‘Finding Notes’ Course!
No hard sell here… Just watch the first 2 hours for FREE and see what you think.

So Rick was asking me whether he could birddog non-performing notes if he’s able to find some that are available for purchase.

The answer is: Absolutely.

There are two rules in the world of non-performing notes: “he who has the gold, rules” – which you’ve heard before.

But the other one that is even more true is: “he who has the gold is always looking for more and better deals.”

So the key is to be able to line up “a deal” for someone like me – the investor.

Here are a couple of tips:

a) Note Lead vs Note Deal – they’re anagrams for each other, but when you switch the first and last letters, you TOTALLY change the value proposition to an investor – and you completely change your comp structure

b) Note Buying leads are a dime a dozen to an investor – they’re pieces of information that we (the investor) need to spend time and energy on without any guarantees that they’ll pan out. Worse, if you’re a birddog bringing me a note “lead”, I usually discount that lead because it’s coming from someone who isn’t intimately familiar with the note buying business … so I assume it’ll take me more time to turn into a “deal”

c) Deals have none of the elements of a Lead – they’re pre-negotiated (or at least partially negotiated) leads with a clear set of numbers and a clear set of risks already laid out for me. That’s valuable to me – and I’ll usually pay for that type of a referral very differently than for just a Lead

So that being said, let me share with you Rick’s question below, and my answer that I’ve posted as a comment below that. Feel free to comment!

“Dean – me again. At least you know I am studying your note buying material! I am working on my “blasts”. Bankruptcy and Foreclosure leads. I am currently learning the note buying business while I still pursue my regular real estate investing. 2 easy questions:1. I know you are releasing the “Determining the Purchase Price” Note Buying Course in a few weeks but is there a ball park figure I should use on my “blast” offers? You mentioned 70% (of BPO…correct?) but is that too high in the current market? 2. I do a lot of research (which I enjoy) and I come across potential note buying opportunities that I pass over because the dollar amount would be to high for me as a newbie. Is there a way to birddog these non-performing notes to anyone? I will give you an example. Tonight I spent 2 hours talking to a homeowner who responded to my Pre-Foreclosure flier. He has a $124,000 first mortgage that is 4 months behind, no Seconds and no Liens. The loan is from 2004. The tax assessment is $147,000. He thinks it’s worth $165,000 and I think it is worth $150,000. He is getting foreclosed on the first week in May. The lender is…..drum roll….EMC Mortgage…which took over the loan by assignment last year. Is this a type of loan that I could “blast” and then turn it over to someone else for a birddog fee? Thanks, Rick, North Georgia”
See my answer in the comment below!