​Note Expo 2015 Report Card

[Patrick Desjardins]

I've been going to several of these note investing conferences and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. I figured I'd provide a brief summary for people searching for reviews next year, or those of you who were on the fence this year.

Organization: A+
Eddie Speed and his group sure can organize an event. Flawless audio and video, presentations on time and orderly, catered food so you don't scramble to find something to eat etc.

Vendors: B
Very good turnout for servicers and IRA custodians, but many key players missing (BPOs, property preservation, doc custodian etc). Not a lot of newbie friendly note sellers aside from the usual suspects.

Networking: B+
Met a lot of active note investors and not a bunch of dreamers. Makes for more rewarding conversations and good contacts to keep in touch with. Greatly enjoyed meeting some of the Bigger Pockets contingent such as @Joshua Andrews, @Bob Malecki, @Sandy Uhlmann @Wayne Snell and several others.

I was particularly impressed with Eddie's students. Aside from one couple who had joined recently, all of the students I talked to had done at least "one" deal. So we can mock gurus and their silly prices but at least these students are taking action and I find that great.

Education: F
I didn't expect much and I was still very underwhelmed. Lots of fluff, very little actionable content. If I was new at note investing I would be frustrated and feel like it was just a ploy to get me to sign up for training. For example the Realtytrac statistics were great but nothing you wouldn't know by reading the housing / servicing related websites.

It's not for a lack of high quality speakers. Top notch guys like Alex Goldovsky of ProTitleUSA, or the CEO of FCI. @Dave Van Horn who writes on BiggerPockets and inspired me to take action and start buying notes. But what are they supposed to teach you in 45 minutes or on a panel? They barely have time to present themselves and their company.

Only big highlight to me was FCI Lender Services adding new support for note partials to make the transactions much easier. A partial lets you purchase a number of payments, say 5 years out of 25+, from someone's performing note. As the name implies it lets you buy "parts" of a note. Since you get paid first it is extremely safe. Good technique for us smaller note holders to recapitalize while keeping the tail end of the notes as bonus.

Overall I could have skipped this event but the networking was pleasant. Always nice talking with people who love notes as much as I do, and to put faces to the names of people I've been talking to online for several months. Hope this helps someone.

[Peter Lange]

Great summary, @Patrick Desjardines ! I know you didn't attend the Bonus Day on Sunday. So, let me add a few "notes" on that event. For those who don't know, the "Bonus Day" was basically a condensed Eddie training on a few topics with, of course, some pitching for his 3 day training events. The most interesting topics were Eddie's 50/50 Model for selling homes to out of state cash investors, and creating partials on your performing notes. Without getting into the nuts an bolts, both of these strategies allow you to get your initial investment back AND STILL stay in the deal to have an infinite return! That's fantastic, but remember you get all of your initial investment back so you can do it all over again!  So, while I agree with @Patrick Desjardines that the Friday and Saturday educational content value was low (I would probably give a range of B to F for individual sessions), the Bonus Day educational content was an A!

[Bob Malecki]

I pretty much agree with @Patrick Desjardines ratings. realize though, that they won't have much educational content since that is a revenue stream for them. In general I found the conference very valuable since it provided me a good 10,000 foot view of industry trends and a whole lot of good networking opportunities. Eddie has excellent industry contacts and he's happy to have them share their knowledge to the attendees.

Bob

[Bob E.]

As a note school student we had a different perspective.  

We meet and spent time with people that we have gotten to know over the last few years.  Had drinks and dinner with some key vendors and really strengthened our network.  Some of these people have hundreds of notes and just talking with them about how they are managing various aspects of their business offered some great insight.  Building our relationship with them is priceless.  

[Patrick Desjardins]

Originally posted by @Bob E.:

Had drinks and dinner with some key vendors and really strengthened our network.  Some of these people have hundreds of notes and just talking with them about how they are managing various aspects of their business offered some great insight.  Building our relationship with them is priceless.  

 No, I think we are in complete agreement. Vendors and networking is why I go to these. But since they all have an education component I simply wish they were a bit more advanced.

Let me use an example and see if you agree. To me one of the interesting conversations was Jack Krupey talking about the tail end of a fund and how it's risky being stuck with all of the worst notes. This could have easily led into an extremely informative discussion on how you can sell notes without being cherry picked to death. If it was too advanced for the main group then make it a breakout session or something. You have high quality speakers and they're reined in.

I actually looked out for you but didn't recognize you :(

[Bob Malecki]

Originally posted by @Bob E.:

As a note school student we had a different perspective.  

We meet and spent time with people that we have gotten to know over the last few years.  Had drinks and dinner with some key vendors and really strengthened our network.  Some of these people have hundreds of notes and just talking with them about how they are managing various aspects of their business offered some great insight.  Building our relationship with them is priceless.  

 Absolutely. As a student you should get these kinds of benefits, especially being able to learn from the more advanced students. Mentorship is an excellent way to realize the value of intimate knowledge -- stripped of the superficial shroud that many attendees wear on the trade show floor. 

[Bob Malecki]

Also, (if anyone from Note School reads this), it would be great if the management offered a feedback survey to the attendees to get input on improving the agenda/content. 

For instance, I thought the self directed IRA panel was a bit off-topic for a note conference. They could have put that into a breakout session and dedicated the main floor presentation for that time slot on more relevant items like bankruptcy/foreclosure or RESPA/compliance items. Self directed IRAs are a great financial vehicle, but not a mainstream topic for the typical note investor.

[Earl G.]

@Patrick Desjardins Thanks for the report.  For those of us who missed it, are there any recommended events that take place each year?

[Bob E.]

Just got an email yesterday requesting feedback. @Bob Malecki

As for networking I am going to shamelessly plug note school here.  It has provided networking opportunities far beyond meeting vendors and having a beer at the reception.  We have had opportunities and access to meet some incredible people in the industry.  

Last year we bid on and won a charity auction for a weekend with some of the Sr. Staff from note school.  While paying attendees are mostly newer students, the staff (including Eddie) has decades of experience some of the people that were there for the weekend own hundreds of notes (some close to a thousand).  Spending a weekend getting to know these people was invaluable, meeting them again at note expo was priceless.

[Dan Nicholson]

Originally posted by @Earl G.:

@Patrick Desjardins Thanks for the report.  For those of us who missed it, are there any recommended events that take place each year?

I attended Note Expo last year and felt that it was worth the time and money spent, for all of the reasons previously stated in this discussion. I have also attended Eddie Speed's Note School 3-day performing and non-performing notes courses. This basic training was excellent, and worth the investment. However, you are considered a stepchild unless you spend many thousands more to gain entry into his "elite" mentorship programs, where the real coaching, mentoring and networking with the "doers" and access in "insider deals" occurs. Unfortunately my retiree's budget forces me to make my fortune the slow hard way.

I have attended the Noteworthy convention several times. It is a valuable experience for both note newbies like myself and more experienced note investors. The Noteworthy Convention, headed by Jack Sternberg, is another excellent notes industry trade show similar to Note Expo, which is held annually in Las Vegas. This year it is October 13-16 at the Golden Nugget Hotel. In the past there has been a bonus training day preceding the start of the convention. Check it out at:  http://www.noteworthyconvention.com/

The Note Investor Summit will be held in San Diego March 2-4, 2017. I have not attended it, but hope to do so in the future. Their website is: http://www.noteinvestorsummit.com/

Another very active group which I am not a member of is Papersource, headed by W.J. Mencarow. They offer training in performing and non-performing real estate notes and other cashflow streams. Their annual symposium was held last April in Las Vegas. They offer a free online notes training course and also sell other notes training materials at www.papersourceonline.com

[Dan Nicholson]

The next Papersource Symposium is April 27-29, 2017 in Vas Vegas.   http://papersourceseminars.com/

[Sim Hamilton]

Thank you @Dan Nicholson. I was going to ask that question also. I am a newbie also and I am looking for ways to immerse myself in the industry. Does anyone else have recommendations?

[Bob Malecki]

Papersource is an excellent conference for those just starting out and the venue is quite nice. Also Note Expo is a good one in the Fall in Dallas, sponsored by NoteSchool. I've attended the past 3 years and made a lot of contacts there. 

Bob

[Sim Hamilton]

Thank you @Bob Malecki. I hope to see you there!

[Stefanie Willie-Bonglo]

We also attended and found the information and networking were worth the trip from NH all the way down to TX!

[Wayne Snell]

Hey guys, if any of you are attending the The Note Investor Summit on March 2-4, (it's in Newport Beach, CA this year) let me know. I will be there and would be happy to meet you. PM me!