All Forum Posts by: Dave Van Horn

Funny, I just found this thread on the "similar posts you may like" sidebar on the post below.

Looks like they took your suggestion @Marcus R.!

BiggerPockets Wrapped 2023!

I agree with Chris but perhaps that new equity partner could be a GC or someone who is already a party to the deal that has a vested interest in doing the work on the deal.

Like many people on this site, I was a DIY guy who mostly read books and networked to learn more throughout my career. If I were starting all over again, knowing how long that route would take I probably would do things differently by linking up with more experts early on.

That said, I think in 35+ years, I only actually bought one or two courses (one was on a strategy I ultimately didn't employ and the other was on asset protection). But in both cases I bought them with 2 other people and split the cost between the three of us. So that's one way to limit the capital required! ...though likely won't work for a more hands on mentor. 

I have been in a mentorship program as a business owner which I would say changed my life and business dramatically. Now this is a higher ticket service that even involved quite a bit of travel. That came about through a recommendation from my business coach and the mentor's reputation spoke for itself, so little due diligence was needed imo vs. buying a program online. Plus, they vetted you to join based on your revenue. So that actually helped validate it for me, the fact that they wouldn't just take anyone. So just some food for thought. Best of luck!

Loved reading this Don, brought some memories back for me as well! 

I bought a book from Jimmy directly in 2003 (he would only take cash if I remember) at my local REIA group in Philly called DIG (Diversified Investors Group). In the beginning, we would back our way into pricing junior liens that we sold I based on the formulas in Invest in Debt. 

Jimmy was the first person I ever heard talk about note investing and even though I didn't directly follow his system, he had a major impact early on in our business and for our note students. I even mention him in my BiggerPockets book on Note Investing. Glad to see others enjoyed his teachings as well.

I think the answer for other people would depend on their age, how active they'd want to be (along with experience level), the amount of risk one is comfortable with, and the desired time horizon of the returns....just to name a few factors.

If it were me, now that I'm older and experienced with REI, I'm looking for passive income from what I know. So, I'd spread that investment across a variety of operators/syndicators that work in different geographic areas and asset classes. I'm fortunate now to know many of them personally but there's plenty of third-party validation throughout the web of who is successful in these spaces which can help in the due diligence process.

@Scott McLaughlin the short answer is the seller is responsible for the transfer of data at the time of sale, and many will require the buyer have a servicer in place.

And to Chris' point, what the estate chooses to do could extend the foreclosure which could also require servicing in the meantime. Even if the estate wants to settle the loan, it may require updated accounting from the servicer for the payoff.

Obviously no one size fits all answer here but in my personal portfolio I've found syndicators through Self Directed IRA events and larger Multifamily events (i.e. Best Ever Conference, Jake and Gino, White Coat Investor, etc.).

I probably found my first ones through a networking group I started and it came organically from there. 

Good question. With the majority of reverse mortgage NPLs we buy, the borrower(s) usually is deceased, and the property is likely vacant.

So, it's sort of like buying a property that you have to take through the foreclosure process (and in most cases, it's an uncontested foreclosure...so the process will be as fast as the FC process could go). The evaluation is more about knowing what those foreclosure costs and timelines are in the state the loan is in.

The trickier part is who are you going to get to service the loan? I say this because in my experience, most servicers don't have the software or specific experience to service such a note.

Have you considered being a Limited Partner in Real Estate? Like in a syndication or a fund as a passive investor. Private Lending could be another option here but generally requires a degree of experience with what you're lending on.

The reason I say all this is I meet a lot of busy higher income earners with W-2's (often who like their day jobs) and sometimes the least amount of risk and headache is going passive with others who have experience. There's still of course barriers of entry (since you need money to invest, complete proper due diligence on who you invest with, etc.) but speaking from experience at the end of the day when you look at the true IRR of SFR investing (not just on PITI but on property management, vacancy, and cap x) you realize there's definitely a time for money tradeoff there.

I voted for the first because I think it says everything you'd want it to in a concise way with a catchy title that would make me want to learn more.

Option 3 would be my second choice but it's a bit long and "Smart Money Management" might be a bit vague.

Option 2 isn't bad per se but "Generational Wealth Planning" as the lead in might not be as enticing for readers since most people tend to put off things like estate planning. Just my two cents! Hope this helps :)