All Forum Posts by: Dave Van Horn

@Account Closed

It depends on how big you would like to get with your note business and your personal goals. Is your goal to build a saleable business or a portfolio of assets? It's also a balancing act between how much capital you have to put into these systems, processes, and employees vs. how much you have to spend on product. Speaking as someone who has built a note business, and still runs one, it can be a sizeable feat. We have almost 30 employees in house (all with their own systematic processes in place) and at least a half a dozen consultants at any given time.

If you're under $1,000,000 worth of notes and you're in re-performing world, you would really just need a servicer and an accountant. That's why they call it mailbox money.

For non-performing, I know many people who use ACT software (or another contact management system), Note Smith or even a combination of Dropbox and Excel/Quickbooks to much success, even with hundreds of notes. Software can run the gamut for price that varies greatly on how robust you'd like it to be in terms of functionality and level of service.

Your question is a tough one to answer without knowing more but at the end of the day, if I were to do it all over again and give myself one simple piece of advice it would be to focus on your strengths and outsource the rest.

@Account Closed

At first it was to build long term wealth and attain financial freedom. Whether it was through cash flow, appreciation, etc. All with a vehicle that's a hedge against inflation.

But after so many years, I complete that "why" and was looking elsewhere for a new reason to wake up every morning. It took some time, but I've come to realize that now my goal is to help others do the same. With things like BP and my blog, I want to help investors get to their "why", hopefully saving them from making the same mistakes I did along the way.

@Joe Yobaccio

Yes there are regulations, especially in regards to the compliant transfer of data to the seller and their licensed servicer. I would suggest contacting an attorney to get clear on those laws if that's an avenue you'd wish to pursue. 

Speaking generally, I will say that I know that you can't disclose personal information of the borrower (like credit reports, for example) unless it's with interested buyers who sign an NDA. We require both an NDA and a buyer application of all of our buyers, as well as the use of a licensed servicer (in the state of the note).  Things like the mortgage itself, the assignment of mortgage, etc is public record though. But as the seller you're responsible for the transfer of data at the time of purchase.

This is why sites like FCI Exchange can make sense as a platform to sell notes on since they assist in the vetting of buyers with you. 

Best,

Dave

I'd also suggest networking with rehabbers and contractors. Also talking to people who own multiple properties. So say I find a deal and want to flip the contract, I'd call a "We Buy Houses" type renovator/wholesaler with it. 

Also Hard Money Lenders are a good source of buyers. And much like my suggestions above, many of these types of people could be found at a local REIA.

Best of luck!

@Sandra Bivin

I would take the deals you have to a local REIA group. Networking with other wholesalers and "birddogs" is a great way to find buyers, exchange deals, etc.

It's definitely possible. I actually wrote an article for BiggerPockets about my success with that strategy:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2016/05/0...

@James Lambert

I've done this strategy many years ago (when there were little to no cash advance fees) but I'm not too keen on recommending it today. Cash Advance fees these days are usually much too high to make it worthwhile, plus it could really whack out your credit score and debt-to-income ratio when you try to buy or refinance later on with conventional financing.

I'd suggest finding a hard money lender to finance the flip. If you have a good deal, a hard money lender will finance it. It may seem like it costs more to use hard money but it's a lot less risk (since they don't report to credit) and the most you could really lose is the potential deal - meaning you're right back where you started. 

@Jan Nowacki

What kind of hardwood? Are they pine? Oak? Certain types make more sense to refinish than others. 

Overall, I agree with Ron. It's cheaper to refinish than to reinstall new. There are other factors to consider too like new shoe moulding around the baseboard (if that's required), if the paint job is more expensive to keep the floors clean or the touch up or dust cleaning is another issue. So the flooring bill could go down, but the paint price could go up.

I actually just sort of touched on this in my post on the other recent thread about how my education shaped my investing habits:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/450...

It's funny, I went from having a day job and dying to become a Real Estate Investor. To becoming a full time Real Estate Investor.....back to opening my own Real Estate business, and having a full time day job again! Hey, at least this time, it's as CEO!

@Molly Pincente Yeah, many times they do. They tend to have more formalized education programs. And they have more signs on the street; meaning more opportunities to do open houses, and overall you have more of a shot of finding more buyers. The name itself also carries more weight - bigger name means more recognition when networking. Especially compared to some John Doe Realty. Not to mention, you'd have the ability to change branches based on location more easily.